Visiting Neethlingshof Estate

To Stellenbosch and Neethlingshof Estate.

Driving along its kilometre long avenue shaded by towering stone pine trees makes a grand entrance and brings to mind horse drawn carriages making the same journey in past centuries, since the estate was founded in 1692.

It takes its name from Johannes Henoch Neethling, who in 1828 became joint owner. Smartly dressed and active in the community he gained the nickname 'Lord' Neethling.

Neethingshof Manor House Restaurant

As usual, we'd booked lunch on the terrace of the grand Manor House which faces the winery, with a view of vineyards stretching behind.

I've long enjoyed Neethlingshof's Pinotages and this is a special year since Neethlingshof are the current holders of the Perold Trophy for Pinotage, awarded by the International Wine and Spirit Competition. (see here for my report on ceremony)

Before lunch I meet cellar master De Wet Viljoen, whom I saw last at the IWSC awards ceremony in London in November.

De Wet hold stalk with berry rejected by destalking/sorter

De Wet shows me through his cellar. He has a new destalking and sorting machine. In one operation it removes stalks and rejects unripe grapes and other unwanted material. “We'll be making big changes in the cellar,” says De Wet. “Come back next year!”

2017 Owl Post Pinotage undergoing malolactic fermentation  in barrel

Neethlingshof produces two Pinotages, both estate grown. 'Owl Post' is a premium barrel selection from the Owl Post single vineyard that is barrel fermented and aged for 12 to 14 months. The vineyard takes its name from the posts that encourage owls to perch on in the vineyard as pest control.

Barrel Cellar seen from Tasting Room

The standard Neethlingshof Pinotage is tank fermented then aged in barrels, about 40% are American oak and 20% are new.

2016 PG = Pinotage aging in Barrel Cellar

The trophy winning Neethlingshof 'Owl Post' Pinotage 2014 has sold out. “We had to claim back from our distributors,” says De Wet, “so we had some to sell from the Estate.”

De Wet says that 2014 vintage was large and is ready for earlier drinking, while 2015 suffered from draught at the start which produced smaller berries and better concentration.

We tasted Neethlingshof Pinotage 2016. This has a deep intense colour, but is tight with fruit, at this stage, in the background. “It's not a fruit bomb,” says De Wet, “but it's not dried out and not overly oaky.”

A couple of days later I found a shop selling the previous vintage. 2015 releases a tremendous smell on opening, and it's fruit is sweetly rich and delicious.

Neethlingshof 'Owl Post' Pinotage 2015 also has that Neethlingshof intensity of deep colour. It's spicy and silky with soft tannins that firm up on the finish.

De Wet Viljoen by artwork for Owl Post Pinotage

De Wet thinks it'll reach optimum drinking in 2019. He detects a firmness on the palate with bit of a bite at the back. “It should be in balance in a couple of years and then be ideal drinking for years afterwards.”

The restaurant had reworked its menu since last year and we shared a bottle of Neethlingshof Pinotage 2016 to accompany a delicious Bobotie with all the trimmings. Both a beef bobotie and lentil version are available. Opening up in the glass this quintessentially South African wine was a perfect match with the traditional South African food.

#pinotage

Is Good Pinotage Atypical?

Joe Roberts at 1 Wine Dude puts out a call to 'Stop hating on pinotage already'. His 'plea against the undeserved hate' asks readers 'what bargain-basement version of any variety doesn’t have its fair share of sh*tty-tasting bottlings?'.

He goes on to enjoy a 2008 Kanonkop Pinotage that overachieves because it

'deftly captures the entire BBQ picnic in a single bottle; toast, smoked meats, red fruits, bananas, leather purses & all. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a great introduction to high-end Pinotage and actually delivers quality and complexity levels a bit above its price point.'

Pinotage hater and anorak about town Jamie Goode has found one he likes! Scali Pinotage 2006

'Now this was superb: it is a Pinotage that doesn’t have Pinotage character, which is a good thing. I guess with a few year’s bottle age like this it is closest in flavour profile to a top Chateauneuf, with rich, warmly spicy flavours and focused cherry and berry fruits.'

Is it my imagination that when Pinotage detractors find one they like it is always because it is atypical? In my book it's the badly made ones which are atypical.

That was the second 'atypical' Pinotage he's tasted this year, last week he found Stellar Organics Running Duck No Added Sulphur Pinotage 2011 to be

'Fruity, bright and lively with nice cherry and berry notes, showing admirable purity. No heaviness, and really drinkable. 86/100'.

Meanwhile I lunched with friends at Neetlingshof Estate yesterday. Cellar Master DeWet Viljoen was also there there having a business lunch with potential foreign clients but he found time to put a glass of pale red wine on our table. It was light bodied and tasted like a fine old claret, yet had lively sweet fruit. What could it be? DeWet then revealed the bottle - a 1984 Neethlingshof Pinotage. My, how this variety can age. Atypical? I don't think so.

