One thing that is becoming increasingly clear as the Good Value Guru and I drive through the heartland of SA wine is that 2010 is a vintage for Chenin rather than Sauvignon Blanc. That said, there are still a few outstanding 2010 Sauvignons worth searching out. Like the 2010 from Nitida.
“This wine is made from 13 different pickings and 13 different fermentations” said Jacus Marais. “We’re moving away from those exaggerated styles of asparagus and green peppers and are concentrating now on mouth feel and complex flavours. I realized it was time for a change when I gave an ou oom (old uncle) a glass of our Sauvignon and he said ‘hierdie wyn trek my poephol op ‘n klont’ (‘this wine puckers my asshole’).”
Jacus Marais
Alas not everyone is into protecting the fundaments of old uncles. As Thelema proprietor Gyles Webb notes “the wrong sort of Sauvignons are getting the accolades. Rewarding those extracted, phenolic and dusty wines doesn’t make any sense.” His own brace of 2010 Sauvignons includes an example from Stellenbosch (“the nicest one we’ve made in a long time”) and another from his Sutherland vineyard in Elgin of which he says “this is the one varietal in Elgin I haven’t got my finger on. I hardly drink Sauvignon anymore. This one is OK but it isn’t a KO.”
The Thelema 2010 Sauvignon Blanc is a clear benchmark for the varietal with plenty of acid and piercing flavours of ruby grapefruit and limes. “We have an organically farmed block on the farm” says Gyles “and its fruit really lifts the blend.”
As wines for Platter five star glory are nominated sighted (150 this year according to breathless blog reports) this remarkable wine will not receive the coveted five star accolade as no Thelema wines were nominated, in spite of several obvious candidates presenting themselves. “Our taster (sic, visualizer) doesn’t like Thelema” notes Gyles with a shrug, emphasizing the iniquitous nature of a sighted nomination procedure. As a consequence, producers who blindly follow Platter should prepare their poephols for a good puckering.
