GREAT EXPECTATIONS

The future of family-owned Rustenberg Wines seems bright, with third-generation cellarmaster Murray Barlow named Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year

“Age is just a number,” says 26-year-old Murray Barlow, the cellarmaster and head of marketing and sales at Stellenbosch estate Rustenberg, who has been named Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year.

“One of my lecturers had a great saying: ‘There is a difference between 20 years of experience and one year of experience repeated 20 times.’ So, while I am new in the industry, I am constantly trying to build my understanding of all aspects of the profession.”

Barlow’s grandparents bought the property in 1941. “When my brother chose a career that wasn’t in the industry, I decided to go into farming and continue the family business. I was 16 at the time and I think my passion started to build from there.”

His formal training culminated in a Masters in oenology from the University of Adelaide in 2010. “Where I think Australia has an edge over South Africa is in sensory studies: we had six hours of tasting and palate training each week! We also learnt a huge amount about preparing wines to be bottled under screwcap. South Africans need to wake up to screwcaps at the premium end of the market; they are far superior to corks. That said, at Rustenberg we still bottle under cork where the market demands it but 100% of our whites are now under screwcap.”

That includes the vibrant 2012 chardonnay (R150 per bottle) with which Barlow impressed the judges. “I love chardonnay,” he says. “It is so versatile and can be moulded into so many different styles which makes it very interesting to work with.”