handtomouth

Red wines are king. They hold the high ground as the serious contender, the one to move on to and stay with after a few glasses of white. They command higher prices and they’re usually better suited to cellaring, which means they are given more consideration.

Now that people hardly bother to cellar wines, this last difference matters less and less, but it will be a long time (if it ever happens) before white wine is seen as having the stature of red wine.

At the same time, we seem to be making better and better white wines – consider the stellar improvement of our sauvignon blancs, the happy rise of quality chenin and the consistency of some very fine chardonnay. But it is the blended white category that is now taking off.

Of course there have always been entry level wines that are blends, but many of these tend to be the poorer lots of wine, muddled together for easy drinking. I’m talking here about the new generation of premium whites. You are likely to be familiar with Vergelegen’s White, a great wine (but at a price), there’s also Flagstone’s Two Roads which is highly recommended, and Joostenberg’s Fairhead, pure delight.

On the crowded shelves, good blended whites are still in a minority, but I increasingly find that this category impresses me at tastings. One such beauty is Nico van der Merwe’s White 2004, a sauvignon blanc and semillon blend of nearly equal proportions. It has the most amazing palate breadth and texture, though Van der Merwe described how it has taken the wine until now, two years later, to open out and show its charms.

So much so that he is considering a late release of this wine, in order that it is presented to the impatient consumer at more or less the right time, not while it’s still bound and reticent. Retailing at around R60 I think this is fantastic value, and Van der Merwe’s reds should also need little introduction.

Another blended white that is to be released later this year comes from Scali, who quietly make some of the best shiraz and pinotage around, and were on the vanguard of the Perdeberg area’s rise to prominence. Their white is a 2005 vintage and is a three way blend of chenin blanc, chardonnay and viognier – the last used to good (i.e. careful) effect. Also from vineyards in this area, and with the same varieties, look out for Black Rock White 2004. It’s a big wine, but also big in flavour.