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I’ve got a lot of time for South Africa. We spent our honeymoon there and visited more wineries than my new husband could reasonably enjoy. However, the scenery was so beautiful that sitting around waiting for me was still a joy. I know that it’s easy to focus on the apartheid and even now the “equality” is so very, very badly below what we are lucky enough to expect here. I read a great analogy this week, describing putting the South African wine industry right as being like dismantling and rebuilding a car while it’s moving in heavy traffic, with a head wind.
However, despite the amount of work needed to get the country and its wine industry working smoothly, and fairly, the wines are really very good indeed. We’ve know since the early 80s that South Africa is a good place for cheap wine, but it now can be an excellent place for £6-£9 wine, and compares well with Australia and Chile and, in some cases, even France.
Our favourite wine was Newton Johnson 2004, which is £8.49 from Morrisons. This wine comes from Hermanus, which is one of the top quality areas, being on the coast and co cooled by sea breezes. It had a fat, ripe smell, like lightly toasted and buttered bread. The taste was oaky, but not aggressively so. Alex found some lime cordial, but Rhonwen said it was nearer to grapefruit, without being bitter.
Joubert-Tradauw, Barrel Fermented 2005, which is £7.99 from Oddbins smelt attractively of jasmine or lily of the valley – a really appealing smell. The taste was full and fruity, but for me the alcohol and oak were a little heavy.
Klein Constantia 2005 is £8.49 from Majestic, but reduced to £6.79 until 30th April, which just gives you time. The smell was atypical, with a hint of something like Vaseline, but also pineapple and oak. The taste was savoury and clean.
Douglas Green 2006, which is only £4.99 from Waitrose, is a very good buy. The smell was initially quite plainly of pineapple, but this became perfumed as it warmed up. The taste wasn’t fantastically complex, but is very good for the price.
Marks & Spencer’s Rockridge is £5.49. It smelt of pineapple and tasted savoury, with some texture. Neil Ellis, from Tesco, smelt creamy and had a savoury, oaky taste, which wasn’t bad, but not worth £8.99. The Co-op’s French Oak Cape Chardonnay 2006 was the cheapest at £4.49. It was simple and the oak was overdone. Thandi, which is a Fairtrade wine, is £6.99 from Tesco and unfortunately smelt cheaply of sherbet. It was astringent and the alcohol seemed warm because it had nothing to counterbalance it.
Sainsbury’s own had a dreadful taste and made us frown and shudder. Bellingham Founder’s Chardonnay smelt of pina colada but was cloyingly woody with a burning finish.
If you can find yourself a cheap flight, South Africa is a great place to visit with very reasonably priced accommodation, if you book direct, online. The food is stunningly good, cheap, fresh and interestingly prepared. The scenery is beautiful and the wineries really worth visiting.