The Tea Leaf Bush Vine Brew

You know when something feels just right, you can't explain it, it just IS? Well, that's how Boutinot feel about Donovan Rall who they think is simply one of the biggest talents in South Africa! The towering talent of this itinerant winemaker impressed all last year with the Vuurberg blends, and the new vintages are something else. It was only a matter of time, then, before they hand-bagged him into working with them on a Boutinot South Africa project.

Donovan trained with Eben Sadie and Miles Mossop before doing his own thing, and the influence shows but these are very much his own take and finds. Crafted at Zorgvliet's garagiste studio winery, Donovan has put together a pure Chenin and Syrah, in fact his first ever straight varietal wines.

Chenin Blanc, Grenache Gris, Marsanne

From selected coastal vineyards of Chenin, Grenache Gris and Marsanne where the indigenous rooibos tea plant grows wild.

80% Chenin Blanc, 13% Grenache Gris, 7% Marsanne.

Grapes are harvested in the early hours and then a further selection is made by hand at the winery to select the best fruit. The wine is naturally fermented and aged a few months in older 600 litre French oak barrels. No fining and coarse filtered (above 1 micron).

A naturally fermented old bush vine brew, Tea Leaf hails from vineyards where the vines grow amongst South Africa's native rooibos (red tea) plants that grow wild alongside the vines.

Aromas of ripe citrus and peach with savoury, gently nutty notes. The palate combines firm, high-key fruit with a gentle, sandy texture true to the source vineyards' soil leading to a long, lightly honeyed finish. A deeply satisfying wine, taut and concentrated, from a blend of high quality bush vine fruit.

Works well with simply cooked fish dishes, scallops, salt & pepper squid or fishcakes, light seafood pasta, risotto, rich salads and sushi.

Nolan - Text from the Spotlight On The White Wines of South Africa blog.

From the more serious wine produced by Wildeberg, we move to something at the fun end of the spectrum. This is a wine made by a company called SKU, Strange Kompanjie. This is a motley crew of vignerons who have the following to say about themselves:

“SKU is a casual band of happy ferments. A circus tent of the Cape’s stranger grapes and blends.

We will champion the unfashionable, experiment with the known and express the found before it gets lost. Mistakes are likely, fun certain.”

SKU, whilst also farmers in their own right, buy in grapes from growers around the Western Cape which is a very common practice in the wineries of South Africa. The fruit for this so called “bush vine brew”, come from low yielding bush vines planted in Franschhoek, Piekenierskloof and Paarl. The fruit is all sourced from vines planted in previous rooibos, red bush tea, plantations. As the wind picks up, the natural oils from the these local fynbos are blown onto the grape vines. The grapes are of course soaked in the winery, but I like to imagine some of that rooibos oil remains to lend its aromatics in the final wine.

The blend of grapes in this odd bush vine brew would most likely get you sent to the guillotine in the regimented appellations of France. In here you have the South African staple varietal of Chenin Blanc making up 80% of the blend, Chenin of course being a native varietal of the central stretches of the Loire Valley. The remaining 20% of the blend is made up of two rarer Southern superstars, Grenache Gris and Marsanne. The Chenin Blanc brings acidity to the blend with lively citrus characters. Grenache Gris with its pinky/grey skins offers up a medley of apples, granny smith all the way to pink lady. Marsanne provides an oily texture with notes of honey and wild flowers.

So, the blend is about fun, but the end result is a seriously delicious bottle of plonk. Aromas of ripe citrus and peach with savoury, gentle nutty notes. The palate combines firm, high-key fruit with a gentle, sandy texture true to the source vineyards' soil leading to a long, lightly honeyed finish. A deeply satisfying wine, taut and concentrated, from a blend of high-quality bush vine fruit.

Drink with scallops, shawarma or sushi.