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The Berrio
Sauvignon Blanc
Dripping with the tropical fruits found in the head-dress of a naked Madi Gras belly dancer. The palate is plush and decadently layered. The wine expresses its place of origin through the concentration of the unique Sauvignon Blanc flavours and aromas and the opulence of the mouth-feel.
THE BERRIO PROJECT
Introduction
The Berrio Project is an icon winemaking venture. The three ingredients are Francis Pratt (winegrower), Bruce Jack (Flagstone winemaker) and a very special corner of the universe, Elim.
History
Bruce and Francis spent much of their youth at a little fishing village on the southern limestone edge of Africa, called Arniston - aquamarine seas, cool summers, limestone smugglers' caves, the engulfing blueness of the sky, warm white sand beaches, fresh shellfish and surfing. Everyday here is an adventure of the senses.
As life marched carelessly on Francis started farming nearby just outside a hamlet called Elim at the southern tip of Africa. Bruce went on a global search of wine knowledge, that took him from France to California and Australia. While Bruce was studying Oenology and Viticulture at Adelaide University, South Australia, Francis was contemplating the planting of vines.
Bruce's viticultural thesis included an exploration of the viticultural potential of Darling on the West Coast and Elim on the southern tip of Africa.
When he returned they got together, watched some rugby, braaied some lamb chops and crayfish and started dreaming about capturing the essence of this special place in a bottle of wine.
The Philosophy
What we do is carry into sunlight the spirit of this place, Elim, by growing grapes here. We ask the vine roots to find it for us in the cold, dark remembrance of soil, shale, limestone and clay. We coax the leaves into pulling up the silently vibrating energy from there. This energy is not only the result of organisms living in the soil, but also all the millions of chemical reactions that occur in the rootzone.
But there is more. There is the energy of memory. Mapped in the strata of our ancient soil is the memory of millions of years of life. This energy, this spirit of place, is transported into the grapes by the vine. We harvest these handfuls of time, these bunches of grapes with complete respect.
Each berry is a spiritual snapshot of swirling climate, a sweet memory of the sun, a spinning impression of earth, a quenching recall of moisture, a reminiscence of breathing, a reminder of cycles. This imprint is concentrated and powerful when the grapes are resonant and delicious with ripeness.
In this way we clutch at the secrets, successes and failures of our interaction with nature. Through the miracles of natural, soft and sympathetic fermentation we channel nature's spontaneous narrative into wine.
And so we can taste our enveloping corner of the universe - the co-incidence of geography and time.
We can drink in the wonder of it and share out the majesty of it all. We want to learn to accept the sadness of it and revel in the mystery of it. And perhaps through making wine this way, from this special place, we can begin to understand something of our relationship to the confusing, tumultuous craziness of it all.
This is what we do and why we do it.
The Wines
Our first wines are a Sauvignon Blanc 2002 and a Cabernet Sauvignon
2001.
The Name
The Berrio was the name of the first ship to sail around the southern tip of Africa
Matthew Jukes, expertwine.com.
Daily Mail
The Berrio
Sauvignon Blanc, Elim, South Africa
"I opened this bottle for forty tasters the other day, and the room fell silent immediately as everyone was hypnotised with the epic nose and flavour of this wine. There are very few sauvignon blancs in the world as captivating as this glacially cool wine. It is the epitome of class and elegance, with long, controlled sauvignon flavours and a mellow, mildly tropical nose."
Tasting note 2005
The 2005 vintage of this ever-popular wine is not only serious, but also a much bigger wine than the 2004. It seems that with age these vineyards produce wines that are fuller, more rounded and complex with each year. Boasting grapes from Elim, the most southern vineyard in South Africa, the vines receive cool maritime breezes as only the fairest Cape can offer.
Fullness and creaminess stand out instantly on the palate - the wine possesses a pleasing viscousity. The nose is one of clean green, cool mint herbaceousness that mingles well with the heavier aromas of sun-ripened capsicum, fig leaves and the explosive Elim hallmark of passion fruit. There is an undertone of tropical pineapple.
Due to the devigerating rock soil conditions in which the grapes are grown, the wine has developed a textured mineral note that develops into great mouth feel with a lingering, refreshing and moreish after-taste.
Alc: 13.23 RS: 1.9 TA: 6.7 pH: 3.30
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