south
african wine, part 1
Ken
Forrester
I'm beginning this new series on South African wine
with a visit to one of the leading proponents of Chenin Blanc, Ken
Forrester. It's sort of appropriate: it's South Africa's most
widely planted grape, and along with Pinotage it's a point of
difference from other new world wine producing countries. I'll
discuss more about the South African wine industry in later parts
of this series, but I thought it would be good to get stuck
straight into the wines.
As you might expect of a restaurateur, Ken Forrester (pictured
above) has a relaxed, easy feel about him. We met early
evening at his property in Stellenbosch. He has a beautiful house
in the middle of vineyards. A winegrower’s lot can be a tough
one, but it has its perks, sometimes.
Forrester began making wine just over a decade ago. In
10 years, production has zoomed from an initial level of 400 cases
to some 85 000; now he’s known the world over as Mr Chenin
Blanc, because it’s his work with South Africa’s oft-despised
most widely planted variety, that has raised his profile as a
winegrower.
One
of his skills is evidently his keen sense of timing. Eleven years
ago he purchased a derelict wine farm, which hadn’t been lived
on for some six years (you can see on the right what this looks
like now). This was when the industry was in the doldrums, and
like a skilled surfer he caught the South African wine
industry’s wave of expansion almost perfectly.
Forrester’s range has three tiers. At the entry level
he buys in grapes, but beyond that it’s mostly estate wine from
his 38 hectares of vineyards. We began a quick vineyard tour by
looking at a young Cabernet Franc vineyard, which was planted
recently for blending with Merlot. ‘Where does 100% Merlot work
fantastically?’, he asked me. He’s currently buying in
Cabernet Franc to blend in at 8% with his Merlot, hence the
decision to plant his own. It gives pepper and depth to the wines;
another facet.
‘South African winemakers were mainly trained at
Geisenheim [in Germany] in the past’, points out Forrester.
‘So the vineyards here were planted to middle European
varieties, when we actually have more of a Mediterranean
climate’. The more recent plantings are focusing on
Mediterranean varieties, and Forrester now has some 5 year old
Mourvedre to work with.
In 1999 he decided to begin conversion to organics
under the guidance of Dr Hoffman in Germany, and by 2002 he was
ready to sign on with the certifying body Ecocert. Difficult
conditions (840 infections within a 3 month period) meant he lost
his whole crop. He’s still working more-or-less organically, but
has decided not to go for certification, which costs money in
terms of a sign-on fee and an annual audit.
Forrester’s
prize vineyard is his 38 year old block of bush vine Chenin at the
front of his property (left). ‘Managing it carefully is
the key to quality’, he says. Yields are kept at 4 tons/hectare
and each bunch is left with 16–18 leaves for ripening. 6 km from
the ocean, the property enjoys climate moderation from a cool
patch of air that hangs around: he harvests his Sauvignon three
weeks later than some other parts of Stellenbosch.
The
wines
Forrester Sauvignon Blanc 2005 Stellenbosch
Nice balance here. Quite aromatic but not aggressively grassy.
Nice weight on the palate which shows rounded fruit with a good
acid core. A nice fruity style. Very good+ 87/100
Forrester Petit Chenin 2004
Lovely nose: a bit of straw, some herbs, some honey, and good
fruit. The palate has lovely weight with nice acidity, and baked
apple and herb notes. Delicious. Very good+ 87/100
Forrester Chenin Blanc 2005
Ken decided to make this to get people to take notice of
Chenin Blanc. All the consultants told him to rip Chenin out
because there was no market for it. He’s proved them wrong. This
wine shows great longevity, and Ken has examples tasting well
going back to 1995, which was the first vintage. It’s
barrel-fermented with natural yeasts in 400 litre barrels. He
doesn’t start picking until 23 or 24 baume because he is happy
to have some botrytis in there. The juice isn’t clarified
completely; Ken is happy to have some solids in there. Smooth
honeyed nose. The palate is quite smooth with honey and
herb-tinged fruit. Quite sophisticated while still showing some
personality. Very good+ 89/100 (UK availability: Waitrose)
FMC Chenin Blanc 2003
‘I wanted to produce a world class white wine, using Chenin
unblended, but which could stand up against anything else’,
explains Ken. ‘Unlike the Loire, we can get 7 good and 3
unbelievable vintages each decade: perhaps one in 10 will be
difficult’. Off the record, Ken didn’t deny that the initials
FMC stood for F*****g Magic Chenin, although the official line is
that they refer to Forrester and Martin Meinert, the winemaker
involved in this project with Ken. ‘We decided to use wood’,
he reports, ‘and in 1997, 1998 and 1999 we got nowhere making
batches of wine from the best vineyard’. In 2000, however, they
got it right, and FMC was born. The first commercial release was
2001. It’s wonderful stuff. There’s lots of complexity: toast,
herbs, straw, spice and meal. The palate is rich, smooth and spicy
with nice weight and texture. It carries the 12 g/l residual sugar
well. Very good/excellent 93/100 (UK avialability: Waitrose,
around £15)
Forrester Merlot 2003
Lots of varietal character here. Lovely minerally black fruits
with a subtle, chalky, herby edge. The palate is nicely savoury
with good minerality and a nice spiciness. Good fruit. Very good+
88/100
Forrester Shiraz Grenache 2003
Really nice expressive spicy wine with a slightly reductive
spicy, smoky nose. This leads to a palate that is expressive,
spicy and tannic with a lovely savouriness. There’s nice
Grenache pepperiness. Very good+ 89/100
Forrester
Gypsy Red 2003
This was bottled the previous day. It's a blend of the best
Grenache and Shiraz, kept in barrel for 24 months (400 litre new
oak barrels). This is the third release. It has a smooth, dark,
supple fruity nose. Quite elegant. There's some new oak apparent,
but it has good integration. The palate shows smooth, spicy,
elegant red and black fruits with lots of structure. Complex and
elegant, and possibly worthy of a higher rating with age. Very
good/excellent 93/100
Forrester ‘T’ Noble Late Harvest 2003
Viscous, smooth and sweet, this is a nice botrytised wine,
with the usual flavours of honey, marmalade and apricot. Very
good+ 89/100
Wines tasted 12/05
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these wines with wine-searcher.com
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