.

Tasting the 2009 Vintage Pinotage

The Pinotage Association gathered on Thursday, 18 June, for an early vintage tasting in the Doornbosch Agricultural Hall, Stellenbosch. Nikki Lordan of WINE.CO.ZA reports:

It was with insightful reports on changing climate conditions, the 2009 harvest and why this one is supposed to be the "big one", that we sat down at the annual Pinotage vintage tasting in Stellenbosch. The fact remains - the weather is still acting strange, but Pinotage seems to love it. "The good, cold winter allowed the vines to rest properly, while the dry weather and rainfall in December, kept the foliage fresh and provided sufficient water and flavour development during the berry forming phase, which resulted in smaller berries," said Leon Dippenaar, Breedekloof viticulturist.

The first four of the thirteen pino's were placed in front of us. Blindtasting, I might add - for the extra touch of objectivity and surely to make some sparks fly between winemakers all cradling their vintages like newborn puppies. As all senses involve a wine tasting of the highest standard, the Pinotage Association made sure all five were involved. With Steve Hofmeyr and Jakkie Louw ensuring our auditory senses were alert and all is South African, we could finally set off to write down our praises (and criticisms) of the chosen wines in a well-laidout booklet.

Thirteen tank and barrel samples formed the basis of this year's Pinotage tasting. Comments that flew across the room, as each table had a chance to give a summarised opinion, were mostly that the wines were confectionary, with strong aromas of fruit conserve, dried banana and sweet mocha. "All of these wines are commercial, easy drinking wines. As winemakers we're being a little shy on our tannins and structure. Pinotage is a thick skin grape and has the potential to become more than a New World style wine," commented Anthony Hamilton Russell.

According to De Wet Viljoen, presenter for the event and chairman of the Pinotage Association's organising committee, the annual tasting serves as a barometer for the rest of the year, as well as an indicator of how the wines are going to show when bottled.

All in all, everyone seem excited about the 2009 vintage Pinotage as different climate conditions seems to be the make or break of this wine.




Thanks to Nikki Lordan and WINE.CO.ZA

Pictured are Leon Dippenaar, De Wet Viljoen (front), Ilse van Dijk and Francois Bezuidenhout (rear)

Emile Joubert at Wine Goggle has another view of the tasting - here

Video: DeWet Viljoen tells the secrets of Lord Neethling 2005 Pinotage

As we are talking about Neethlingshof Estate, let's hear what winemaker DeWet Viljoen has to say about his 'Lord Neethling' 2005 Pinotage of which he is very proud. DeWet talks about what he did differently for this excellent vintage.

As you can see, I tasted the wine and it was just like DeWet described it. Delicious. Now, where can I buy it?


.

Good Lord! The critters are coming!!!

What is your thinking on what the American’s call ‘critter’ wines? Critter wines are those with animals on the label. There was a flood of them in a decade ago including the hippo on Fat Bastard, the kangaroo on Yellow Tail and the goat on Goats do Roam. These three wines were justifiably very successful and inspired tanker loads of ‘me too’ critter labelled wines but few of them reached the quality of FB or GdR and critter labels became, in many consumer’s opinions, a sign of a cheap mass-branded wine.

Which is why I was amazed to hear that one of South Africa’s top wines, which has a name that others would kill for, is considering losing its name and adopting a critter label…


Yes, it is Neethlingshof who are intending abandoning their premium Lord Neethling brand for critters. Pictured is a mock-up of the replacement for the Lord Neethling Pinotage label. Many wineries encourage birds of prey to their vineyards. The Owl Post on the Pinotage label refers to those erected to encourage owls into the vineyards. Another label in the range that I saw showed a rare wild cat in mid-air leap plucking a bird out of the sky. Not the owl, I think.

I suppose the thinking went something along the lines of ‘it was ‘time for a change’ (the never ending cry of new brand managers who want to make their mark), the success of other ‘critter’ labels (although they’re not so fashionable now and are considered downmarket) and a chance to leap on the sustainability wagon (while possibly upsetting bird and furry animal lovers). And maybe the argument that a ‘Lord’ was elitist and old fashioned.

But…..

I am no marketing expert, but … If you have a premium wine doesn’t the ‘Lord’ name make it clear that this is the top win ein the range? Does Owl Post immediately identify a top wine?

Is ‘Lord’ old-fashioned? Surely the great thing about this name is that it is ironic! Neethling was nicknamed ‘lord’ because of his airs and graces. What a great back story! I think the existing label is fine, but if they want to ‘get down wiv d’ yoof’ how about cartoon illustrations of ‘Lord’ Neethling in different situations with a back label giving the story behind it.

