Hartenberg is a winery with a commendable record of producing quality wines across its range – and at prices that have always been fair. While the former virtue even goes as far as their continued support of riesling, currently a deeply unfashionable white grape, the latter, their reasonable pricing, will now be challenged by the recent launch of three new “super premium” wines.
The Eleanor 2004 is a chardonnay made to reflect a very classic, dry and mineral style. With alluring crème brulée notes and a taut, fresh palate, it’s a R150 white that begs to be kept in the cellar for a few years. All these wines carry family names, this one after the Finlayson matriarch whose family owned the farm from 1948 to 1977 when it was called Montagne. Current Finlaysons in Cape wine, Walter and Peter (of Bouchard Finlayson) are descendants.
Already in the Finlayson days, the farm was known for its good shiraz. Today, Hartenberg’s Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz strikes a great balance between quality and price, while their single variety shiraz and the single vineyard Gravel Hill Shiraz are consistently fine examples of how the variety can be powerful without being overblown, complex without being confected.
The Stork 2003 (the nickname of the late owner Ken Mackenzie) aims to push those boundaries – this is a shiraz that introduces plump weight and super-fruitiness into their shiraz stable and arguably remains elegant. As opposed to the Gravel Hill, it’s made on rich, red soils for a more modern, accessible interpretation of the grape than the much more austere Gravel Hill wine.
My preference is for less showy versions of shiraz than The Stork, but it is a style with many fans. The winery reckons it has a life expectancy of 12 years, perhaps enough time to make the R249 price tag seem like a bargain. At the same price you can also put away some of The Mackenzie 2003, a blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot and to my palate a far more elegant and refined wine with wonderfully pure fruit and great balance.
These wines are all presented as representations of specific vineyard sites and meant to carry the unmistakable fingerprint of pockets of the farm; and Carl Shultz, the winemaker, contends that the wines are primarily about the fruit, not the wood. While 100% new wood was used to make all of them, their very apparent density at this point in their lives suggests that the fruit will overcome some presently overt oakiness and ultimately they are certainly all styled for the drinker who enjoys the element of finesse in their wine.
I would like to comment on the bottles and labelling that the new Hartenberg Premium wines have. Though before, I would agree that the wines are great and their intrinsic value is not questioned here, The Mckenzie is quite St Julien like and will definately reward cellaring. But in today’s competitive market, I believe the consumer out there seeks a little more than intrinsic value, especially at R250. I.e. an impressive label and weighty-bottle sitting on the dinner table in amongst the wealthy dinner-party goers. Hartenberg’s super premiums’ come in the cheapest, nastiest, light-weight bottles with the smallest punt and labels that would be in place next to a commercial chenin blanc at Pick ‘n Pay. I hate to be hoity-toity in this regard, but unfortunately thats what the top end of the wine world is about. Your comments?
Hi Roland. You raise a point that I must admit I have not spent a great deal of time considering – while it clearly is an important part of your business. My feelings on the label are that they tend to downplay the Hartenberg marque, which is a strange position to take. The design is old school, emulating classic examples, while their regular label is rather unpretentious and comfortable. As for the bottle used, I would be interested in other people’s opinions on it and how this impacts on the impression of quality or class.
It has to be said, but to my mind the punt represents the vinous incarnation of that really big exhaust on a suped up ford escort. Its purpose often seeks to compensate…….