ON THE ROAD | Paul Richards
The Club’s Global Head Of Wine & Spirits reports back on his key takeaways from a trip to Stellenbosch and South Africa’s Western Cape
This was a long overdue first visit to Stellenbosch, and I couldn’t have wished for a better host. Ken Forrester – Mr Chenin Blanc himself – was responsible for establishing Chenin as a high-quality table wine in South Africa, rather than just a grape used for distillation. Myself and Agnieszka Swiecka (UK Sommelier of the Year 2023 and head of wine at The Audley and Mount St restaurants) were a little taken aback by the identity of the other guest on our first morning, however – Tendai Mtawarira – aka ‘The Beast’ (the four of us are pictured below). Turns out the Springbok rugby legend is now turning his hand to wine by working with various producers to create The Beast Wine Collection.
We took in several other producers, notably Le Bonheur, L’Avenir and Kleine Zalze and I was particularly impressed by the single-block Pinotage and Chenin from L’Avenir – wines which aren’t widely distributed in the UK (don’t worry, I bought a case of each for Members to discover).
Kleine Zalze’s Project Z, meanwhile, is a wine I’ve purchased for the Club since I first came across it a few years ago, so it was great to see the place and be taken through the full range by cellar master RJ Botha. The 2021 Project Z Chenin is fermented in clay amphorae and left to mature for a further 12 months on the lees, lending fantastic texture. They also produce a skin contact Chenin with a more saline touch – both are on the Club list.
Ken has long championed old vines – he famously ignored advice to pull out a plot of bush-vine Chenin and replant with the more commercial Chardonnay or Pinotage, instead creating his critically acclaimed FMC (which stands for Forrester Meinert Chenin, or F****** Magnificent Chenin, depending on who you believe). It’s a beautifully rich but fresh, textured wine that we’ve had on the list in London for some time. His Dirty Little Secret is really interesting too – an unfiltered Chenin from Piekenierskloof, where low-yielding bush vines were planted in 1959. It’s a complex, intense and uniquely textural wine – when The Beast asked what I thought of it, I described it as ‘Chenin Plus’.
Taaibosch is an estate with a long history now pursuing a new path to sustainability and organic viticulture. Looking out from the top of the vineyard, it was hard not to be seduced by the ocean in the distance, but manager Schalk Joubert was more focused on the red soil of the steep foothills of the Helderberg that yields the Cabernet Franc for his top wine, Crescendo. The soil is shale-rich and, like much of Stellenbosch, formed of decomposed Table Mountain sandstone and granite, and rich in kaolinite, iron and aluminium oxides. I might look to get hold of some Crescendo at some point – I’m sure Members would love it – though Schalk didn’t release in 2023 as the quality wasn’t there.
And it was great to get to arguably Stellenbosch’s hottest (from a trend perspective) ward, Polkadraai Hills as well as the cooler-climate Elgin and Paul Cluver Estate. Paul is a Burgundy nut, and had some help in the early days from consultant Martin Prieur of Meursault’s Domaine Jacques Prieur. These days, head winemaker Andries Burger is the one driving the estate’s reputation, and its Seven Flags Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are pretty impressive – look out for the Chardonnay on the list soon.
We finished the trip at Stomp, the harvest festival hosted by Ken, where guests were divided into teams of three and challenged to press as many litres as possible out of a basket of Chenin grapes in two minutes. Fuelled by Ken’s Cheninitas – a Chenin-based cocktail made in a slushy machine – we gave it a good go, but sadly, with The Beast no longer on hand, the day was won by some locals who evidently had a little more hands-on winery experience…
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