Elgin vintage experience 2, Paul Cluver

Paul Cluver is the pioneering wine farm of Elgin. Dr Paul Cluver, a leading neurological consultant, planted vines here in 1987. ‘Everyone thought we were crazy,’ he said, because at the time apples were the main crop in the valley, and they were commercially successful. In the late 1990s, though, it was a tough time for apples and lots of second and third generation family farms ended up being sold. So grapes became more widely planted. Now, things have changed, and apples are once again highly profitable – so much so that some significant vineyards have been ripped up.

I spent the day taking part in vintage here at Paul Cluver, shadowing winemaker Andries Burger. This is a film of the experience:

The main task today was sorting 17 tons of Pinot Noir that had come in. The 2017 vintage is looking very promising, but there’s some uneven ripeness in the Pinot. So Andries is running a two-stage sorting process. First, there are six people sorting the bunches. Then, six more people sort the berries, once they have been destemmed. The sorted berries end up in a bin that is then tipped into the fermenting tank with a fork lift, to avoid pumping.

Tipping the Pinot Noir berries into the fermenter

Rejected grape bunches

Stems

Every morning, all the ferments are tasted and checked for density (which tells you how much sugar is left, and is the way that the progress of the fermentation is checked). In most wineries, this is done using a hydrometer in a measuring cylinder full of wine. But Andries has a device that checks it automatically, which is quicker and more reproducible. It costs €3000, but he says it’s the best money he has ever spent.

We also checked the progress of various blocks in the vineyard. Some Gewürztraminer was being picked: it’s a beautiful-looking grape.

And we also looked at a couple of Chardonnay vineyards.

Chardonnay

The Riesling is doing well this year. The healthy bunches are picked first, then a short time after the bunches with some botrytis (noble rot) are picked for the Noble Late Harvest Riesling. There hasn’t been any for the last two years, but this year there probably will.

Back in the winery, it was time to do some punching down of ferments. This is slightly precarious, because you need to apply enough pressure to force the floating mass of grape skins down, but not too much because they then give, and you could end up falling into the tank. These are deep tanks, and this would be very dangerous. Many people have suffocated in wineries because of the carbon dioxide produced by ferments. Apparently, an Italian stagiere fell into a ferment here a few years ago, but luckily survived, and that was during a pump over. That takes some doing: maybe he fell asleep.

In one of the tanks, the fermentation had slowed so the cap of skins was protected by adding some dry ice. This stops the development of volatile acidity, which occurs in the presence of oxygen when the cap dries a bit.

Finally, we finished the day going for a tour of this spectacular property with Dr Cluver.

from jamie goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/south-africa/elgin-vintage-experience-2-paul-cluver

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Elgin vintage experience 1, Iona

Werner Muller, winemaker Iona

The first day of my vintage experience in South Africa’s Elgin region was spent at Iona. I was with Werner Muller, the winemaker, for the day. Iona have three properties: the Iona farm itself, Brocha, and Langrug – all are quite different. Langrug is the first to be harvested and is now finished; Brocha is part harvested; and harvest has yet to begin at Iona.

Brocha vineyard

We began by visiting Brocha, where some Syrah was being harvested today. This is a rocky, stony site with interesting soils. Syrah is grown here alongside Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and also a bit of Semillon.

Syrah arrives

The Syrah arrived in the winery and Werner decided he was going to ferment this with whole bunches in small plastic bins. The grapes were tipped into each bin by forklift, and Werner stomped them around a bit to release some juice, to get the fermentation going quicker. He also added a bucket of fermenting Sauvignon to each, again with a view to getting things going quickly. The bins were then sealed up with plastic wrap around the lids, and they’ll be inspected at regular intervals to check their progress.

We had a look at the Kloof block on the Iona vineyard, which produces the first of the home estate Pinots to be harvested. The soils here are really distinctive.

aloof block, Iona

Then some Riesling turned up. This was to be pressed whole bunch. So we pulled the press out into the open, and got it ready. The draining tray on the press was connected to a pump, which was connected to the receiving tank, which had been flushed with inert gas. The press was filled by tipping in the grapes, and then it was started.

Riesling

The juice that comes out is quite brown in colour, especially at first. This is because of phenolics in the grape skins and flesh oxidising and turning brown, and it’s quite normal. During fermentation this all cleans up. As the juice filled up the press tray it was pumped into the tank. The only addition was to be a bit of sulfur dioxide and some white tannin. No settling enzymes were used.

Tasting Langrug Pinot 2017

Finally, we took a trip out to see two another vineyard: Langrug. This is a really interesting 14 hectare vineyard planted on distinctive koffieklip soils. There’s Pinot here, plus some Sauvignon, and two hectares of newly planted Nebbiolo, which will be very interesting. Langrug is an interesting spot, and the 2017 Pinots, which have now finished fermentation, taste lovely.

Young Nebbiolo, Langrug

Here’s a film of the day:

 

from jamie goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/uncategorized/elgin-vintage-experience-1-iona

For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

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In Elgin, South Africa, day 1

I’m currently in South Africa’s Elgin Valley, which I visited last October for the Chardonnay Symposium. I’m here to experience vintage with four different producers: Iona, Almenkerk, Paul Cluver and Elgin Ridge. I’ll be working as a cellar rat, and documenting the experience in pictures and film. I’m really looking forward to it.

I’ve had a day to prepare. On Saturday night we went to the amphitheatre at Paul Cluver to see Watershed, a local acoustic/rock band play. Cluver host a series of concerts (hope@paulcluver) to raise money for local charity the Thembalitsha Foundation. It was a lovely setting and the band were pretty tight – the sell-out crowd really got into it.

Andries Burger, winemaker, Paul Cluver

Paul Cluver

Sophie and Julien Schaal, who make wine in Alsace and Elgin

Then yesterday we popped into Almenkerk for a tasting, and then headed over to lunch with the four wineries to discuss plans for the week. This finished around 6 pm, and I went back with Brian and Marion of Elgin Ridge to listen to Brian’s fabulous vinyl collection at a decent volume. This morning I’m off to Iona to begin work.

The view from Almenkerk

Impressive new releases from Iona: the 2016 Chardonnay and super-elegant 2015 Pinot Noir

Paul Cluver Seven Flags Pinot Noir, made with Martin Prier, shows real elegance – this is the latest 2015 release

Almenkerk’s tight, sophisticated Chardonnay

from jamie goode’s wine blog http://www.wineanorak.com:/wineblog/south-africa/in-elgin-south-africa-day-1

For Fine Wine Investment opportunities check out Twelve by Seventy Five: http://www.twelve-by-seventy-five.com/

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