Cape Town - Producers who have been patient are releasing fine reds from the 2009 vintage, celebrated as being the best of the new century. Among these is Thunderchild, merlot-led with nearly equal quantities of cabernet sauvignon and franc.
This Bordeaux-style blend from Robertson is dark and savoury with pliable tannins. Uncrushed berries were fermented with natural yeast and, after a year in French oak, the wine was bottled sans fining or filtering and aged a further 12 months in bottle. Thanks to friends of the Herberg children’s home, the maiden vintage has sold out, with consumers across South Africa and Europe buying in the knowledge that 100 percent of the profits help fund this venerable Robertson institution.
For those who don’t know the story, Die Herberg was started after the 1918 flu epidemic to care for the orphans left in Robertson. Today the 122 children there range in age six months to 18, and most have been removed from homes where Aids, violence, abuse and other social problems are endemic. Government subsidies meet 48 percent of the home’s costs, but the rest has to be raised.
A decade ago a bunch of Robertson wine farmers replaced an unproductive apricot orchard in the grounds of the home with vines of cab sauvignon, cab franc and merlot.
Today this flourishing vineyard yields quality grapes from which one estate – which chooses to be anonymous – makes a meticulously crafted blend. The project costs the Herberg nothing, as maintenance, harvesting, vinification, bottling, labelling and marketing are undertaken by the group.
Along with helping meet day-to-day costs, the profits have enabled the children to take part in extra-mural events by paying for transport so they can attend school camps, rugby tournaments and sports tours. Extra maths lessons have boosted educational results.
Visitors to the Robertson valley will find Thunderchild stocked by Springfield estate, Rooiberg Winery, Ashton Kelder, Robertson Winery, Bon Courage, DeWetshof estate and the Tanagra Private Cellar in McGregor.
Most Robertson wine boutiques keep it and Woolworths now stocks it in its Cape stores. It sells at R65 from Robertson outlets and R89.95 from Woolworths.
See www.thunderchild.co.za or contact 023 626 3661 for information.
There is still time to enjoy festival activities at the Robertson Hands-on Harvest until the end of this month. * See wwww.handsonharvest.com.
New releases are ‘elegantly Elgin’
As with most Cape farms harvested in the early hours to beat the heat, Elgin producers were picking sauvignon blanc and pinot in the rain. The cool climate region was living up to its name when I arrived at Platform1, the Elgin Station restaurant alongside Winters Drift tasting room.
Overseas visitors and locals were tucking into burgers, pitas filled with lamb, or yellowtail and angelfish fishcakes, washed down with a Glen Elgin white or red. On cue, the train from Cape Town to Caledon clattered by to collect its next load of hops for city breweries. Outside, trucks piled with crates of apples and pears rumbled slowly past. It was a busy Friday in this corner of the valley, where three historic farms have released new vintages, all of which render the slogan “elegantly Elgin” very apt.
Winters Drift wines, grown on Glen Elgin, are made at Spioenkop, except for the shiraz, which is vinified at Gabrielskloof. The farm’s maiden vintage was released only in 2010. The 2013 sauvignon blanc (R75) is a good example of Elgin’s ability to combine crisp green flavours with pear and stone fruit in an elegant whole. The 2013 pinot noir (R120) follows its predecessor in an engaging, gentle red that displays typical characteristics of cherry and damp earth.
I had sampled Oak Valley’s Mountain Reserve White Blend 2009 (R130) a few months ago: this magnificent blend of single vineyard sauvignon with 19 percent semillon has now been released and is surely a five-star candidate.
Eikenhof also added vineyards to orchards late last century. Douglas Moodie started there as trainee farmer in 1930 and took ownership long before he turned 100 in 2011. His son, Alastair, joined five other apple farmers to launch Elgin Vintners 10 years ago. They boast an impressive spread of cultivars. The 2012 vintage of The Century (R120), a delicious sauvignon/semillon blend, is now available. Combining rich intensity with creaminess and a touch of flint, it’s a worthy tribute to the late Douglas Moodie. - Weekend Argus