THE CAPSULE| March 2002
Crush Update
We've got one more picking of Cab to come in before we put Godzilla, our trusty destemmer, into hibernation until next year. The 2002 crush has been like finding an old box of Christmas crackers forgotten in the attic. Some don't explode at all when you pull them and the trinket disappears irritatingly under the table. But some do and the surprise is wonderful and the trinkets are real ruby rings and keys to vintage motorcars magically waiting all these years to be revved.
Some parcels of fruit have been truly brilliant, with awe-inspiring, intense colour, explosive flavour and wonderfully classic tannin. But there have also been blocks we have painstakingly nurtured for months, which have succumbed to rot a few days before picking. As a result it has also been a vintage of extremely disappointing moments.
However, this is also quite liberating in a strange way. It's true; we've been hit harder than most. We've lost 95% of our Pinot Noir and we are down 40% overall . But it has been a real knife-edge, awakening vintage to live through.
This vintage, more than any I can remember, has been all about the weather. And that's a wonderful thing really. In a world where we live in air-conditioned buildings and drive climate-controlled cars, and where every imaginable fruit is ripe all the time, most of us have lost some touch with seasons and with the re-birthing cycle of nature.
In the wine industry we complain about being at the mercy of the weather, but secretly we are quite pleased. Knowing something much bigger and more powerful is at play comforts us. Even though it sometimes deals you a hard knock, it helps make sense of the world. In the same way a walk on Table Mountain changes your perspective of Cape Town, living in the realm of natural weather changes your perspective of world events.
And you become very sensitive to the changes in climate. Winemakers look at the temperature and check the wind direction twenty times a day. Grape-growers call the 5-day weather forecast twice a day - you'll be surprised how often it changes in the Cape.
If I smell the fishing boats off-loading a fresh catch down South Arm Quay it means a northwesterly has blown up off the West Coast and that could bring rain, so perhaps we don't leave that Pinotage hanging 'till Monday. If a kappie of cloud sits like a disheveled toupee on Lions Head at 6pm we could be in for a Black Southeaster tomorrow and maybe that Merlot in Elgin shouldn't be pushed, so load up the lug boxes, guys.
And besides, there are always much more trying times than the weather can throw at us - the result of human madness at harvest time. Usually new contract growers do the predictable and stupid things like irrigating the night before picking to bulk up weight, picking too early, etc. The best was a new grower calling me at 11pm the day before picking to inform me the price for his Cabernet had just increased by R2000 a ton - we had a good laugh over that one.
Our traditional growers, who have worked with us for the last four vintages and seen us grow and watched their grapes blossom into medals and top wines, came through with flying colours and stuck with us despite the stringent levels of grape quality we had to impose this year. First prize goes to Rianie Strydom at Morgenhof who put up with me rejecting the entire Pinot crop. She still speaks to me sometimes and because she's a brilliant winemaker took the grapes in herself and made a good wine, so perhaps I was too harsh after all.
The United Nations 2002 Crush Team
We've had a good itinerate crush team working at Flagstone this season. Two Australians (Kelly and Amanda), an Italian (Cristiana), a Frenchman (Franck) and three South Africans (Steve, Elize and Bernard).
Despite the extremely long hours and the demanding and perfectionist requirements the team have worked very hard and very well. We've made some standout wine together and that is what this is all about. Flagstone must be one of the hardest wineries to work in, but hopefully also one of the most rewarding. I'll miss all the itinerates when they start heading off next month. It will be a lot quieter - that's for sure, but their characters will all be part of the wine and will live with us for many, many years.
The hardcore Flagstone red and white cellar teams headed by Gerald Kakijana and Themba Ntiya respectively have done another solid job in a difficult year. Wilhelm "Red" Coetzee did his brilliant, irreplaceable job, as always.
New Releases
We make wine in conjunction with Graham Knox under the brand name: "Jack & Knox Winecraft". These are very special single vineyard wines made from blocks, which only Graham has access to. I give them the full Flagstone treatment in terms of guns-blazing, risk-taking, extreme winemaking. Our first release is a 2001 Semillon called Green on Green from Wellington (Groendruif op die Groenberg). It is 100% wild fermented in barrels of varying age - about 40% new. Please contact Michelle on ++ 27 (0) 21 4253766 for a price list, or email us at terraceroad@icon.co.za.
Poetry Collection Competition
It is that time of year again when we ask for entries into our Poetry Collection Competition. The Poetry Collection is our flagship Pinot Noir. The 2000 won a Veritas gold medal and was voted best Pinot Noir in South Africa by the Wine of the Month Club, which boasts one of the most experienced and respected tasting panels in the industry. It retails in the U.K for £23.75 per bottle.
Each year the label is itself a different poem and the title of the poem is the name of the wine for that vintage. The 2000 label is a poem by Prof. Stephen Watson called "Pinot". The poet's signature appears on the bottle and on the case. The prize is five cases of the wine, valued at about R23 000.
The 2001 vintage Poetry Collection is an intriguing, complex and inspiring wine. It will be released at our annual Poetry Collection Bash in November.
The rules:
1.. The poem must be about Pinot Noir
2.. It must be no longer than 20 lines
3.. Each line must be no longer than ten words, so that each line will be within one field of vision on the bottle.
4.. Haulage of the wine is for the winner's account, but we will help to get it to you as cheaply as possible.
5.. The judges are Bruce Jack and Stephen Watson and their decision is final.
Until next month.
Bruce Jack
Winemaker
