Balance in life is as important as it is in wine. Sometimes balance has to be achieved through compensation; a negative event recompensed by a beneficial one.
More than once this has made me to think of 2021. The Covid pandemic was still causing havoc and death, masks were obligatory, the first vaccine available only in mid-year. There was ongoing intermittent restrictions on exporting and sale of alcohol; load-shedding too was ever-present. Life was an uncertain activity.
Then along came harvest 2021. Preceded by a welcome cold winter and good rains, which bade farewell to the drought, moderate weather was experienced throughout the growing and harvest season. The cooler conditions resulted in slower ripening, allowing the grapes to develop exceptional colour and flavours; some producers even harvested their last grapes in May.
It was soon apparent there was general, if cautious enthusiasm (winemakers are wary of committing to a definitive opinion on a harvest so soon after it has finished), one that continued to grow as the first wines were released.
Excitement at the overall quality, across regions, varieties and styles, has continued to give the impression 2021 is indeed an exceptional vintage. Many of the wines being released now, three years on from harvest, are reds that have received extended time in wood and in bottle, so have had time to settle.
In fact, today few are unapproachable. This is even true of cabernet sauvignon, known for its youthful astringency. Amazingly, the first youthfully pleasurable cabernet to receive appreciation was Plaisir de Merle 1993, a maiden vintage, about which John Platter wrote in 1994 (1995 Guide) ‘… a new departure for the Cape. There’s so much in this wine, yet it’s so soft, drinkable now, not buttoned-up as you’d expect a cabernet of this tender age to be.’ The softness didn’t prohibit ageing potential; there were tannins but from grapes rather than wood, itself understated, and extracted in as gentle a way as possible. It was a cabernet without showy power but still captured varietal authority.
The person responsible for guiding this revolution was consultant and Chateau Margaux regisseur, the now late Paul Pontallier. The window this cabernet opened locally has taken time to spread but I was reminded of first tasting it at the recent launch of Le Riche Reserve 2021.
Etienne and his son, Christo, are indelibly associated with cabernet, Etienne having established his credentials during his 20 years at Rustenberg. It is thanks to his making the right choice of going on his own when he left there, that the le Riche cabernet heritage, now under Christo is firmly entrenched. His other options were an offer from Delaire or going to a winery in Ontario. A financially taxing and stressful decision but the right one.
Cabernet is their focus, though a chardonnay is also part of the range, as is Richesse, which will revert to a cabernet, cinsaut, cabernet franc blend from 2023. If Etienne carried cabernet in his heart from Rustenberg, he also carried the much-loved, cabernet-cinsaut Dry Red, a tradition Christo successfully maintains.
But to turn to solo cabernet. At the launch of the celebrated 2021 Reserve and younger 2022s, cabernet and Richesse, Christo described cabernet as having an hourglass shape, ie needing another variety to flesh out the mid-palate. He then went on to tell us that his are 100% cabernet. Questioned about this seeming contradiction, Christo revealed they work with 14 different growers and 24 vineyards spread from the Simonsberg to the False Bay end of the Helderberg. Separate vinifications result in 42 lots, which are then blended into three wines; Richesse, Cabernet and Cabernet Reserve, the ultimate goal for them to express Stellenbosch.
This bundle of possibilities, carefully blended, results in a wonderfully three-dimensional cabernet, where oak is carefully a-tuned to the wine. ‘Since the 1980s, we’ve been working with Seguin Moreau and Sylvain,’ Christo confirms. ‘French oak, 225L barrels, some blond toast, the majority medium toast, this and leaving the wine in them to evolve for a long time, is how we understand and have always managed to strike the right balance.’
Beyond the three-dimensional, 100% cabernet with its harmonious oak partner, the wine has a feature unusual in most Stellenbosch cabernets; it’s completely dry. I don’t mean only technically, under 5 grams of sugar, but organoleptically, which adds to both its quality and sophistication. Christo explains how they achieve this. ‘We work hard to not have too much sweet fruit; it is one of my big frustrations with aged cabernet. Firstly, I pick earlier than I’d classify as optimally ripe; if I’m sacrificing some ripe fruit, there’s so much fruit it’s not a problem. It also ensures there’s a slight bitterness (from a shorter chain tannin), allowing the fruit to preserve its energy. Inoculated yeast helps a lot, as well as the earlier picking, which enables lower alcohol levels. Residual sugar is an absolute no; over 2 g/l is too much and there’s always residual sugar with over-ripe grapes, even if alcohol has been removed or water added.’
There are wine lovers who find a suggestion of sweetness in reds makes them more approachable, especially cabernet with its sometimes formidable tannins and power. They would only need to try the Le Riche wines to learn balance and restraint can make even young cabernet enjoyable, while still able to mature.
Out of the Press 