South Africa: New releases

For David & Nadia, here two grapes reign supreme. Their Chenin comes from seven old vine vineyards planted between 1962 and 1984, on the different soils of the Swartland. It’s a true an expression of Swartland Chenin as you’ll find. This is taut and energetic, with yellow fruit and a lovely, long, pure finish.

The latest addition to the range is the Plat’bos, and this is just the second vintage released. This is a 1981 planted vineyard on decomposed granite, right nextdoor to Skaliekop. North facing, it’s the warmest site, and produces a spicy, ageworthy Chenin Blanc. Very citrus in character, there’s plenty of grapefruit here, and also hints of gunflint and rose petal. Very complex, and very grippy, notes of fennel come through on the finish. This is taut, linear, and profound. Bravo.

From a vineyard planted in 1985 on the Paardebosch farm. This vineyard is an anomaly: an island of schist on the normally granite Paardeberg. Indeed, the name means hill of Shale, and this gives a mineral, reserved character to the wine. Slightly shy on the nose at first, this is all about floral detail and texture, and an incredibly mineral, savoury palate. The finish is focussed and very, very long, and the wine seems to blossom with time on the palate. Leave it a few years.

With virtually no old vine Grenache in the country, David & Nadia’s Grenache is centred on a single Paardeberg vineyard planted in the early 2000s, with further plantations due to come online in the coming years. It’s a pure and vibrant expression of the grape, that comes in at just 13.5% abv. Almost Pinot on the nose. The palate has notes of liquorice and pomegranate, and some real saline grip. This is mouth watering and fresh. Lovely fragrance and purity here.

Aristargos is a white blend, of Chenin blanc (47%), Sémillon (13%), Clairette blanche (11%), Viognier (10%), Marsanne (8%), Roussanne (6%), Verdelho (3%) and Grenache blanc (2%), and is all about silky, layered fruit. There’s a lovely richness to the palate here, that’s well balanced with grippy tannins and lots of salinity. The finish is incredibly focussed, with nectarine and orange blossom. Really really good.

The Hoë Steen, literally high Chenin Blanc, comes from tall bush vines (hence the name) planted in 1968 on iron rich soils some 40km to the west. South facing it ripens late, and there’s a bed of limestone, virtually unheard of in the Swartland, that brings nervy acidity alongside the wine’s creamy texture. Deeper on the nose than the Skaliekop, this has notes of peaches and sea spray on the nose. There’s a spicy character to the palate: hints of fresh ginger and plenty of palate weight. Really very impressive.

Red blend Elpidios started as a Syrah driven wine, but has, since 2017, been grenache focussed. Just 5,000 bottles are made of this blend of Grenache (33%), Syrah (31%), Carignan (12%), Cinsault (12%) and Pinotage (12%), that ages absolutely wonderfully. Beautiful perfume, very bright cranberry fruit, with wild strawberries, too. This is incredibly up front and beautiful at this stage, and is hard to resist. But that mineral note, and the quality of the tannins, suggest an impressive aging potential.