Craig Hawkins ‘Z’ Zinfandel, Swartland, South Africa 2014 (£9.95, Vinoteca) The wine business is fond of calling a country or region ‘new’ to suggest a break with old ways. Last year everyone was talking about ‘New California’, now it is South Africa’s turn, culminating a couple of weeks ago in ‘New Wave South Africa’, a tasting event beneath a Soho record shop featuring some of the Cape’s most exciting younger winemakers. The event showed there’s plenty of substance behind the spin. South African wine, particularly red (there were always good whites) has changed beyond recognition in the past five years, the ponderous and smoky-dirty replaced by sinuous, lively creations, such as this wonderfully succulent Beaujolais-like zinfandel.
Mullineux Syrah, Swartland, South Africa 2013 (£22.50, Vincognito, Berry Bros & Rudd) The Swartland region to the north of Cape Town is the spiritual home of the New South Africa, featuring a fraternal scene of small producers with a decidedly natural bent. Names to look for include Eben and David Sadie, Badenhorst, Craig Hawkins, Donovan Rall and the brilliant Blank Bottle project of Pieter Walser. But my personal favourite is Mullineux, where syrah is the speciality. The two top wines, the ethereal, perfumed Schist and the more powerful Granite are (as they should be at £65 a pop), a match for the best of the northern Rhône. But for sheer quality, the silky, floral, subtly peppery estate syrah is not that far behind.
Truly Irresistible Chenin Blanc, Darling, South Africa 2015 (£6.99, The Co-operative) The cooler climates of Hemel-en-Aarde are home to the unforced burgundian pinot noirs and chardonnays of Peter-Allan Finlayson’s Crystallum (Liberty Wines), Hannes Storm’s Storm Wines (Indigo Wine) and Cape Point, where Duncan Savage makes pristine, zingy sauvignon blancs, and under his own label, Savage White (£27.50, Swig), a richer but still energetic sauvignon-semillon blend. The prolific Savage also makes the bargain Stonehaven Sauvignon Blanc 2015, which can be found (for £8.99) in the same Co-op stores as its ‘irresistibly’ crisp, tangy, affordable chenin blanc.
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