The Oak Valley Merlot Cabernet Blend 2008

The Oak Valley Merlot Cabernet Blend 2008

Oak Valley wines come from Oak Valley Estate in Elgin, situated in the mountains above Somerset West. This historic, forested farm is home to the Rawbone- Viljoen family and their hive of industry managing flowers, fruit orchards, Wagyu and Simmentaler beef, acorn- fed pork and world- class wines.

Wine at Oak Valley

The farm was founded by Sir Antonie Viljoen in 1898, and was the first commercial farm in Elgin.

In 1904 the first grapes were planted. Wine geeks would be super impressed to learn that these were in fact Cinsaut (Hermitage), Semillon (Green Grape) and Palomino ( Fransdruif, usually used in the production of Sherry).

The first Grapes planted were Cinsaut (Hermitage), Semillon (Green Grape) and Palomino ( Fransdruif)

His wine cellar was built in 1907 having begun selling fruit to a local co- op.

To this day Oak Valley use industrious farming techniques, and Sir Antonie could have been one of the first farmers to cold- ferment his wines. He did this through running pipes of natural running water over and around his fermentation tanks. Cold fermentation takes longer to complete, but better quality wine is produced.

The first wine of renown was called, 'Dry Imperial'- a Cinsaut- based sparkling wine made by Douglas Green, a winemaker who had studied champagne- making in France. 

The first wine of renown was called, 'Dry Imperial'- a Cinsaut- based sparkling wine made by Douglas Green

Through till the early 1980's grape production dwindled due to strict quotas imposed by the KWV, or, “Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Suid-Afrika” (Afrikaans for "Co-operative Winemakers' Society of South Africa"). There was a mere 4 hectares of Cinsaut left.

Then in 1985,  Merlot, Pinot Noir, Weisser Riesling, Schönburger, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc was planted on the farm by the government wine research division, Nietvoorbij. In 1988 when the first good crops came in it was clear that the grapes that fared best were Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

At the same time, the famous Gunter Brözel from Nederburg approached Oak Valley and Paul Cluver to try and form a joint venture with Nederburg. This was mainly to acquire good quality Riesling grapes. The first wines were bottled and co- branded between Paul Cluver and Nederberg.

Oak Valley decided to pursued its interests elsewhere, and sold grapes to Bouchard Finlaysson who took Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Merlot grapes. Some of these wines achieved great accolades.

Oak Valley's first major wines of the modern era were collaboration wines between themselves and Bouchard Finlaysson

Elgin is an inland plateau over 300 meters above sea level. The climate year- round is similar to that of Bordeaux in France. Conditions are cool, which means that grapes get to spend much more time on the vine. They thus achieve a better state of ripeness where tannins and various other chemical compounds are more balanced and contribute better to the color, flavor, and aroma of the wine.

The Grapes

The blend is made from 47% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

Merlot is sometimes referred to as an, 'eskimo' due to it's favoring cooler growing conditions. It ripens quickly, and benefits greatly from longer time on the vine. Initially planted in Stellenbosch, it has proved an awkward wine to master. Physiological ripeness at harvest is reached very quickly in warmer areas results in high alcohols which overshadow the delicate, fresh red fruit appeal of the variety.

To compensate for the fullness of fruit, some farmers harvest too early and often sacrifice full flavour development. Resulting, 'green' flavours ensue. 

This grape ripens well in Elgin and achieves a great balance between delicate fruit character and acidity. Over all the other regions' Merlots I have tried, there is a defined finesse that is achieved with this variety in Elgin.

Oak Valley Merlot vineyards are low- yielding, producing grapes that add finesse and good concentration to the blend

I found the same with Cabernet Franc which also shows better definition of fruit flavours, more evident acidity and lower alcohols. The Cabernet Franc vineyards are higher- yielding and younger than the Merlot vines.

Cabernet Sauvignon needs a lot of sun to ripen properly, and due to the oft- overcast conditions in Elgin (resulting from the South- Easter bringing cloud cover to the valley for much of the growing season) it does ripen slowly and sometimes not at all. I therefore feel that it does not fare as well as the other 2 more delicate, earlier ripening varieties.

A great cool vs. warm- climate exercise one can try at home is to compare a warm- climate wine (Stellenbosch, Paarl or Swartland) with an Elgin single- variety red wine from the same vintage

Lower temperatures in cool- climate areas preserve acidity, and grapes take longer to ripen on the vine. Tart fruit flavours are more evident, wines are more gentle and tannins on red wines are perceived to be softer. Wines are also alot more vintage- specific in cooler areas.

The 2008 vintage red blend from Oak Valley is currently drinking superbly.

The Wine

Made from Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon this is one of the Wines that shone for me recently when I attended the Elgin Cool Wine and Country Festival. 

On that day I was also really impressed with the Shannon Mount Bullet Merlot,  Hannay Cabernet Franc (Oak Valley Fruit)  and Catherine Marshall's Merlot. 

In an environment conducive to making elegant wines,  grapes that produce softer wines naturally perform well in this region.

During and after fermentation,  the grapes were gently extracted before being matured in 70% new French oak and the rest 2nd- fill (older) barrels. 

I believe that the 2008 is just peaking now and shows incredible balance of fruit,  sugar,  acidity and soft,  supple tannins. 

The 2008 Merlot Cabernet blend has matured well, and is drinking beautifully

Borrowing some notes from the winemakers fact sheets,  the wine shows darker fruit flavours of ripe mulberry and blueberry- fruit descriptors more in common with Wines from the northern part of Elgin. 
Red wines from across the N2 highway towards the south of the plateau produce Wines showing flavours of red berries like Strawberry and fresh raspberry. 

Cabernet  Franc gives the wine a lovely mint- butterscotch richness, and Cabernet Sauvignon adds body and structure to the wine (mainly through tannin and fruit focus/ concentration). 

The wine is best enjoyed with one of Chef Jacques Theron's grass- fed beef burgers at the Pool Room Restaurant, open now Tuesday till Sundays. 

The Pool Room at Oak Valley

Oak Valley Merlot Cabernet blend 2008 is drinking very well now,  and will continue to intrigue over the next 5 years if you have the patience.