south
african wine, part 8
Charles
Back and Fairview
I reckon Charles Back (above) is one of the
heroes of South African wine. With his Fairview, Goats du Roam,
Spice Route and latterly Charles Back wines he’s managed to make
popular, flavour-full wines that have a strong brand identity, are
made in reasonable quantities, and which don’t sacrifice quality.
Charles
was raised on the Fairview farm, which his family had bought in the
late 1930s. He was trained in oenology and vitictulture at Elsenburg
Agricultural College in Stellenbosch, and then he returned to
Fairview in 1978. It was in 1981 that he built the trademark
goat’s tower (right) that has become Fairview’s symbol,
and which in time was to lead to the wonderful Goats du Roam name.
One
of the keys to Fairview’s vision was to break free of the
predominant estate model for quality South African wines. By owning
vineyards in Stellenbosch, Darling and the Swartland Charles has
access to a wide range of climates and soils from which to forge his
wines. He’s also made a shift away from the typical South African
focus on Bordeaux red varieties towards those of the South of
France, which he thinks are better suited to the Cape’s various
terroirs.
Fairview’s
Paarl property has a sizeable 125 hectares of vines. In the warmer,
drier Swartland area he has another 125 hectares (the farm is called
Klein Amoskuil), planted with varieties such as Shiraz, Mourvèdre,
Carignan, Grenache and Viogner. Much of this is used to make the
Spice Route wines, although some of their grapes find their way to
Fairview.
The
'view' in Fairview
Spice
Route is an interesting project. Initially conceived as a
partnership between Back, along with Gyles Webb (Thelema), John
Platter (wine writer) and Jabulani Ntshangase, it is now fully owned
by Back. The first winemaker, from 1998–2001 was Eben Sadie (who
we’ll meet later in this series). Current winemaker is Charl du
Pessis.
Back
also has 40 hectares in the cool-climate Darling hills, focusing on
white varieties. Finally, there are another 50 hectares in the
low-lying foothills of the Helderberg Mountain in Stellenbosch,
mainly planted to Bordeaux-style red varieties. In addition to these
vineyards, Back also buys some grapes in from here and there.
The
team at Fairview: Anthony Jaeger (winemaker) is left, with Charl du
Plessis (winemaker
at Spice Route third from left, talking to Charles.
I don’t know whether it was for the cameras, but
despite his evident success, Charles Back seemed quite negative
about the way wine was going, with the increased dominance of cheap,
big, mediocre brands in the marketplace.
He says that in the UK he’s decided to pull his
Fairview wines from the supermarkets, reposition them with Liberty
and aiming them at the on-trade. He’s taken Goats du Roam out of
this package and he’ll be handling these himself. The current
biggest customer is Majestic; he may target the chain restaurants.
Spice Route Sauvignon Blanc 2005 Darling
2nd year vines. Very full, grassy nose – full, vivid and with
green pepper notes, and a hint of tinned pea. Quite rich herb-tinged
fruit on the palate which is pure and full with a grassy edge. A
nice modern style. Very good 82/100
Fairview Viognier 2005 Paarl
Some tank-fermented, some in barrels. Lovely nose of ripe
tropical peachy fruit with a nice melony character, together with a
hint of vanilla. The palate is quite full with lovely plump fruit
but it’s not over the top. Peachy and full with some citrussy
freshness on the finish. Very good+ 89/100
Fairview Rosé 2005 Paarl
Half Syrah from saignee (vat bleeding), half Gamay that was
dedicated to rosé production and picked greener. Full with a touch
of freshness to the fruit. Nice weight. Dry with a bit of grip and
quite food friendly. Very good+ 86/100
Spice Route Mourvèdre 2004 Malmesbury
From unirrigated vines in Swartland. Spice Route’s 18 ha Mourvèdre
vineyard is the largest planting of this useful grape in South
Africa. Lovely vivid intense nose which is spicy, with dense jammy
raspberry and blackberry fruit. The palate is generous, open and
fruity with an interesting spicy character. Accessible stuff with
lovely fruit. Very good+ 86/100
Charles Back Cool Climate Shiraz 2004
From a new cool-climate site, this is seriously good. Lovely
nose of beautifully pure black fruits – sweet, pure and spicy. The
palate shows wonderfully defined black fruits with good structure
and acidity. Very good/excellent 92/100
Fairview Solitude Shiraz 2003 Paarl
Fine, expressive nose with warm, spicy, perfumed dark fruits.
Complex and savoury. The palate is ripe and generous with supple red
and black fruits, great concentration, and sweet fruit. Spicy, fine
tannic structure. A really impressive wine that bears its weight and
ripeness without every going over the top. Very good/excellent
93/100
Spice Route Petite Syrah 2005 (cask sample)
Vivid bright fruit. The liqueur-like palate has lovely purity of
dark fruits. Savoury, grainy, smooth tannins and a lovely smoky
finish. Lovely. 89–91/100
Spice Route Malabar 2002
This is the top wine, and the blend changes with each vintage.
This year it is Merlot, Syrah and Grenache. Sweet, pure, elegant
ripe fruits on the nose. The palate is concentrated and sper-smooth
with pure liqueur-like fruit. A big, accessible style with lots of
weight: not for wimps. Very good/excellent 91/100
Fairview La Beryl Rouge 2004
This is made from Syrah grapes which have been dried on racks
for a few weeks. The normal yield of wine from a ton of grapes is
about 700 litres, but here it was 125 litres. Perfumed nose is quite
delicate with sweet fruit. The palate is sweet and full with lovely
spicy, chocolatey rich fruit, nice tannins and good acidity. Unusual
and delicious. Excellent 95/100
Wines tasted 12/05
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