French winemaker gets taste of SA's laissez faire

SOUTH Africa proudly traces its wine-making history back more than 300 years. To the French, that's a mere blip in a tradition that goes back to the 6th century BC.

French winemaker Sylvain Charlot found more than just differences in history and tradition between his native Burgundy and what he saw in our "French corner" of Franschhoek on his first trip to South Africa to visit wife Sharon's family recently.

Sylvain is chef de cave (that's a winemaker to you and me) at Domaine Jean Chartron, a producer of grand and premier cru (the first and second highest "ranks" of wine in Burgundy) in the village of Puligny- Montrachet, while Sharon runs the tasting room.

What seems to the French to be a rather laissez faire approach to wine production in South Africa, is in stark contrast to the strict laws governing the industry in France.

For starters, a sprinkler salesman would struggle to make a living in Burgundy, as irrigation of the vines is illegal, putting winemakers' fortunes firmly in the hands of the weather as they produce wines that are a "study in excellence of expression of the soil".

Where South African winemakers have the option of planting grape varieties anywhere soil and climate allow, the strict French appellation rules specify which grapes may be used to make wine from a particular region.

So, for example, while chardonnay grapes could in theory be grown in Bordeaux, wine produced from them cannot be called Bordeaux.

Wines are named by the region where they are produced and the higher quality ones – like those of Puligny-Montrachet – by the village, or even the specific vineyard, they come from.

Only one wine is produced per vineyard or parcel of land, and there is no blending of wines from different vineyards. And those parcels can be tiny – Charlot said Domaine Jean Chartron owned 14 hectares of vineyards around their village, incorporating 18 appellations, or named areas of origin.

The smallest of the domaine's appellations produces just half a cask of wine, or 150 bottles, per season. By contrast, La Motte in Franschhoek, where he spent a happy few hours immersed in wine chat with cellar master Edmund Terblanche, is an estate of 170 hectares with about half of that covered by vineyards.

The Charlots found the scale of not just our vineyards but South Africa in general mind-boggling. "The wide open spaces, the big distances between cities, and the contrast between built-up cities and countryside – we are not used to that in France," Sylvain said.

South Africans' fascination with blends of different grape varietals, particularly the blend of the two great Burgundy wines of chardonnay and pinot noir that they tasted at Haute Cabriere in Franschhoek, was "quite bizarre", Sylvain said.

In Burgundy, that would be an absolute no-no.

At Domaine Jean Chartron, 95% of the production is chardonnay and their top wine, at ß480 or a staggering R7000 a bottle, is sold out before it's even bottled. The wines are highly rated by publications like Wine Spectator and, Syvlain said, half of the 2014 production has already been sold, with harvest only set to start in September.

So, what of South African wine then? Interestingly, especially for those who claim that we get second-rate products while the best are exported, the couple said South African wine available in France was unimpressive. "The wines we've tasted here are much better – more balanced and not with as much sulphur as those we can buy in France," Sharon said.

Having spent time at La Motte touring the vineyards and cellar, and tasting the latest vintages, Sylvain said he was pleased that they were not his neighbours back home. They would be strong competition for wines from areas such as the Languedoc in southern France.

He rated La Motte's chardonnay and merlot as "excellent".

The couple also enjoyed South African sauvignon blancs, particularly the flinty examples from Durbanville in the sweltering weather. -  Samantha Venter