Newton Johnson
Visiting one of South Africa's most interesting wine regions, Hemel-en-Aarde

One of the stars of Hemel-en-Aarde is
Newton Johnson. They've come a long way in a relatively short period
of time, and are now making some of the best wines to come from this
region, with a massive leap in quality over the last few vintages. I
visited recently for the third time.
This is a family business. Dave
Johnson set things going, and he's now assisted by the next
generation, sons Bevan (managing director and in charge of
marketing) and Gordy (who makes the wines along with his wife
Nadine). The Newton Johnson family cashflow is helped by the fact
that they own 10% of large brand First Cape.

Gordy and Bevan
Newton Johnson
They moved to Hemel en Aarde and began
making wines here in 1997, and now have 18 hectares of vines in
Hemel-en-Aarde spread over two sites. The main farm is 40 hectares
with 14 hectares of vineyards, and the second is 104 hectares, with
4 hectares of vines at the moment but the possibility to expand to
20. The rest of the property is mountainous.
Bevan Newton Johnson told me of his epiphany moment that
led him to wine: it was the 1978 Cheval Blanc at his father's table.
That's not a bad way to catch the wine bug.
Newton Johnson's own vineyards account
for 30% of their needs, with the rest a combination of bought-in
fruit and fruit they've grown themselves, but elsewhere. Production
is now 12 000 cases, and they have a nice new 250 ton capacity
cellar that is set up for gravity flow.

They have two farms in the Hemel-en-Aarde,
one facing south, one north. The south-facing one grows Pinot Noir
and Chardonnay. The 2012 vintage was the first time they've included
fruit from the north-facing farm in the Chardonnay. This vintage was
also the first where they released their single vineyard Pinot
Noirs.
And here, soils seem to trump clones. 'We
don't see a lot of correlation between the clones and the sites,'
says Gordy Newton Johnson. 'The soils definitely speak louder than
the clones for us.' '777 from the winery is a completely different
wine from 777 from Mrs M vineyard,' agrees Nadia Newton Johnson.
'They are 200 metres apart, so climate will be the same, and we
handle them differently.'
'Burgundy is 70% planted with 777,' says
Gordy. 'It colours up well and you can harvest early. We are quite a
warm climate for Pinot Noir. You have to be careful when you put 777
in: it can turn into a big beast of a wine. H3 is pretty much
rejected by Burgundians, but put it in a warmer climate and it does
well.'

Since 2007 all fermentations here have
been spontaneous. I asked them about future plans, with
other varieties. Grenache came up. 'Hopefully South Africa will do
better things with Grenache,' says Bevan. 'We now have better
material coming into the country. We are a country just made for
Grenache, but we have had pretty shoddy material for some time now.'
They are working with Syrah, but believe
that while Pinot needs perfect balance in the soil, Syrah needs to
struggle. They've identified sites where Syrah will likely do well,
and their first attempts to make serious Syrah are quite stunning.
This Rhone blend is a new wine, using fruit from the estate. The
Syrah vines are grown on stakes in a site that was completely
inhospitable to Pinot with very stony soils. There's also 10% of
bush vine Mourvedre in the blend.

