OCTOBER 2022 FEATURED WINES
WINE ONE: DOMAINE DE LA GARRELIERE CENDRILLON
About: This wine comes from older Sauvignon Blanc vines, averaging between forty and fifty years old. The vines are planted in aeolian sand over silex. They invigorate the soils by burning the pruned canes, mixing their ashes with water, and spraying it on the vineyard. The grapes are lightly pressed into tank to settle. It is racked once before fermentation starts. 1/3 is aged in neutral 500L barrel before assemblage, light filtration, and bottling.
Taste: This wine is pale gold-green in the glass. The nose is uplifting with aromas of lime leaf, green apple skin, gooseberry, hops, nettle, fennel seed, star fruit, and cucumber. It almost tricks me into thinking I’m doing something healthy, like eating a fresh salad from my garden or treating myself to a vegetable-based facial – it’s crisp and cool and revitalizing. The palate is surprisingly full with maximum flavour intensity and an oily texture beautifully balanced by fresh acidity. It morphs into something riper with flavours of mango, galangal, ginseng, papaya, jackfruit, and flower stems on the long finish.
Pairing: I can’t help myself when it comes to Loire valley Sauvignon Blanc; I just want goat cheese. Valençay, Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine, Selles-Sur-Cher, or Crottin de Chavignol are all on heavy rotation in my kitchen. Something about the tangy, grassy quality of these cheeses tames the herbal elements in Sauvignon Blanc.
WINE TWO: LAURENT SAILLARD ÇA SE DISCUTE
About: The grapes for this new cuvée are grown by Julien Moreau of Domaine de Cambalu. His vineyards are located next to Le Cher, a tributary of the Loire just east of Tours, on clay-limestone. This cuvée is made from Pineau d'Aunis and Pineau d'Aunis Teinturier fermented whole-cluster for five days. After a five-month élevage in flex-tank, the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with 10ppm of SO2.
Taste: This wine is vivid medium ruby, with glass-staining saturation. The nose is precocious and mischievous with aromas of fresh violets, black peppercorns, pomegranate juice, blood orange, cranberry jam, balsam, and sage. I’m immediately transported to all my favourite natural wine bars in France, guzzling litre after litre on the stoop, surrounded by cheerful scarfed drinkers in berets smoking cigarettes. The palate is electric and imminently drinkable with soft tannins, electric acidity, and a weightless gauze-like texture. It lets the sun shine through. You’ll find additional flavours of red apple, chokecherry, Rosette de Lyon, dried roses, wild raspberries, buckwheat, and gochugaru.
Pairing: Despite this wine’s complexity, poise, and energy, it isn’t demanding. It doesn’t ask much from the drinker and is here to please. It is best with simple foods, eaten outdoors, preferably while standing. Cured meats and olives would be my ideal situation, but roasted eggplant on baguette would also be lovely.
WINE THREE: CRAVEN PINOT GRIS
About: Pinot Gris is not widely planted in Stellenbosch, making this a relative rarity. These young vines are planted on an interesting sedimentary rock, cemented into a duricrust by iron oxides. Locally this red soil is called Koffieklip or Coffee Stone. These are usually the first grapes to come into the winery in early January. Their first vintage of this wine was made exclusively for personal consumption, but fortunately, they have expanded. The grapes were destemmed and fermented in vat on skins for six days with occasional pump-overs and punch-downs. The wine is then pressed off into neutral barrel for élevage.
Taste: This wine is a luminous combination of orange, pink, and copper in the glass. The nose is frisky with aromas of sea buckthorn, clementine, Mediterranean oregano, peaches, grapefruit juice, verbena, and sunflower seeds. The palate is tangy with refreshing acidity, beautifully integrated chalky tannins, and a savoury finish I associate with iron-rich soils. It isn’t a pushover despite its modest weight. You’ll find further flavours of physalis, guava, nectarine, cloudberry, charred orange rind, sandalwood, and white pepper.
Pairing: Like many lighter-bodied orange wines, this one is incredibly flexible. The first thing that comes to mind is a mild paneer-based curry. The aromatics of turmeric with the saline cheese would be ideal with this refreshing yet textural wine. In the same vein, tandoori chicken, with its tang and spice, would play seamlessly with this energetic Pinot Gris.