The Cinderella Cab

 

This time last year there was much eagerness and expectation of Cape Wine 2015. Preparations were afoot for the descending throng of international buyers and media folks. Like something out of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, everyone was wanting to see what was on the slab… quivering with an-ti-ci-PA-tion. And when it was in full swing, headlines and column inches were devoted to the revolutionaries from the Swartland, with a minor upstaging by the Zoo Biscuits and the Chenin Blanc fraternity which hosted a shorts, t-shirt and sand between the toes beach party.

 

Setting an altogether more serious tone and something which got people – locally and abroad – talking was the King of Cabernet tasting at the One & Only. Stellenbosch smartly annexed the bragging rights and presented a line up of 20 wines from the Helderberg, Simonsberg, Jonkershoek, Banhoek and elsewhere.

 

Represented were Alto, De Trafford, Delaire Graff, Ernie Els, Glenelly, Kanonkop, Le Riche, Meerlust, Neil Ellis, Oldenburg, Rust en Vrede, Rustenberg, Starke-Conde, Thelema, Uitkyk, Vergelegen, Vriesenhof, Waterford and Zonnebloem. The most recent vintage presented was 2009 and the oldest 2000.

 

Cabernet Sauvignon is undoubtedly one of the noblest of grapes, capable of producing wines of exquisite elegance and refinement, textured and supple with regal bearing. But of late I have been pondering the Cinderella Cab quietly sitting in the corner, not drawing attention to itself: Cabernet Franc.

 

Why? Because I’ve had occasion to taste a lot of them recently, what with the current spitting and sniffing exercise for the Platter Guide underway – and they are seriously impressive. The first inkling that something could potentially be afoot was in April when the Decanter World Wine Awards panel awarded a gold medal to the KWV Mentors Cabernet Franc. It’s not every day you have two exceptionally fine-tuned Master of Wine palates raving about South African Cab Franc…

 

Ten years ago Platter listed a TOTAL of 18 individual bottlings – with Zorgvliet being the highest rated at 4½ Stars. In the 2016 Guide there are 77 listed – with 20 rating 4½ Stars or more! By anyone’s measurements, that’s a helluva jump in just one decade – especially since Cape Chamonix was the recipient of a coveted 5 Star in 2016, while Warwick achieved that feat in 2015, replicating their success from 2014 – when it got the full house of stars along with Raats Family Wines.

 

“Green”, “stalky or leafy” and “herbaceous” were some of the less than flattering descriptors used for South African Cabernets (Sauvignon and Franc) over the years. Thankfully, with local viticulturists placing greater emphasis on what happens in the vineyards, winemakers have got to grips with that characteristic and it has virtually all but disappeared.

 

Cabernet Franc is particularly prone to expressing this sort of green character, more so than the richly fruited Cabernet Sauvignon. But when that tomato plant/blackcurrant leaf is dialled down then Cabernet Franc gets to show its cocoa powder, graphite, ink, turned earth and pencil shaving finery. 

 

Just like the Cabernet Sauvignons at the King of Cab tasting a year ago, some of the country’s most impressive single bottling Francs come from the same spots: the Helderberg, (Uva Mira and Morgenster), Banhoek (Rainbow’s End and Oldenburg), Simonsberg (Warwick) and Vlaeberg Hills (Raats Family).

 

The contribution Cab Franc makes to top-notch Bordeaux-style blends should also not be overlooked with Morgenster being an obvious example with one of the world’s best proponents of the variety, Chateau Cheval Blanc’s Pierre Lurton, consulting. 

And a special mention must be made of Franschhoek’s offerings: Lynx and Holden Manz’s excellent examples and that much lamented “non-commercial offering” of Boekenhoutskloof’s stellar Journeyman Cabernet Franc.

 

There is patently a lot of winemaking and viticultural focus being brought to bear on this grape. It remains to be seen whether consumers are as enthusiastic. But then it’s the task of the marketers out there to make them want it, not so?