On my most recent visit, in March 2017,
there's some new stuff: a stylish Albariño, and a stunning Cape Winemakers Guild Pinot Noir.
THE WINES
Newton Johnson Resonance 2016 Walker Bay, South Africa
70% Sauvignon,
30% Semillon. Fruity and linear with lovely citrus and grapefruit
character. Linear, fruity and delicious with nice precision. 90/100
(03/17)
Newton Johnson Albariño 2016 Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley, South Africa
Deliciously focused with peach and pear fruit. Lively and delicious
with a nice rounded melon and tangerine richness to the linear
palate. This is really successful with nice fruit personality and a
core of good acidity. 91/100
(03/17)
Newton Johnson Southend Chardonnay 2016 Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley,
South Africa Has a stainless steel proportion (40-50%), and it's
from a north-facing site. Fine and expressive with lovely tangerine
and lemon notes. Precise and detailed with fresh citrus as well as
some pear and white peach on the mid-palate. Shows freshness but
also richness, and it's nicely balanced and restrained. Pure and
delicate, with a lovely citrus and meal finish. 94/100
(03/17)
Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Chardonnay 2015 Upper Hemel en Aarde
Valley, South Africa Fine, expressive, toasty nose with spicy
citrus fruits. Very fine and expressive. The palate is linear and
pure with lovely spicy complexity here. Has richness and power, with
good acidity. A really dense, bold wine from a warm year that has
lots of spicy detail. 94/100
(03/17)
Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Chardonnay 2016 Upper Hemel en Aarde
Valley, South Africa Fine, fresh and lively with some spicy
precision. Lovely detailed citrus fruit with some tangerine,
grapefruit and lemons. The fruit dominates, and it's a delightfully
focused wine with real intensity and precision. 95/100
(03/17)
Newton Johnson Mrs M Pinot Noir 2015 Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley, South
Africa Supple, fine, elegant red cherry fruit with some fine,
herby spiciness. Fresh and detailed with nice structure and grip
alongside vivid red fruits. Very pretty but with some seriousness,
too. 93/100
(03/17)
Newton Johnson Block 6 Pinot Noir 2015 Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley, South
Africa This is the Seadragon Block. Very sweetly aromatic with
ripe, supple sweet cherry and berry fruits. There's a richness here
with ripe berries and cherries and a nice spiciness. Juicy and
direct with a lovely plumminess and a bit of grip. Quite seductive
with fine herby notes and good acidity. 94/100
(03/17)
Newton Johnson Cape Winemakers Guild Seadragon Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015
Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley, South Africa This is a bunch
selection from Block 6 - they were both (this and the block 6) picked on the same
day. The healthiest, ripest bunches, from the middle of the block.
No sulfur was added before ferment. Very fine and expressive with
lovely pure elegant, sappy red cherry fruit. There's some fine spicy
structure, too, with lovely elegance and purity. Delicate, fine with
good concentration and purity. Pristine, with potential for future
development. 96/100
(03/17)
Newton Johnson Windandsea Pinot Noir 2015 Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley,
South Africa The highest of all the vineyards, right in front of
the winery, with rocky soils. Very floral and aromatic with a bit of
a lift. Sweet, spicy and vivid on the palate with ripe cherry and
berry fruits and a hint of meaty savouriness. Juicy, lively and
bright with a vivid spicy personality. 94/100
(03/17)
Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Pinot Noir 2015 Upper Hemel en Aarde
Valley, South Africa Mostly Windandsea (40-50%). Fruity and
expressive with lovely bright, focused cherry and raspberry fruit
with supple structure and lovely finesse. Spicy and a bit grippy
with a supple personality and fine spiciness. This combines sweet,
elegant fruit with refined structure and acidity. Lovely weight and
balance. Has a silkiness but also a bit of a spicy edge. 94/100 (03/17)
Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Granum 2014 Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley,
South Africa Mostly Syrah, with 22% Mourvedre, from stony soils
at the bottom of the farm. Stake-trained Syrah and bush vine
Mourvedre. Peppery and minty on the nose with some clove and pine
oil, too. Savoury, spicy, peppery and vivid with a medicinal, minty
edge. Strongly savoury and vivid with real grip. This is a complex,
resiny, savoury, spicy wine with real personality. 93/100
(03/17)
Older notes:
Newton Johnson Chardonnay 2012
Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
Lovely fine, fresh citrus nose with some matchstick and mineral
notes. The palate has ripe pear, apple and citrus fruit. Very fresh,
but with integrated, toasty complexity and richness. Very pure,
fresh and fine. 95/100 (03/13)
Newton Johnson Estate Pinot Noir 2008
Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
This is now known as the 'family vineyards' rather than
'estate'. Powerful nose is spicy with some beetroot, herbs and