Looking at CellarTracker.com, which indexes more than 13 Million bottles, I see acres of owls including Barking Owl, Burrowing Owl, Thirsty Owl, Owl Hill, Night Owl, Hoot Owl, Naked Owl, Owl Ridge, Owl Creek, Winking Owl, Barn Owl, Mr Owl, Owl Box, and Winking Owl.

But Lords? Just four: Lord Rutherford , Lord Culpeper Lord Botetourt and Lord Baltimore.

I’ll make two predictions. Firstly, no matter whatever label is slapped on the bottle the wine inside will be continue to be excellent. Winemaker DeWet Viljoen doesn’t get the acclamation he deserves but he’s making some cracking good wines under the venerable ‘N’ label.

Secondly, Lord Neethling will return. It is too good a name to disappear under a menagerie

Note how even the Neethlingshof Estate name is being down played. Sigh ....



.

Congratulations to De Wet and Annelie Viljoen!

Congratulations to De Wet & Annelie Viljoen on the birth of their second son, Bernardt, on 25 July. De Wet, who is the winemaker at Neetlingshof Estate, said “He weighed 3.22kg and is long with big hands and feet just like his dad!”

I visited Neetlingshof and tasted wine with De Wet earlier this year: my report is here.

Lunch, Pinotages
- and More at Neethlingshof Estate

I am lazy; I don’t like to work but I quite like watching others doing so, thus lunch at Neethlingshof Estate was particularly enjoyable. Not only were a team of gardeners being industrious in the flowerbeds but every now and again a tractor towing a grape hopper passed the restaurant veranda under me (see picture right to be unloaded into the de-stemmer almost opposite.

On one side of the courtyard is the old manor house with the Lord Neethling restaurant (see picture below left) and facing it on the other side is the winery building and tasting room. And every now again during harvest visitors and tour groups are scattered by the need to tractor in freshly gathered grapes. The restaurant serves a good Escalope of Veal Milanese – a dish to which I am very partial and which just suited a bottle of Neethlingshof 2002 Pinotage (95 rand). I found this wine a little too tannic at first; it definitely needed food, though as time went on it opened up delivering some bright berry flavours.

I’d met Neethlingshof’s winemaker, De Wet Viljoen at a party a few days and when I said I was coming for lunch he insisted I ask for him when I arrived which I did, only to be told that no one of that name worked there. “But he is your winemaker!” I exclaimed. It was then I had some help on my slow and stumbling path to speaking Afrikaans and learned to say D’Vet Vill –Yo – en.

De Wet is one of the nicest people in the business and a good friend of Pinotage, and he offered to organise a tasting of Pinotage from the Cape Legends portfolio. Cape Legends markets fourteen brands from eleven wineries. Each winery operates as a separate company, some are part owned by Cape Legends' owner Distell, some are privately owned with only Plaisir de Merle being completely owned.

The Tasting

De Wet and Carlen Groenewald (Cape Legends European Business Manager) had lined up the following six wines:

Hill & Dale 2005 WO Stellenbosch

Soft ripe plum and berry fruits, immediately appealing, some very soft tannins and a tangy finish.

Hill & Dale (Hillandale was the name of a real farm) is made by Stellenzicht’s winemaker Guy Webber using fruit that didn’t end up in Neethlingshof and Stellenzicht.

Jacobsdal 2004 Estate WO Stellenbosch 14.5%abv

Good deep colour, firm bodied black cherry flavours, drying finish.

I noticed the label had a new logo on it saying ‘Naturally Fermented’. “Yes, they use only natural yeast fermentation at Jacobsdal” said Carlen. “It is a winery I have always wanted to visit”, I said, “but they are not open to the public.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” replied Carlen. And she did – but that is another story.

Neethlingshof 2002 Estate WO Stellenbosch 15%abv

This wine was fuller bodied and rounder with more fruit flavours than the one I had with lunch at the Neethlingshof restaurant. “It is cooler and has been open longer” explained DeWet. But it still dried the mouth with some firm tannins on the finish. Definitely needs food.

Stellenzicht Golden Triangle 2005 14.5%abv

Deep garnet colour, silky and spicy front palate with some wood underneath. Umm, this is quite complex; a moreish wine.


Tukulu 2004 WO Darling

Bright dark red colour, purple rim, looks quite young. Very sweet upfront strawberry and cherry flavours. Mouth filling, great structure and balanced tannins with a medium finish.


Neethlingshof Lord Neethling 2001 ‘Limited Release’ Estate WO Stellenbosch 14.5%abv

Bright dark red colour, wooded nose, there’s berry fruits and a sweet feel but a firm middle and a wooded finish.

Thanks to De Wet (pictured right) I was also able to taste, prior to release.

Neethlingshof Lord Neethling 2005 ‘Limited Release’ Estate WO Stellenbosch

Wow, wonderful deep fruit flavours and soft soft tannins, great depth and complexity, this is a super wine that just begs to be drunk.

Many thanks to Carlen and De Wet.