Monday 25 May 2015

Elgin Cool Wine & Country Festival 2015

Elgin Cool Wine & Country Festival 2015

The rolling hills of the Elgin valley- just 1 hour from Cape Town

The first weekend of May heralds South Africa's youngest regional wine celebration. This was my second Elgin Cool Wine & Country Festival, in South Africa's youngest wine region- Elgin.

We arrived at Peregrine Farm stall early in the day, in order to purchase our festival passports (reasonably priced at R100.00) and visit a few producers we had missed the previous year.

Previously we had visited Shannon, Lothian, Winter's Drift, Cathy Marshall and Oak Valley. The first festival had really impressed me in terms of having experienced intimate tastings at each farm, absent of big crowds. Wines across the board showed great balance, with particularly well developed acidity in both reds and whites. That day the Bordeaux red varieties were particularly impressive and interesting, as most producers in Elgin notably promote Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc as regional specialties. The Shannon Merlot and Oak Valley Merlot Cabernet blend were my wines of the day back then.

This year attendance was more than double that of the previous, which must be extremely encouraging for the valley. The region continues to generate interest in the local trade, and i've been increasingly aware of this in the past few months. Conditions really are conducive to the production of top quality wines, and coupled with the best known producers Oak Valley, Shannon, Paul Cluver, Cathy Marshall and Iona are a number of excellent smaller producers starting to generate interest.
3 of these were on my list for that morning.

Almenkerk

Belgian Joris Van Almenkerk make the wines at this little family- run winery. I was first exposed to their Sauvignon Blanc wines, and later a Syrah over dinner with friends.
Architecturally the winery is beautiful. Slick lines, arches and marble compliment a beautiful view of the southern part of the Elgin crater.


Almenkerk- Slick

Wines tasted were a Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Chardonnay 2013 and Syrah 2011. The Sauvignon Blanc was distinctive with its grannysmith apple acidity, nettly herbaceous edge and defined varietal flavours. The Syrah was still quite tight, and needs ageing. Distinctive of Syrah from this area, it showed smoked game notes on the nose with bitter spice. The palate is crunchy red fruit- driven.
The star- and my white wine of the day- was their Chardonnay 2013. Naturally fermented and left to its own devices for much of the wine- making process, this fresh, restrained Chardonnay is also complex and citrussy. There's a nice long finish, testament to great natural acidity. Hardly any evidence of overt oaking made this a truly delicate, interesting drink.


On the left- a winner Chardonnay 

Fruit quality and vineyard management are definitely contributing significantly to these lovely clean wines.

 Paul Wallace

Paul Wallace is a viticultural consultant best known for his involvement in the Elgin Vintners range of wines.
The Wallace family have been farming in Elgin since 2003- on the farm, 'Wallovale'.
There are plantings of  Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.


Wallovale

One of the vacant labourers cottages now hosts their tasting room which is usually managed by any one of the 4 Wallace family members.
This certainly was the homeliest tasting venue I have visited and by 10h30am it was inundated with wine enthusiasts. Despite this their son Mark took time to take us through the range.


Friendly guys these Wallace's

Their bordeaux blend, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc were all friendly enough but the flagship of the winery and best wine is their dark, inky Black Dog Malbec- one of the few Malbecs in Elgin.


The Original Black Dog- a Labrador/ Rottweiler cross named Jake



With a great natural acidity, I picked up an interesting Moccha freshness on the palate. The mixed berry fruit profile has a dark chocolate richness to it.



Each farm puts on a separate culinary theme, and I was disappointed to miss Paul's braai he was putting on as we left.


Charles Fox

Further down the road and much to the delight of bubbly lover Mrs. Martin we visited the young Charles Fox winery. This winery specializes in the production of Methode Cap Classique wines only.
Charles Fox surveyed most of the Cape winelands to find his terroir- specific site for planting Pinot Noir Pinot Meuniere and Chardonnay grapes. He is one of the first planters of Pinot Meuniere in the country.  Wines are made with French wine consultant Nicolas Follet.
We tasted their Vintage Brut 2012, Vintage Rose Brut 2011 and Cipher Brut Reserve 2011.




Their Cipher Brut 2011 was my wine of the day overall, and best MCC of the year so far. It is a blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay. There was an evident weight on the palate and a rich mousse with delicate nougat and citrus flavours. The finish persists for an eternity and there is a lovely green orange zestiness around the edge.

Wine of the day- Charles Fox Cipher MCC 2011



Oak Valley

Lunch was up, and we had one more stop to make before a small task of driving to Robertson through Villiersdorp.

The Pool Room at Oak Valley continues to impress, and Chef Jacques Theron is working with some fantastic local produce. I believe that this is the best lunch destination in Elgin.

During the festival, each farm develops their own attraction for the 2 days and Oak Valley had a succession of live music acts lined up through the day.

We enjoyed some excellent music over a glass of the Mountain Reserve 2010, the farm's award- winning bordeaux- style white wine, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Lunch itself was delicious- Wagyu beef burgers hitting the spot well.



I also re- visited the Oak Valley Merlot Cabernet blend, the same wine I had rated so highly a year before. Its superb, and continues to peak showing primary fruit flavours, and a minty caramel richness from the Cabernet Franc component.

The Oak Valley Merlot Cabernet blend- still peaking


ECWCF Summed up

Intimate, no crowds, consistently good wine across the region

This festival is well organised, under- crowded and intimate. Wines are consistently good across all price- points which is another distinguishing factor for the region.
I would reccomend visiting some of the smaller producers in the area because there really are some gems.

More attention to detail needed, Pinot Noir

I have tried too many thin- tasting Pinot Noirs recently. I was not overwhelmed by the quality of any of the Pinot Noirs I tasted at the festival each year. Every other category offered up something special, but young vines, too much extraction, early releases and too much use of new oak has lead to no good Pinot Noirs tasted aside from the traditional champions of the cause. These being Cathy Marshall, Shannon, Oak Valley and Paul Cluver.

Superb Chardonnay

The opposite was experienced with that other notable Burgundy variety- Chardonnay. The Oak Valley and Almenkerk Chardonnays were really delicious, captivating wines. Both represented a fresher, more linear profile of the variety. Having tasted the Iona and Kershaw wines from Elgin recently as well, I believe that there are some remarkable Chardonnays being produced in the region right now.

Something different

I would say take a few friends along to next year's festival, try the flagship Chardonnay, Pinot Noirs and Sauv Blancs between the farms, but keep an eye on some of the little gems and extras that each farm offers. Special mention here of the Rieslings, Merlots, and Syrah on offer.

Wine Lunches

Lastly, every farm prepares a special wine- themed lunch that one can book for in advance. I plan to hit one of these next year. Don't miss out!




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