wine

WINE | Old is Gold

Those of us heading into the prime years of adulthood will be glad to know that age is good. Well, in wine terms, anyway. And we are not talking about the accepted notion of wines gaining complexity, nuance and eternal glow as they age in the bottle for a few decades. The big talk at the moment is that of old vineyards, the assumption being that wines made from vineyards that have been rooted into the earth for a long, long time produce grapes capable of making exceptional wines.

In South Africa, this theory has been put into practice by a unique Old Vine Project set up a few years back. Founded by an extraordinary viticulturist and nature lover named Rosa Kruger, the Old Vine Project has gained international recognition for the South African wine industry by identifying old vineyards of 35 years and older spread throughout the winelands. Along with this, the project also draws attention to the premise that grapes from an older vine offer unique character to the wine from which said grapes are made; this is the result of these plants’ maturity.

It looks good on paper: those vines standing for decades under fierce hot summers and stormy winters, adapting to their environment and gaining a confident maturity and grizzled personality, reflected in the ensuing grapes and wine.

Yet the Old Vine Project is quick to add that it is not saying old vines of 35 years and more make better wines. The wines are just different, with distinct aspects flowing from the aged, weathered and hardy vineyards.

If the story grabs you, as it has me, one will ask why most of South Africa’s old vineyards are those of the Chenin Blanc variety. Well, first of all, it is believed that Chenin Blanc was among the vines from which the first Cape wines were made back in 1659. And since then, it has spent decades at the top of the list of the most planted wine grape in South Africa, for a long time snubbed by wine-buffs due to the fact that Chenin was mainly used to distil brandy and to make gazillion litres of innocuous cheap bulk wine. It is thus logical that due to its history as the most planted variety in the Cape, many of the old vineyards lying around are Chenin Blanc.

No discussion on old South African vineyards can thus omit Chenin Blanc, nor the person that is Ken Forrester from Stellenbosch. Back in the 1990s, he came to the Cape to make great wine and was amazed to see all this Chenin Blanc lying around, which no serious winemaker was paying attention to. The status that Chenin Blanc, especially Chenin made from old vines, enjoyed today can be largely attributed to Ken. His personality, persuasiveness, self-belief and the fine wines he makes took Chenin from the moth-balls to the forefront of the country’s wine offerings.

Ken Forrester Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc 2022

Ken Forrester Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc 2022 is a perfect example of what happens when mature vineyards and this famous Cape grape variety are harnessed by a winemaker respecting history, soil and fruit.

The wine is made from three different sites in Stellenbosch, old vines with a lowish yield of six to eight tons per hectare. Chenin Blanc grows like the clappers, young vines easily delivering 25 tons per hectare. But older vines mean lower yields. Smaller bunches and berries. More concentrated wisdom in the fruit from which the wine is made.

Ken matures the wine for eight months in French oak, 20% of which is new wood to give the wine the noble complexity and discernible seriousness his wines are known for. What one is getting here is brilliant freshness resulting from the brisk, firm acids older vines provide in their fruit. And on this zip ride, layer-upon-layer of gorgeous white fruit and flowers, with a hint of honeysuckle. Expect juicy pear notes, bruised apple and winter melon with a tad of spice. I also think that the deft palate weight and lingering presence this wine has on the senses is a result of its old, gnarled, expressive vineyards.

The red grape that is Cinsault was once also a work-horse of the local wine industry, grown in spectacular abundance. Over the past 30 years, it has been ripped up to plant more vogueish cultivars, yet Cinsault is making a comeback as a wine due to its charm as a thoroughly enjoyable red.

Out in Citrusdal, the Piekenierskloof Winery makes Cinsault from vineyards planted in 1976 there in those hardy far-flung conditions. Growing on sandy loam soils, the vines are unirrigated and thus totally dependent on the skies’ opening. Yields are only five tons per hectare, and once fermented, the juice is allowed to rest for 12 months in large oak barrels of older wood.

Cinsault is sometimes called “the poor man’s Pinot Noir” due its vibrant accessibility, something sterner red grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz can’t offer. But for me, Cinsault needs not suffer by comparison, for it is a fine and unique red wine in its own right.

Piekenierskloof Cinsault 2020

The Piekenierskloof Cinsault 2020 has an intoxicating aroma of dried flowers and nutmeg, and once in the mouth, it is nothing but a joy. It is juicy and sprightly with flavours of cherry, plum and raspberry, all harnessed by a slight oceanic saltiness. A savoury edge, too, will develop as the wine matures. But now it is just fine, and due to its expansive flavour profile of fruit, I’d suggest chilling the wine a touch before enjoying it, which you will most certainly do.

Chardonnay only began its journey at the Cape in the late 1970s, so there are not many old vines of this great variety to be found. One is at Haute Cabrière in Franschhoek, where the winery does justice to the old lady by fermenting and maturing it in old clay amphorae – yes, the same clay jugs the ancient Romans and Greeks used for their wines.

Haute Cabrière Amphora Chardonnay 2021

The Haute Cabrière Amphora Chardonnay 2021 is Chardonnay at its finest, truly, and I have no doubt that the old vineyards bring a wonderful aspect to this variety. Taut and austere in the first sip, the wine opens to reveal runs of citrus and some grilled nuts within an overriding presence of what can only be termed genuine minerality.

Old is gold. Trust me.