Nederburg - Surprises from South Africa

I was lucky enough recently to attend a tasting of five of Nederburg's premium export labels. Hosted by Celler Master Razvan Macici and Asia Pacific marketing manager, Anabelle Poggenpoel - we tasted two Sauvignon Blancs two Shiraz, and a Noble Riesling dessert style.

Akin to sending coals to Newcastle, drinking S African Sauv Blanc in NZ does seem a bit odd. However, these were wines grown in cool climate, high altitude conditions. If I was drinking them blind, I could easily mistake them for NZ wines. The Winemaker's Reserve 2008 and Manor House 2007 Sauvignons both exhibited crisp mineral and gooseberry flavours with a lime/lemon citrus tang. More approachable than an over the top 'dissolve your fillings' Marlborough Savvie - and more akin to the Hawkes Bay versions.

The two reds were outstanding - hot climate Shiraz but without the blockbuster alcohol and tannin found in South Australia. The Winemaker's Reserve 2007 Paarl Shiraz was plummy, spicy and softly ripe. The Manor House 2007 had just a bit more class with 18 months oak ageing adding even more softness. Interestingly, neither had the pronounced black pepper character of the Aussie Shiraz.

Finally, the Noble Late Harvest Riesling was another knockout - intense flavous of toffee, honey and apricot with a lively acid balance.


The food (Kermadec - top seafood restaurant) to match was pretty fab, although Chef liked serving 'culinary foam' with everything a la Ferran Adrià of El Bulli. It did look rather chewed and spat out rather than carefully prepared in a fine dining kitchen.

After dinner story: Another interesting thing that I learned from Razvan (an ex-Rumanian) was that previous Rumanian dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu insisted on having an office built the size of a football field in his mansion. The carpet was hand-woven in one piece, by hundreds of workers on an enormous loom and had to be lowered into the building before the roof was added, as it was too heavy to be moved once the structure was finished.

For info on my New Zealand Wine Tours - see here.

Cheers!!!


Phil