cherries. Lively palate is fresh and supple with some rhubarb,
cherry and plum characters. Fresh, lively and very fruity; nicer on
the palate than the nose. 89/100 (03/13)
Newton Johnson Estate Pinot Noir 2009
Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
Pure and bright with lovely rich cherry and plum fruit, as well
as some spicy, herby notes. Full flavoured, fine and cherryish with
a silky texture. A big Pinot. 91/100 (03/13)
Newton Johnson Estate Pinot Noir 2010
Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
A warm year. Lovely aromatic nose of cherries and herbs. Supple,
elegant, spicy palate is fine and expressive. Layers of fruit
underpinned by savoury, mineral notes. So fine and expressive.
94/100 (03/13)
Newton Johnson Estate Pinot Noir 2011
Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africabr>
TThis won five stars in the Platter guide, and it's from a cooler
year. Very fine, expressive nose with a hint of pepper, some spice
and pure cherry fruit. The palate is lighter than the 2010 with real
elegance and a mineral savoury streak under the fruit. Linear and
precise with a bit of herb and pepper complexity. 95/100 (03/13)
In 2012, for the first time three single-vineyard wines were
released. Mrs M is from a midslope block below the winery, next to
Block 6, with well drained clay soils. Block 6 has a little more
clay and is entirely clone 113. Windansea is higher up the slope,
with shallow clay soils./span>
Newton Johnson Mrs M Pinot Noir 2012
Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
Sweet cherry fruit with some savoury spiciness. Supple and quite
elegant with good acidity. Real intensity to the rich fruit, with
depth. Sweet, supple fruit profile. 93/100 (03/13)
Newton Johnson Block 6 Pinot Noir 2012
Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
Expressive nose of cherries and plums. Supple perfume with some
green notes. Lovely precision and elegance on the palate which shows
tight savoury, mineral and herb notes as well as fine black
cherries. Grown up. 94/100 (03/13)
Newton Johnson Windansea Pinot Noir
2012 Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
Fresh, lively, full flavoured and intense. Sweet cherries.
Nicely rich and quite powerful with good tannins. It's big but
retains elegance, and is a wine for the long haul. 93/100 (03/13)
Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Pinot
Noir 2012 Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
Supple, bright, cherryish and lively with lovely purity and
structure, as well as some grippy tannins. Overall, though, this is
silky and fine with some mineral, spicy undercurrents, nice finesse
and some richness. 94/100 (03/13)
Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Rhône
Blend 2012 Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
This is a new wine, using fruit from the estate. The Syrah vines are
grown on stakes in a site that was completely inhospitable to Pinot
with very stony soils. There's also 10% of bush vine Mourvèdre in
the blend. Rich, sweet, intense and powerful with lovely peppery
black fruits, as well as some violet notes. Textured, rich yet fresh
with amazing intensity of fruit, kept fresh with pepper and spice
notes. One of the best young South African reds I have ever tried.
94-97/100 (03/13)
Newton Johnson Full Stop Rock 2009
Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa
91% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 3% Mourvedre. Fresh, supple cherries
and spice here with some pepper notes as well as plums and sweet
blackberry fruit. Supple, fresh and pure with a hint of chalkiness
in the background. 93/100 (03/13)
Wines tasted
03/17 and 03/13 as indicated
Older notes, from October 2010
Newton Johnson Resonance 2009
A Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend. Very fresh, bright and mineral
with citrus fruit and a bit of grapefruit. Stylish with lovely fruit
expression. 90/100
Newton Johnson Chardonnay 2000
Overberg, South Africa
Cheesy edge to the crisp, fresh, nutty citrus fruit. Some
minerality. Very stylish and fresh with lovely focus. This has
developed beautifully. Nutty, intense and fresh. 93/100
Newton Johnson Syrah Mourvedre 2007
Hemel en Aarde Valley, South Africa
Very attractive and fresh. A bit peppery with some mineral notes
under the sweet dark cherry fruit. Really quite delicious. 91/100
Newton Johnson Syrah Mourvedre 2003
Hemel en Aarde Valley, South Africa
Minerally, spicy earthy nose with some evolution. Deliciously
savoury with lovely freshness and some spicy, earthy maturity. A
beautifully mineral wine. 91/100
Newton Johnson Pinot Noir 2009 Upper
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, South Africa
Lovely sweet, fairly elegant nose of cherries and subtle herbs.
The palate is fresh with nice sweet cherry and berry fruit
complemented by some nice spiciness and a subtle earthy twist.
Stylish. 90/100
Newton Johnson Pinot Noir 2003
Overberg, South Africa
Very savoury. Quite evolved with a medicinal edge to the
savoury, spicy, earthy fruit. Distinctly savoury with a rustic edge.
No elegance. 84/100
Visiting Hemel-en-Aarde
Introduction
Bouchard
Finlayson
Newton
Johnson
Hamilton
Russell
Ataraxia
Restless
River
Creation
Wines
tasted as indicated
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