handtomouth

There are hundreds of grape varieties that can be made into wine – and many dozens across the world that are – but here in South Africa we deal in only a handful. The reasons for this are manifold; we didn’t start with much choice in indigenous varieties, the ones we use now were shipped in by boat by the colonialists, and in the modern age when they could arrive swiftly we are wary of plant disease and new varieties spend years in quarantine.

Even though our grape gene pool is pretty small to begin with, some are disappearing from the scene. Like zinfandel. It was never a variety that was planted in swathes, but it certainly had a place in the line-up. Today, the John Platter Guide lists four producers who make zinfandel in South Africa: Zevenwacht, Blaauwklippen, Glen Carlou and Idiom. Glen Carlou made one for the Cape Winemaker’s Guild and not as a regular range wine, so we can discount them, which leaves us with only three wineries that make zin.

Walter Finlayson is credited as being the champion of zinfandel in South Africa. Working at Blaauwklippen in the late 1970s, he proposed it as a blending partner but it soon took on a life of its own, and Finlayson won the first ever Diner’s Club award in 1982 with a 1980 Blaauwklippen Zinfandel.

“Taking a life of its own” carries more than a metaphoric meaning when it comes to zin, for it’s a wine with a savage side – often described as having an “animale” quality. It has a meaty, savoury dimension under its abundant red fruits, like a beast hiding beneath a berry bush. Put this with a red grape that’s got gentle tannins and high natural acidity and you have a variety that you either love or leave.

Zinfandel ages remarkably well because of this firm acidity, and at Blaauwklippen, where they never stopped making it, the older vintages (even a 1987) are still lively, while the current release 2005 is a wine of multiple dimensions (spice, sun-dried tomato, blackberries) and certain acidity. This characteristic also lends the wine to successful food pairing, of course, and it’s a natural for meats.

Blaauwklippen see a prominent place for zinfandel in their future, aside from its regular spot as a red wine, they have released a White Zinfandel 2007 and a Noble Late Harvest Zinfandel 2007. White zin is no stranger to the American palate, but there it’s often a dreary white. Blaauwklippen’s is perfumed and fresh with “Turkish Delight” nuances. I enjoyed it. Their Noble Late is more challenging to my palate, rich and very savoury, with a little too much of the animale for me to tame.

As chardonnay is to sauvignon blanc, so merlot is to shiraz. The former is often considered the Cinderella to the striking (and very popular) sister. We are undoubtedly in the thrall of a sauvignon blanc craze, and when it comes to reds, we crave shiraz. In terms of new plantings and media attention, they are indisputably the darlings.

Nevertheless, on dinner tables and at those times when a variety of wines are standing about, waiting to be drunk, chardonnay and merlot don’t do too badly for themselves. Perhaps it’s their flavour, it almost certainly has something to do with their image – as being smooth easy-drinkers.

Merlot, according to many wine commentators, is our weakest red wine category. It is accused of being thin and tart, lacking intensity and generally forgettable. The worst accusation is that it shows green, overly vegetal, notes. But often I suspect that this is because we are expecting a naturally lighter, leaner red to be a blockbuster like shiraz and cabernet. What can be surprising about merlot is that, although it’s regarded as easy-drinking, it’s often quite tannic and unyielding in its youth.

Here are some thoughts on recent merlots I’ve tried:
Villiera Merlot 2005 is just what a medium-bodied red should be, fresh and perky, with mineral notes and a little earthiness – in other words far from the big berries of, say, many cabs. This wine drinks well, especially with food. Another real winner is the regular Blaauwklippen 2005, with wonderful elegance and fruit. De Grendel’s 2005 is on the other end of the spectrum, a big, bold and very extracted wine that seems to miss the earthy, mineral merlot zone by going for generosity. It divided the table, many loved it, and others thought it was a rather generic modern red wine.

Kloovenburg Merlot 2005 is an even riper version of the grape, packed with deep cherry fruit and charry oak. It features an incredibly dense palate but one that has surprisingly little length – the wine has sacrificed elegance and acidity for alcohol and power. Again right on the other end of the scale is the Glenwood Merlot 2005 which weighs in at a far more respectable alcohol level of around 13,5%. This wine is very fresh, with taut acids that make the wine more and more austere as you drink it. Wines like these really depend on food.

Then one of the unluckiest merlots of 2005 is the Durbanville Hills Rhinofields, with such intense menthol, herbal notes I could only say it must be good for you because it tasted like medicine. Conclusions? This quick sampling of recent merlots really bears out the notion that you have to choose carefully if you want all-round pleasure – something that merlot blends usually offer.