Perfect blend of iconic status and winter warmer
ONE of the top-selling white wines in South Africa is a blend that not surprisingly has the world’s most popular grape in it – chardonnay.
This is Haute Cabrière Chardonnay-Pinot Noir, a sublimely yummy blend that has been giving unremitting pleasure to local palates for a staggering 22 years.
So popular is this wine that no local restaurant can boast a formidable cellar without it, either in stock or listed on its menu. Naturally, the question is … what has been behind the fame and success of this wine, produced by Franschhoek’s Haute Cabrière estate, which celebrates the 22nd anniversary of making this iconic blend?
Haute Cabrière cellar master Takuan von Arnim attributes the success to passion and consistency from the first to the current 22nd vintage; its elegance and abundance of fruit.
His family, which owns the estate, also prides itself on being the first cellar to specialise in making sparkling wines, namely the Pierre Jourdan bubbly range, for which they use exclusively chardonnay and pinot noir grapes.
That the wine has chardonnay as its main component must undoubtedly be key too, as the grape enjoys tremendous popularity worldwide.
Happily, the world’s best chardonnay for 2016 is from South Africa – De Morgenzon Reserve Chardonnay 2015.
Sipping a mouthful of Haute Cabrière Chardonnay-Pinot Noir, one is first wowed by juiciness, friendly palate and lack of astringency that sometimes punctuates white wines, and finally its savoury finish that seduces the taster to more swigs.
The blending of 60% chardonnay and 40% pinot noir certainly gives the wine complexity as the two grapes bring their own characteristics to the party.
This wine, which retails at R85, has set a trend of similarly crafted blends seeking to emulate its iconic status with varying degrees of success in the past two decades.
It is recommended for pairing with dishes such as fish and chicken, but is also enjoyable on its own as a lunch-time drink.
Besides the chardonnay/pinot noir blend and bubbly, Haute Cabrière produces another iconic blend which tastes like nothing currently available in SA.
This is the sumptuous Pierre Jourdan Ratafia, which is essentially a fortified wine comprising 100% chardonnay and a dash of fine brandy. It is the only one of its kind produced in this country, much in keeping with the pioneering spirit of the Von Arnim family.
Richly endowed with honey flavours, Pierre Jourdan Ratafia has an enticing taste underscored by a warming effect which is undeniably a consequence of spikings of brandy. Hence, it is a perfect winter warmer to send the chill away while also being compatible with desserts or a lovely nightcap as a digestif at the end of the meal, or as an appetizer with starters like liver or liver paté. Largely still a novelty here, Ratafia inevitably attracts the attention of wine lovers whenever tippled on wine shows. Quite expectedly, it was no different during the two-day Juliet Cullinan Standard Bank Wine Festival at Hyde Park’s Summer Place last week.
Ratafia’s ornate, stumpy bottle will surely make it hard for anyone to part with it after its honeyed contents are polished off. It retails at R79. The term Ratafia generally refers to fortified and fruit-based beverages in Europe. The famous one is Ratafia de Champagne, a natural wine from France’s Champagne region.
MUST-TASTE CHARDONNAY WINES AT THE JULIET CULLINAN SHOW
De Wetshof The Site Chardonnay 2014 Yardstick Chardonnay 2013 Journey’s End Destination Chardonnay 2014
Sumaridge Chardonnay 2014
SPEAK LIKE A PRO
GRASSY refers to unripe flavours detected in a wine, which sometimes may be a consequence of its youthfulness.