BREEDEKLOOF HARVEST DELIVERS FRUIT INTENSITY

March 2010

Cool nights and moderate daytime temperatures have created ideal conditions for the ripening of grapes and winemakers in the Breedekloof, who are about a third of the way through harvest, are very excited by the quality of the 2010 World Cup vintage.

Winemakers in the region, which includes the Rawsonville, Slanghoek, Goudini and Breede River areas, report that the harvest may be smaller than 2009 but the berries are producing a juice that shows an excellent combination of structure and intensely concentrated flavours.

Ilse van Dijk, the winemaker at Deetlefs Estate, is poetic when describing the intensity of the 2010 harvest: "It feels like walking into a perfume factory, with hallucinations of palm beaches and pineapple cocktails every morning when opening the cellar doors for yet another creative day."

Van Dijk says the Sauvignon Blanc is looking good, with exotic tropical fruits and good structure. While the Pinotage, which is still fermenting, already has a deep intense colour and fresh berry flavours.

Cellarmaster Pieter Carstens is particularly pleased by the Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc grapes that have found their way to him at Slanghoek Cellar.

"The Chenin Blanc is extremely fruity across the board, with a well-rounded mouth-feel. The Chardonnay grapes have extremely small berries and are displaying ripe and concentrated flavour profiles with good structure. Individual Sauvignon Blanc blocks have delivered well balanced wines with intense tropical fruit flavours and citrus freshness. The Pinotage is also showing tremendous promise," Carstens said.

Gerrit van Zyl of Botha Cellar says the harvest is smaller than expected - about 10% to 15% less than 2009. Cultivars already harvested are Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon, while they have started with Pinotage.

"The Chenin Blanc is displaying a variety of attractive guava and tropical fruit flavours. The Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon have soft green pepper and tropical fruit flavours," says Van Zyl.

He is excited by the quality of the Chardonnay and that quality is already showing in the wines. "The wines are displaying apple, citrus, dried peaches and plum flavours. These flavours make Chardonnay such an interesting cultivar because there is something to suit all tastes - and this is probably the style we should produce rather than wines that are heavily wooded."
 
The Pinotage at Botha also has good colour and the wine is fruity but with tannins that are both ripe and soft in the mouth.

Ivy du Toit, the winemaker at Jason's Hill Private Cellar, says the harvest is smaller than previous years but the grapes are looking healthy and the flavours are good.

"I am really grateful for the grapes I am getting because if I look at the rest of the industry there are some cellars where the harvest is considerably smaller compared to previous years. The weather has also been very good thus far. We have a lot to be thankful for," Du Toit says.

"At this stage it is too early to say if there is a specific cultivar that truly stands out as the white wine has just started fermenting and we are still in the early stages of the harvesting of the red grapes."

Nicolaas Rust, head of production at the uniWines Group (an amalgamation of Groot Eland and Daschbosch cellars) says their harvest started about a week later than normal.

"Our first grapes in were Pinot Grigio and were of an outstanding quality - small berries bursting with flavour, resulting in a fantastic wine. The Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay all show loads of fruit and exceptional roundness on the palate, even at this early stage," says Rust.

Willie Burger, the cellarmaster at Badsberg Cellar, agrees: "The harvest is smaller this year, but the quality definitely makes up for it."

Pinotage is the only red cultivar harvested so far, and the wines made from this variety look very promising. "What really stand out are the soft tannins and the deep, red colour. Overall 2010 promises an exciting vintage, although a bit smaller," says Rust.

Harvest is a time of great celebration and the Breedekloof has some fun events lined up in March and April including the Hanepoot Festival at Jason's Hill and the Oes-Af Party at Du Preez Estate.

For information on the Breedekloof region visit www.breedekloof.com.

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