The idea of South African Wines: Tasting Good Hope event came to us naturally. It was a result of a magical experience tasting Vin de Constance, the legendary dessert wine from Cape of Good Hope. We knew right away that we wanted to share it with our friend.
Despite the long winemaking history, few people in America, Europe, and other countries knew about South African wines until the 1990s.
For various natural, historical, and socio-economic reasons, South Africa disappeared from the world’s wine map for over a century, along with the most sought after wine in the world. Thanks to the modern Renaissance of the South African wine industry, today, we can drink wine previously enjoyed only by emperors, kings, and queens.
Although South Africa has a signature wine, it is a lot more than one pony ride. Its diverse climate and geography make it possible to grow many different grape varietals and produce anything from méthode champenoise sparkling to late harvest dessert wines.
South African Wines Tasting Flight
2017 De Morgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc
We started the tasting with 2017 De Morgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc produced by DeMorgenzen boutique winery. Chenin Blanc is a rising star and most planted variety in South Africa. The grapes came from the high altitude vineyards in the Stellenbosch region, well known for being the premier site for growing Chenin Blanc and other grapes.
The aromas of white blossom, vanilla, tropical fruits, and toast erupted into rich flavors of pear, orange blossom, melon, a touch of ginger and caramel. It has everything we expect from world-class wine: the balance between lush fruit and crisp, mouth-watering acidity, and lingering aftertaste. Thanks to its character, it is a food-friendly wine that is delicious now and has the potential to age and evolve.
2016 Kanonkop Pinotage
The second wine was South Africa’s exclusive – Pinotage. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s signature grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. It easy to get Pinotage wrong with resulting wine filled with pronounced resinous flavors.
That’s why we picked the 2016 Kanonkop Pinotage from the Stellenbosch region as well. With a reputation for producing some of the Cape’s best red wines, the heralded Kanonkop Estate is often referred to as a South African “First Growth.”
This textbook, Stellenbosch Pinotage is an excellent expression of the variety. It’s aromatic, structured, and full-bodied. The aromas of violet, bramble dark fruit intertwined with vanilla and cinnamon. On the palate, it drinks almost like ripe Cabernet Sauvignon with flavors of blackberry, plum, and scented wood. It would pair well with filet mignon or duck.
2015 Mullineux Syrah
We continued with 2015 Mullineux Syrah from the Swartland Region of South Africa. Since the start in 2007, Mulleneux winery quickly gained a reputation for the quality of its wines, and we could taste it in Syrah.
Possibly, what made this wine unique is blending in grapes growing in granite and iron-reach soils and doing 50% whole bunch fermentation.
With the aromas of violets, cherries, strawberries, and citrus note, it reminded us of Northern Rhone Syrah. On the palate, it had red berry flavors with good structure, fine tannins, and vibrant acidity.
Some of our guests tried pairing it with bitter-dark chocolate and loved it.
Vin de Constance
To make this evening complete, we finished like royalty with 2013 Vin de Constance.
Vin de Constance is one of those wines immortalized in poetry and prose, and you may never hear of. It was a must-have wine if you were a king or a queen but was forgotten for over a hundred years. Thanks to the Renaissance wine industry Vin de Constance was revived at the end of the 20th century.
It took a concerted effort to reintroduce this wine back to the world. So today, we can enjoy this wine and feel like royalty while it lasts in our glass.
Naturally, we to pay royal respect to Vin de Constance and designated a separate post with our tasting notes of 2013 vintage and glorious yet the tumulous history of this wine.
Conclusion
South African wines were an exciting discovery to our wine club members and earned a few fans, including us. It’s one of the places where you can find a world-class wine at not-so-world-class prices.
It also has one of the strictest regulations of purity of the wines and sustainability of the vineyards.
So if you’re ready to start your wineswinging exploration of South Africa, the wines we mentioned in this post have the right balance between quality and price.
