South African Wines Step Onto the Stage(2)

While the four-star De Trafford could have been our best value in the tasting, I decided instead to give that honor to the least expensive wine in our top 10, the 2006 Bon Cap, a $15 wine made from organic grapes that had lovely aromas of flowers, fruit, herbs and, yes, bacon.

Lamb Shanks in Red Wine With Prunes (January 21, 2009)
Times Topics: South African WinesThere did seem to be some relation between price and quality in these wines. Of the 14 bottles in the blind tasting that were $20 or under, only the Bon Cap and the 2004 Neil Ellis at $20 made our list of favorites. By contrast, 8 of the 11 most expensive bottles made our top 10, including the 2005 Stark-Condé at $40, which just squeaked in at No. 10. This wine, from the Jonkershoek Valley, a subdivision of the Stellenbosch region just east of Cape Town, was powerful and a little rounder than some of the more structured wines, yet it was still in balance.

Almost all of our other favorite cabernets came from the Stellenbosch region, practically on the southwestern tip of the African continent and centered on the old university town of Stellenbosch. The area is blessed with weather as gorgeous as the vistas for which it is renowned. The Bon Cap was the lone outsider, coming from Robertson in the Breede River Valley to the east.

Well, I’ve been all breathless enthusiasm up to here. Now it’s time for my hedge.

In California, where producers used to strive to make wines like these, the trend in the last 15 years has been to pick grapes later and later, resulting in big, overly alcoholic wines of surpassing fruity sweetness but little shape or structure. These are the wines that have mostly received the greatest praise and for which producers have charged the most.

Could such an evolution occur with these South African wines? I can’t answer that, but I see some possibly disturbing notes.

First, the 2006 Boekenhoutskloof cabernet from the Franschhoek region was, at $47, the most expensive wine in our tasting. While the winemaker is critically acclaimed, we rejected the wine for its generic vanilla-cherry cheesecake flavors, which I often taste in New World red wines that are intended to please an international audience.

Second, while we all loved the 2004 De Trafford cabernet — our No. 1 wine — a look at the De Trafford Web site indicates that the next vintages are evolving in a bigger, riper direction. The 2004 was 14.5 percent alcohol, but the ’05 and ’06 are both well above 15 percent. Admittedly, I haven’t tasted either of those wines, but on paper at least they seem ratcheted up in size.

If anything, our tasting indicates that South Africa has the potential for greatness. In the snapshot offered by these 25 bottles, we found a region offering wonderful values and lovely wines.

Yet the track record is slim. We don’t know yet how these wines will age. Many of these producers are too new to have shown consistency over time.

Winemakers cannot change the soil in which they plant their vines. Nor can they influence the climate or change the weather. The main thing they can control is the style of wine they make.

We very much enjoyed the styles of cabernet sauvignon we sampled, and we appreciate the fact that the winemakers’ sites and climate permit them to make cabernets in these styles. As for next year and the year after that, we hope for the best.

Tasting Report: Cabernets, Here Defined by Their Balance

De Trafford Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

$32

****

Ripe yet structured and graceful with aromas and flavors of rich fruit, flowers and cedar. (Importer: Boutique Wine Collection, Philadelphia)

Rust en Vrede Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

$27

***

Aromas of violets, minerals, earth and herbs; well balanced and nicely shaped. (Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, Ill.)

One Stroke One Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

$28

***

Light-bodied and intense with aromas of blackberries, flowers and herbs. (Fairest Cape Beverages, Santa Ana, Calif.)

BEST VALUE

Bon Cap Robertson Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

$15

** 1/2

Balanced, earthy and well structured with flavors of fruit and a touch of bacon. (Indigo Wine Group, Venice, Fla.)

Thelema Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

$33

** 1/2

Elegant and restrained with balanced, delicate flavors of fruit and herbs. (Cape Classics, New York)

Neil Ellis Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

$20

** 1/2

Dry and cedary with flavors of blackberries and minerals. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, Ala.)

Bilton Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

$25

** 1/2

Nicely structured with pretty aromas of flowers and plums. (Southern Starz, Huntington Beach, Calif.)

Waterford Estate Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

$29

** 1/2

Big, bright and fruity yet balanced and structured. (Yellowwood Wine, Calistoga, Calif.)

Alto Estate Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

$30

**

Ripe fruit and earthy flavors with a spine of acidity. (Tafelberg Imports, Emerson, N.J.)

Stark-Condé Jonkershoek Valley Twin Peak Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

$40

**

Pretty floral aromas; powerful yet balanced. (Vineyard Brands)

WHAT THE STARS MEAN:

Ratings, from zero to four stars, reflect the panel’s reaction to the wines, which were tasted with names and vintages concealed. The wines represent a selection generally available in good retail shops and restaurants and on the Internet. Prices are those paid in shops in the New York region.