Wine auction showcases new vintage white wines

DD Joubert, winemaker, Elgin Heights.

Says auction manager Christine Joubert: “We invited producers to submit both varietal and white blends. The judging panel selected just seven wines from the 2007 vintage and they all happen to be Sauvignon blancs, probably because this is a cultivar able to show well at an early age. It will be interesting to see how the market responds to these wines, all of which are serious, complex cuvées and include single and multiple vineyard wines.”

The 2007 Elgin Heights Sauvignon Blanc is the first wine to be released by DD Joubert, whose grapes were picked from several vineyards on the southern slopes of his farm, Smarag, originally named Elgin Heights. Planted in shale soils at altitudes ranging from 200 to 260m, the vines were picked at varying stages of ripeness to create a multi-faceted wine exhibiting both green and tropical flavours.

Graham Beck's Pheasants' Run, made by Erika Overmeyer, is sourced from ocean-facing vineyards in Darling and Durbanville. It shows tropical notes of ripe figs, as well as aromas of asparagus and tinned peas and is full and dense on the palate, ending in a crisp, elegant finish, she says. Its predecessors are multiple medallists - the 2005 garnered double gold Veritas and Michelangelo International Wine Award medals while the 2006 vintage earned four-and-a-half stars in the John Platter South African Wine Guide.

Nederburg has two offerings in the line-up, both single vineyard wines. The Private Bin D215 is made from 15-year-old Durbanville dryland vines with lush, rich tropical flavours. Its predecessors have won silver on the International Wine & Spirit Competition and gold on Michelangelo. The Private Bin D234, sourced from a 10-year-old block in Darling, also unirrigated, is classically herbaceous, with green and grassy aromas. The 2006 vintage was both a Veritas and Michelangelo gold medallist.

Ken Forrester Sauvignon Blanc is full and complex, exhibiting tropical fruit on the nose, with wafts of hay, a tart, fresh sherbet mouth-feel and long finish of pineapple and melon. It was given extended lees contact after fermentation to enhance its creamy texture.

The Ntida Club Select, whose predecessor in 2006 earned four-and-a-half Platter stars, manages to be both intensely flavoured and elegant, with tinned pea notes and a round and generous mouth-feel. La Motte's Pierneef Sauvignon Blanc has a minerally core and racy acidity with a tangy grapefruit finish, laced with white pepper. The 2006 vintage of this wine was also rated four-and-half stars in Platter.

Full details of all wines on auction will appear in the catalogue, available in August.