I have a confession to make: I really like South African wines. This is a dirty secret because among many wine enthusiasts, South Africa is seen as a bit of a backwater. Historically, the market for high quality wines was limited, so South Africa traditionally churned out mediocre sweet white wine. It reminds me a lot of the shameful days when Niagara was best known for producing Baby Duck and other sugary horrors. Like Ontario, South Africa has been trying to reinvent itself as a unique microclimate that can produce quality wines of great originality and verve.
South Africa’s recent efforts to produce worldclass wine have met with mixed reviews. Some wine critics, like Jancis Robinson, have noted a dramatic spike in quality. Others, like Karen MacNeil (author of the popular Wine Bible) think that South African producers have “a long way to go on the road to excellence”. Focusing on red wines for a moment, many people find them to be too smokey, wild and marred with a flavour like burnt pie. This is partially a result of South Africa’s hot weather and partially because of crude winemaking techniques.
But I can taste change on the wind. Just like Ontario, South Africans are slowly realizing how to select grapes and craft wine that expresses the special qualities of their soil, geography and climate. Last week in the Short Cellar, I wrote about a wonderful cheap Pinot Noir. This week, I have another great value to offer you: South Africa’s 2006 “Wolftrap” ($14.75 [Ed. note: Link is no longer active], Vintages #626333) from the excellent Boekenhoutskloop winery.
This is a wine that does not fight against the South African tendency toward smokey, leathery reds. In fact, this wine turns it into a strength by relying on grapes that naturally resonate with these earthy and rich notes: Syrah (aka Shiraz), an intense and peppery grape, and Mourvedre, a savage, tarry and tannic variety. The blend is perfected with a touch of the white grape Viognier, which adds fragrance and a light zip of acidity. The result is something that powerfully reflects the individuality of the South African soil. It is not a wine for the faint of heart, but boy is it good.
The colour of the Wolftrap is your first indication that you are in for something unusual: it is as dark and obscure as an insolvency lawyer’s soul. But the nose is surprisingly generous, with ripe berries, fruit blossoms and vanilla. Out of the bottle, the wine is bitter, but as it breathes, it opens up into a deep and remarkably complex wine for the price. Juicy blackberries and bruised plums are wrapped in layers of cocoa, coffee, and cinnamon. Although it has some leather, it is enlivened with acids and mellowed with rounded fruit. In total, it is a well-muscled wine that is perfect with grilled steaks. Find a bottle and join me in the guilty pleasure that is South Africa.
Matthew Sullivan is a lawyer with the Department of Justice in Toronto. He writes a weekly blog entry here on lawandstyle.ca. The Short Cellar column appears in the print edition of Precedent. Matthew can be reached at matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca