Colombard

Naude Family Wines Working in Harmony with the Superb Koekenaap West Coast Terroir – Tasting the New Release Langpad Old Vine Colombard 2022…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

Tasting with master winemaker Ian Naude can be quite a testing affair. If you are lucky enough to be invited into his inner sanctum of wine production to behold his new “babies” pre-release, he certainly keeps you on your toes. When tasting from tank or barrel, Ian appears to almost seek one’s confirmation or approval that he has not messed up the new vintage, when in actual fact, you’re normally in such awe of what you are tasting that his initial panic seems nearly incomprehensible. Ian has certainly never bottled any wine with his own name on the label that he does not think is worth its salt and this new 2022 Old Vine Langpad Colombard is no different.

Post Covid pandemic, I made my first return visit to the Cape just over two years to the day after my last visit when the travel ban to South Africa was lifted, and it was during this visit in March 2022 that I sampled the Langpad 2022 from stainless steel tank shortly after it had finished fermentation. We even filled a small PET bottle and took it home to retaste around a braai. Textural, rich, fresh, dry and utterly delicious… the new release date could not come quick enough.

The 2022 vintage was a cooler season with moderate weather conditions during harvest time that slowed down ripening and gave the vines the opportunity to develop extra flavours and colour. For Naude Family Wines, harvest was delayed by up to 10 to 14 days and the crop was around 5% lower than the 2021 vintage, but still larger than the five-year average. The old vine Colombard was harvested with good flavour and sugar ripeness, slightly lower acids but higher pH levels giving the 2022 Langpad an almost sweet-sour flavour intensity on the palate. As usual, all the requisite rugged West Coast maritime salinity and briney characteristics are present making for a true terroir expression once again.

Naude Family Wines Langpad Old Vine Colombard 2022, WO Western Cape, 11% Abv.

1.2 g/l RS | 6.6 g/l TA | 3.58 pH

I remember tasting this wine after fermentation in March 2022 and thinking that this wine was, yet again, something very special. Despite being an exceptional and intuitive winemaker, Ian Naude has continued to learn, building his old vine Colombard knowledge vintage to vintage, and in this exceptional third vintage, he has captured something very close to the true essence of this barren old vine Koekenaap West Coast vineyard that I finally visited in October 2022. For a young Colombard vintage, the 2022 seems more serious, more mineral and stonier, with less of the crème soda and green rock candy notes that initially tend to dominate the aromatics before blowing off to reveal the true coastal maritime salinity. There is a pronounced wet grey slate and petrichor note over hints of peach stone, lime blossom, rock salt and crunchy green pear. The palate is every bit as pleasing when I tasted the freshly fermented wine out of tank, with a rich, dense, glycerol mouthfeel packed full of salty white peaches, green apple, sour pear drops and a wet river pebble minerality. The lees ageing in tank has added a fabulous extra textural dimension and depth that plays synergistically to this grape variety’s true characteristics. Simply delicious. Drink this on release and over the next 10 to 12+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Naudé Family Wines are imported exclusively into the UK by South African specialist merchant Museum Wines and the retail price is circa £32pb for the 2022 vintage. http://www.museumwines.co.uk

The Old Vine Colombard Movement Gathers Pace – Tasting the Exciting Maiden Release of Sakkie Mouton’s Old Vine Vloedvlak Colombard 2022…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Sakkie Mouton is undoubtedly one of the Cape wine industries bright young talents. But he has come a long way in a very short period of time since the first solo release of his Revenge of the Crayfish Chenin Blanc 2018, which has since been joined by his delicious Full On Misfit White Blend, the Sand Erf Vermentino and now his newest addition, the Vloedvlak Colombard. Despite this growing selection of wines, soon to be joined by an accomplished red Syrah, Sakkie’s wines remain impossibly difficult to track down and buy, seemingly selling out before they are even released! But considering the excitement surrounding his winemaking style and wine quality, the scarcity is hardly unexpected.

The new Vloedvlak 2022 is a 100% Colombard white wine made from Old Vine vineyards planted in 1978 by Mr Karel Voigt’s father on the farm Dwarsdeur located 35 kilometres from the cold Atlantic Ocean, just outside the small town of Vredendal on the West Coast of South Africa. The name Vloedvlak is Afrikaans for Flood Level, being a tribute to the old irrigation methods still in use today where whole vineyards are flooded until they reach their ‘Vloedvlak.’

Grapes were picked early in the morning to preserve freshness, then cooled down before being crushed early the following day. Grapes were destemmed and crushed into an old basket press without the addition of any enzymes, then left overnight to settle in a stainless steel tank, before being racked to another stainless steel tank for natural fermentation to commence. Fermentation started after two days and lasted for about one month with the temperature at fermentation kept at 14⁰C to preserve fruit and purity.

Flood irrigation in the vineyards.
Old Vine Colombard planted in 1978.

After fermentation, the wine was racked into 500 litre barrels for ageing on its gross lees. Aging in barrel lasted four months with regular stirring of the lees. The wine was finally bottled unfined and unfiltered with a small addition of sulphur. This new release carries a Wine of Origin Olifantsriver designation being sourced from Old Vine vineyards planted on sandy silty soils next to the banks of the Olifantsriver. Cold nights and warm days along with the traditionally cooler silty soils gave the grapes a longer natural ripening period.

Sakkie Mouton Family Wines Vloedvlak Old Vine Colombar 2022, WO Olifantsriver, 11.68% Abv.

This new addition to the ranks of the Old Vine Colombard movement is another striking example of what is possible with this once ‘work horse’ variety. Super young and packed full of primary aromatics, this wine will evolve and unfurl its full complex offering over the coming years. In its vibrant youth the nose resonates with embryonic notes of dusty perfumed talc, lime peel, crunchy white peaches, pear drop, honeydew melon rock candy, West Coast maritime sea breeze, Nori seaweed and subtle hints of dried green herbs and fynbos. The palate is tantalisingly taut and linear with a concertina’d concentration of sour yellow plum, savoury brine, white peach, tangy yellow apple and layer upon layer of salty, tangy acidity. Razor sharp and brilliantly crisp now, this wine will start to round out and put on additional leesy glycerol mid-palate weight with another 3 to 6 months in bottle. While there are already a few stunning examples of Old Vine Colombard on the market now, Sakkie Mouton once again succeeds in expressing his own unique winemaking genius with a wine that boasts a classic West Coast terroir character. Snap this rarity up on release but pop a few bottles in your cellar for at least two to three years before revisiting.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Recommended Retail Price expected to be circa £27 to £29 per bottle inc.

Revisiting a Ground-breaking Cape White Wine – Tasting the Naude Family Wines Langpad 2021 Old Vine Colombard…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The sun may be shining here in London but there is most certainly a crisp Autumnal note in the air as another phenomenally warm and sunny summer across Europe starts to fade into a mere memory. And what a summer it was! But Autumn for me is always a time of reflection and when it comes to fine wine, there were certainly a few splendid examples that have helped define the past year. One of these important wines was undoubtedly the second release of the Langpad Colombard from Old Vine maestro Ian Naude.

Almost everything Ian does seems to be ground-breaking, whether it was championing Old Vine Cinsault, helping with the Cape revival of Old Vine Semillon or redefining elegance and finesse in Provencal-style Grenache. So many producers follow in Ian’s footsteps that it sometimes becomes hard to even remember where all the excitement started. With Ian Naude’s Old Vine Langpad Colombard 2020, South Africa witnessed the birth of the first boutique production Old Vine Certified heritage wine from this traditional ‘work horse’ variety. Which is probably a good time to remind readers that South Africa also had another under appreciated work horse variety a few years ago – Chenin Blanc – which is now regarded as one of South Africa’s Grand Cru white offerings.

As I look ahead to visiting the Cape again in October 2022, I can confidently look back at my recent visit there in March when I met up with Ian Naude and tasted his new 2022 Langpad Colombard from tank before bottling. Another riveting example that is sure to continue in the footsteps of the maiden 2020 and the phenomenal 2021, which was awarded 5 Stars in the Platter’s South African Wine Guide and also, more importantly, Platter’s Wine of the Year.

I tasted and reviewed the 2021 almost a year ago, and after hearing that it was now sold out in South Africa, with the last remaining stocks heading to the thirsty UK market, it seemed the perfect time to retaste this benchmark white wine again and sing its praises for any wine collectors and connoisseurs that have not discovered its joys yet.

Naude Family Wines Old Vines Langpad Colombard 2021, WO Western Cape, 12% Abv.

1.3 g/l RS | 6.1 g/l TA | 3.3 pH

This second vintage of Naude’s Old Vine Colombard is certainly something very special. The aromatics are lifted and expressive with rich intense notes of green apple pastille, white peaches, green pear, dried herbs, sea breeze and a seductive rich seam of crushed stone minerality. On the palate there is even more concentration and mouth coating flavour intensity than maiden 2020 with enchanting layers of crunchy white peach, seductive hints of ripe guava, pear, green mango and an underlying basaltic stony minerality that combines with a pronounced maritime rock salt character and a tangy, bright acid freshness. After over a year in bottle, the wine has shed the subtle rock candy and cream soda puppy fat hints and swopped these for additional layers of salinity, minerality and mouth-watering fruit purity. Often regaled as reminding drinkers of premium Assyrtiko from Santorini, with time in bottle the similarities simply become more and more pronounced. But whatever comparisons are made, this wine never loses its crystalline Cape West Coast maritime terroir nuances that help make it so distinct and so utterly delicious. Enjoy its complexity now or fill your cellar for drinking over the next 3 to 5+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Last allocations of this wine are available in the UK and EU from Museum Wines for £29.99pb.

https://www.museumwines.co.uk/product/naude-wines-langpad-colombard-vredendal-south-africa-2021/

Sakkie Mouton Releases His Second Vintage of the Full On Misfit White Blend 2021…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

What a whirlwind couple of years it has been for young talent Sakkie Mouton. With his maiden single barrel of Revenge of the Crayfish 2018 sold out practically before it was even released, all eyes turned to his follow up 2019 Chenin Blanc that just about managed to hit several export markets before the pandemic lockdowns descended. However, 2020 saw not only Sakkie’s third release of his Revenge of the Crayfish Chenin Blanc but also the new Full On Misfit Blanc, which, in 2020 was based mostly around a solid chunk of 56% Chenel (the Chenin Blanc x Ugni Blanc cross) and a 24% component of Colombard.

I would say that the two lost years of the pandemic have resulted in Sakkie’s wines becoming even more sought after as he has taken this opportunity to focus on fine tuning his winemaking style while experimenting with new varieties such as Colombard and Vermentino. In reality, Sakkie’s wines are almost impossible to get your hands on at the best of times, pandemic or no pandemic! So on my first trip back to South Africa’s winelands since February 2020, I caught up with Sakkie up the West Coast over lunch at Wolfgat Restaurant, recently voted the best restaurant in the world, to try some of his exciting new releases.

Lunch with Sakkie Mouton at Wolfgat Restaurant in Paternoster.

The Full On Misfit Blanc 2021 is a white blend of four different areas around the North Western Coast of the Western Cape. Each of these areas are located in close proximity to the cold Atlantic Ocean and the vineyards are a mix of old vines around the West Coast starting in Vredendal, Lutzville and Koekenaap. This year the Full On Misfit is made up of 55% Colombard, 21% Chenin Blanc, 19% Palomino and 5 % Chenel. All of the grapes were picked early in the morning to preserve freshness and then foot stomped in an old basket press without the addition of any additives except for a small amount of sulphur. The grapes were naturally fermented and left to age on their gross lees for eight months prior to being bottled unfiltered and unfined. The maturation took place in a blend of 228 litre and 500 litre 4th fill and older casks.

Sakkie Mouton Family Wines Full On Misfit Blanc 2021, WO Western Cape, 12% Abv.

1.9 RS | 7.6 TA | 3.24 pH

The 2021 Full On Misfit is an incredibly well assembled wine baring all the hallmarks that have made Sakkie Mouton’s previous releases so collectable. The aromatics scream West Coast terroir with layers of salinity, sea breeze and dried kelp over more linear expressions of white peach, freshly squeezed guava, pear puree and honeydew melon nuances. The ever-present crushed granite minerality adds extra complexity and character but also ensures that the wine never becomes too overtly fruity but rather errs on the side of a leaner classical textural restraint. The palate on this young wine shows fabulous crystalline purity and freshness with yet more waves of crunchy peach fruits, maritime salinity and delicate savoury notes of Japanese nori. The finish is taut, pithy and electric with a fine glycerol mid-palate balance and attractive hints of dried orange peel, lime cordial and brine. Another delicious addition to Sakkie’s line up, but more importantly, this is a wine that signals his growing confidence and expertise expressed with a certain ‘West Coast swagger’. Drink now and over the next 5 to 8+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Naude Family Wines Releases the Follow-up Vintage of the Ground-Breaking Langpad Old Vine Colombard 2021…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes, consumer trends are set by the new kids on the block… like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. But when you learn that varieties like Colombard have been planted in the Cape since the early 1700’s, you realise that maybe we should all be taking another look at the potential of some of these latter-day unsung hero varieties. This is exactly what Ian Naude has been doing with a wonderful old vine Colombard vineyard planted in the Vredendal area in 1983.

Grown on soils that are almost 100% sand where flood irrigation is still the order of the day, the grapes were picked into small crates and then whole bunch pressed before undergoing natural fermentation after around three days maceration. Thereafter, the wine was kept on its fine lees for as long as possible to develop extra aromatic and textural complexity before being bottled as naturally as possible.

Picking up the reins of an established variety is one thing, but doing so with a complete outsider grape that has hardly ever been considered good enough for anything other than brandy distillation is another. Yet again, the maverick old vine innovator Ian Naude has struck a rich seam of vinous gold with his mouth-watering Langpad Colomard.

Naude Family Wines Old Vines Langpad Colombard 2021, WO Western Cape, 12% Abv.

1.3 g/l RS | 6.1 g/l TA | 3.3 pH

This second vintage of Naude’s old vine Colombard is something very special. Whether it’s all down to vintage quality or Ian’s swift mastering of this new grape in his repertoire I don’t know. The aromatics are positively explosive with rich intense notes of green apple pastille, crunchy white peaches, pear puree, dried herbs, wet hay and a seductive rich seam of cream soda. On the palate, there seems to be even more concentration and flavour intensity than the impressive maiden 2020 with these happy old vines spinning their spellbinding magic and delivering a wine with layer upon layer of enchanting peachy fruit, seductive hints of ripe guava, pear, quince and an underlying basaltic stony minerality that combines with a pronounced maritime salinity and a bright tart freshness. It is perhaps the almost volcanic feel to the minerality that makes many fans suggest that this wine reminds them of an old vine Assyrtiko wine from the Greek island of Santorini. Cool, crystalline and intense, this pristine white leaves little to the imagination and smothers the senses in pure, crystalline West Coast pleasure. Drink now on release or age for 5 to 8+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wines available in the UK from Museum Wines, Handford Wines and Vino SA.

Wine Safari New Release Notes – Tasting the Ground Breaking Naude Old Vine Series Colombard 2020…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

Always at the cutting edge of winemaking and experimentation, whether it’s perfecting the Cape white blend or the use of old vines, if Ian Naude puts his mind and efforts into a new project, rest assured the results will be spectacular.

Previously inspired by not only the renaissance of Cinsault in South Africa but also more latterly, the reinvention of Cape Heritage Blends using Cinsault and Cabernet Sauvignon, Ian has now turned his expertise back to white wine and old vines. His newest creation is the first premium old vine certified Colombard white wine to be bottled in South Africa from a majestically beautiful old vineyard hidden away up the Cape West Coast near Vredendal.

Old Vine Colombard planted in 1985

Made from vines planted in 1985, this old vine bottling of Colombard represents the beginning of new era for South African white wines where previously less lauded varieties are highlighted for their excellent potential.

Tasting the old vine Colombard from tank with Ian Naude earlier in the year pre-lockdown.

So if you are a fan of more alternative varieties like Semillon, Verdelho, Grenache Blanc, Assyrtiko and Albariño… this new old vine release from Naude Family Wines is going to bowl you over. (But act quickly as quantities produced are tiny.)

Langpad 2020 (long road) – The very first “old vine certified” Colombard produced in South Africa.

Naude Family Wines Old Vines Langpad Colombard 2020, WO Western Cape, 12.5 Abv.

This fabulous white has all the seduction and appeal you could possibly want from an old vine expression showing amplified aromatics of crunchy white peaches, green apple pastille, cream soda nuances, grated limes, crushed tangerine peels and a dusty, granitic liquid minerality. On the palate, Ian Naude has managed to coax out the most regal of the old vine Colombard characteristics, revealing an impressively linear, taut mid-palate texture, crisp crystalline green fruit notes and a clarity as pure as freshly driven snow. With just enough glycerol weight and acid effervescence, this wine will not only make the perfect stand alone aperitif white but will also be a champion food matching partner with its pronounced pithy, piquant, subtly bitter lemon finish and its classic Cape West Coast bite of sea salt on the long, briney, granadilla and guava tinged finish. This wine is the taste of excitement, long hot balmy carefree summers that you don’t want to end and chilled fresh Bellini cocktails on a Cape West Coast beach. A truly evocative wine. Drink from release or cellar comfortably for 3 to 8+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Another Excellent White from Reenen Borman ~ Tasting the Patatsblanc 2016…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

The Patatsfontein Old Vine Chenin Blanc made by Reenen Borman has taken the South African market by storm and is now super collectable, being tightly allocated due to its high quality and small production. I first encountered the 2014 vintage while out on the town in Stellenbosch with Silvervis / Terracura winemaker Ryan Mostert and partner Samantha Suddons. I subsequently managed to secure a tiny 2015 allocation. Boy, what a wine! 


But not everyone knows about the “second wine” Patatsblanc, a superb, well priced Colomard white with around 10% of Chenin Blanc in the blend. I really loved the 2015, which I reviewed on this blog, but the 2016 represents yet another step up in quality.


Patatsblanc N Versnit Wit 2016, Montegu, Western Cape

Taught, dusty aromatics lift out the glass, suggesting impressive depth and intensity. Like the 2015, this is a ultra mineral, super focused, terroir orientated expression. The 2016 feels slightly denser, riper and more expressive than the excellent 2015 expression. This well balanced, intense white is cool and dusty, showing sweet lemon & herbs, yellow grapefruit, powdered gravel minerality, talc and dried cut grass. This wine is just that little bit more fleshy, concentrated and self assured than the 2015. Definitely a wine for people with a sophisticated, old world inclined palate. Worth searching out and buying if you love dry, mineral, slightly reductive whites made in a Chablis’esque style. 

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)