/ FOOD & WINE /
What’s in my glass? EMILE JOUBERT
A
s someone whose handicap is the game of golf, it has taken me a while to take serious note of the Ernie Els winery in Stellenbosch. Yes, the vineyards and cellar are set in a spectacular location in the Helderberg and, yes, since opening in 2005, the wines have achieved commendable ratings. But somehow, the connection between a great South African golfer and great wine went
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astray, and I’ll admit to having been much the poorer for it. Over the past year or three, the name Ernie Els has, however, comfortably fallen into my list of top 10 Cape wineries, most notably for what the property is doing in terms of Cabernet Sauvignon, arguably the finest red wine offering out of South Africa and a variety Stellenbosch is embracing as its calling card. The slopes of the Helderberg to the south of the town provide ideal conditions for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. Soils of decomposed granite and clay, elevation running to over 400m above sea level, and exposure to the Atlantic air flows off nearby False Bay make for stunning viticulture real estate. Add to this, winemakers obsessed with Cabernet Sauvignon – such as Ernie Els’s Louis Strydom – the path to great wine is as assured as a scratch golfer’s languid swing on an easy par 4. Strydom has been making Cabernet Sauvignon on the Helderberg for 23 years, heading up the blue-chip Rust en Vrede cellar before starting with Ernie Els’ maiden vintage. At Ernie Els, he has zoned in on the variety with a professorial-like focus, planting the farm to Cabernet Sauvignon clones selected to the differing pockets of soils and aspects found on the property. The approach continues to the winery, where at harvest-time, the parcels of terroir diversity are fermented, blended and aged according to the wants of each of the Ernie Els wines.
2022/06/09 09:30
