FIVE TO INSPIRE: ROSA KRUGER’S LANDMARK WINES & VINEYARDS
SOUTH AFRICA ‘The Skurfberg
2009 was Eben Sadie’s first interpretation of a [Chenin Blanc] vineyard that I discovered in 2007.
I think it’s an enormous challenge for a winemaker to stand back and let the vineyard speak for itself, but that’s what he does. Skurfberg reflects its landscape: a sandy, arid, windswept place with cold nights, surrounded by wild fynbos
[native shrubland]. It’s a unique site interpreted by a genius.’
LOIRE ‘Didier Dagueneau’s 2003
Astéroïde [from a small plot of ungrafted vines] was made during the 2003 harvest in Pouilly-Fumé and was my introduction to extreme weather conditions in Europe [exceptionally hot in 2003]. We sat in the vineyard at sunrise and I was sure the heat would be devastating for the vines. But the wine turned out to be amazing when I tasted it the following year. I don’t know if it was the site or Didier’s talent as a winemaker.’
SOUTHERN FRANCE ‘Mas de Daumas Gassac in Languedoc was inspirational. I went to see [the late] Aimé Guibert in 2006 and he taught me several things about viticulture: think outside the box, follow the flow of the land and put your ear to the ground.
When I got back from France, he wrote me the most beautiful handwritten letter thanking me for my visit. I still have it.’
NORTHWEST SPAIN ‘The vineyards of Ribeira Sacra,
Galicia. There’s no place like it. In 2005, I spent two weeks with Laura Lorenzo at Dominio do Bibei [Daterra Viticultores since 2014]. I loved those incredible steep [vineyard] parcels and the beauty of the rivers and mountains. I really appreciated the honesty, simplicity and freshness of the red and white wines, and I still do.’
TUSCANY ‘Sassicaia is a remarkable place in a region that I love. Going there in 2012, I realised how vineyards can and should blend into their natural surroundings and the benefits of a biodiverse system. With that wine, you don’t taste the grape varieties, even the Cabernet Sauvignon, which has such a strong thumbprint; you taste the local landscape.’