Anthony Hamilton Russell has just hosted a lunch to mark 50 years since his late father bought the farm in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley that became Hamilton Russell Vineyards. Just as we are enjoined never to waste a good crisis, marketing men never forego an opportunity to mount a grandstand. To be fair, 50 years of ownership certainly beats my proposed silver-anniversary-in-my-home celebration.
What did distinguish the occasion was the line-up of wines he served: six vintages each of his pinots and chardonnays, the former back to 1999, the latter to 2015. It was most instructive: the pinots carried their age remarkably well — the 1999 still comfortably on the plateau of maturity, the 2017 only just setting out on a journey that should be at least that long. The chardonnays were equally bright: the 2015, 2017 and 2019 all splendid and all evolving in an age-appropriate way.
The industry owes Hamilton Russell’s father a debt of gratitude for initiating the Hemel-en-Aarde adventure, not only because of how important the valley has become for Cape wine but because it was the first appellation in SA where finesse was the only possible aesthetic choice. The cooler climate imposes a longer, slower ripening cycle for the grapes, making it impossible to produce blockbuster wines.
Craig Wessels is a relative newcomer to Hemel-en-Aarde; he’s only celebrating 21 vintages at Restless River. In that time he’s established an enviable reputation for his Ava Marie Chardonnay and, to a lesser extent, his Main Road & Dignity Cabernet. I’m not — and have never been — a fan of the chardonnay. (Given its success, doubtless he’s crying all the way to the bank.) However, having sampled a line-up of 10 vintages of his Main Road & Dignity Cabernet, I think he’s onto something about the variety that is as unexpected as it is important.
Tim Hamilton Russell’s early attempts with cabernet in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in the 1980s were unsuccessful. Admittedly the climate was cooler then, the planting material inferior and consumer tastes somewhat different. When Wessels acquired Restless River, the Main Road & Dignity Cabernet vineyards had already been in the ground for several years. He’s kept them going, coaxing finely nuanced, classical cabernets from these ever-diminishing blocks.
The quality of the earlier vintages is uneven, a function of the steep learning curve he found himself on — and with no-one to guide him as he created wines from what must be the country’s latest ripening red wine vineyards. By the 2015 vintage you can tell he understands his vines and how to manage his fruit. The 2017, 2018 and 2019 are a fabulous trio — all the elegance of old-fashioned bordeaux, and none of the clunkiness climate change is imposing on even the best European appellations. Purity, litheness and precision are much harder to achieve than sturm-und-drang. If you’re worrying about the future of Cape cabernet, start tracking Restless River.
Business Day
MICHAEL FRIDJHON: Old-fashioned Bordeaux elegance in Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Find a reason to celebrate with the finely nuanced, classical wines from Restless River
Most anniversary celebrations mean very little to anyone beyond those immediately affected by them. It’s been 25 years since I moved into my home: is this a pretext to throw a party? Or perhaps it’s once numbers get uncommonly big they count more. Michel Bettane, France’s most famous wine critic — in SA to judge at the Trophy Wine Show — scored an invitation to May-Eliane de Lencquesaing’s 100th birthday bash (and a ride to Glenelly with Ken Forrester). “That’s a party worth attending,” he observed.
Lady May (or Madame la Generale) was born into a Bordeaux chateaux-owning family. She travelled the world with her husband (Le General) before inheriting Chateau Pichon Lalande in 1978. In just more than a decade she transformed it into one of the region’s finest estates.
Then, in 2003, at the age of 78, she bought Glenelly, a fruit farm in Ida’s Valley, and created a Stellenbosch showcase. She came from Europe to be here for this year’s vintage and remained to celebrate her centenary. You could say that Bettane wasn’t wrong about the worthiness of the occasion.
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Anthony Hamilton Russell has just hosted a lunch to mark 50 years since his late father bought the farm in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley that became Hamilton Russell Vineyards. Just as we are enjoined never to waste a good crisis, marketing men never forego an opportunity to mount a grandstand. To be fair, 50 years of ownership certainly beats my proposed silver-anniversary-in-my-home celebration.
What did distinguish the occasion was the line-up of wines he served: six vintages each of his pinots and chardonnays, the former back to 1999, the latter to 2015. It was most instructive: the pinots carried their age remarkably well — the 1999 still comfortably on the plateau of maturity, the 2017 only just setting out on a journey that should be at least that long. The chardonnays were equally bright: the 2015, 2017 and 2019 all splendid and all evolving in an age-appropriate way.
The industry owes Hamilton Russell’s father a debt of gratitude for initiating the Hemel-en-Aarde adventure, not only because of how important the valley has become for Cape wine but because it was the first appellation in SA where finesse was the only possible aesthetic choice. The cooler climate imposes a longer, slower ripening cycle for the grapes, making it impossible to produce blockbuster wines.
Craig Wessels is a relative newcomer to Hemel-en-Aarde; he’s only celebrating 21 vintages at Restless River. In that time he’s established an enviable reputation for his Ava Marie Chardonnay and, to a lesser extent, his Main Road & Dignity Cabernet. I’m not — and have never been — a fan of the chardonnay. (Given its success, doubtless he’s crying all the way to the bank.) However, having sampled a line-up of 10 vintages of his Main Road & Dignity Cabernet, I think he’s onto something about the variety that is as unexpected as it is important.
Tim Hamilton Russell’s early attempts with cabernet in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in the 1980s were unsuccessful. Admittedly the climate was cooler then, the planting material inferior and consumer tastes somewhat different. When Wessels acquired Restless River, the Main Road & Dignity Cabernet vineyards had already been in the ground for several years. He’s kept them going, coaxing finely nuanced, classical cabernets from these ever-diminishing blocks.
The quality of the earlier vintages is uneven, a function of the steep learning curve he found himself on — and with no-one to guide him as he created wines from what must be the country’s latest ripening red wine vineyards. By the 2015 vintage you can tell he understands his vines and how to manage his fruit. The 2017, 2018 and 2019 are a fabulous trio — all the elegance of old-fashioned bordeaux, and none of the clunkiness climate change is imposing on even the best European appellations. Purity, litheness and precision are much harder to achieve than sturm-und-drang. If you’re worrying about the future of Cape cabernet, start tracking Restless River.
Business Day
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