The other Cabernet

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

The number of producers in South Africa who set out to make serious Cabernet Franc is extremely small. There are far more chasing the lure of Pinot Noir, for example, and yet Cabernet Franc has doubled its hectareage in the decade from 2000 to 2010 according to Sawis statistics.

In 2000 there were just 487.96 hectares under Cab Franc (Pinot Noir was a shade less at 487.36) while in 2010 the figure had grown to 933.71ha – with Pinot Noir shading it marginally at 962.28ha.

While there has been growth in plantings there has not been an accompanying growth in interest. One of the reasons for this is because Cab Franc is seen almost exclusively as a blending partner rather than a single varietal offering with the potential to capture the enthusiasm and imagination of the drinking public. Perhaps part of that is because many of the local stand-alone examples are quite hard going in terms of pure enjoyment. All too often they are quite herbal, vegetal, somewhat nettly or weedy or even – God forbid! – green.

A recent trip to the Loire was brightened by exposure to a number of good examples of Cabernet Franc. Vincent Careme, of the eponymous Domaine Vincent Careme in Vouvray, spontaneously provided the perfect snapshot of what Cab Franc is capable of given different terroir. It helped that Careme is well acquainted with South Africa and its wines, having worked a number of harvests here and even having had the sense to marry a Stellenbosch girl!

All four wines were tasted blind and having been decanted for an hour or two before consumption. First up was a 2009 Les Galichets from Domaine de la Chevalerie in Bourgueil followed by a La Folie 2008 from Chateau Yvonne in Saumur-Champigny, Le Clos Guillot 2005 from Bernard Baudry in Chinon and finally another Bourgueil wine – the 2005 L’Envolée from Gerard Vallée (Domaine de la Cotelleraie), the prestige cuvee.

The differences between the various wines were marked – not just by vintage variation and winemaking but by terroir influence. The La Folie was distinctly chalky textured and mineral while the Le Clos guillot showed a touch of meatiness and cigar box/tobacco leaf. Undoubtedly the most modern of all the examples was the L’Envolée which was very Bordelaise in character – modern, black cherry fruit, cocoa and a hint of the same tobacco leaf note.

It’s that latter character which locally becomes too herbaceous and vegetal. Some local winemakers believe that the grape variety’s lighter tannin structure (than Cabernet Sauvignon) contributes to that. There’s no doubt that SA winemakers are aware of this and to counteract that ‘greenness’ appear to err on the side of harvesting the grape overripe – which leads to raisined and somewhat porty elements as well as high alcohols.

But that’s the negative. On the positive side there are some lovely local examples – Bruwer Raats is Cab Franc’s biggest fan and his wine once beat Cheval Blanc in a tasting… One of the folks at the Loire Cab Franc tasting was Warwick’s Norma Ratcliffe, and she’s taking a keen interest in the potential of the grape on their Stellenbosch property. Plaisir de Merle is another of the good examples and I recall a wine that Charles Hopkins made in his Bellingham days – the Spitz Cabernet Franc. He recommended it as an accompaniment to the wild boar hunted in the Franschhoek vineyards that made up his backyard at the time!

Cabernet Franc has a lot to offer – more than just as a blending partner – and it would be fantastic to see the numbers of local enthusiasts beating its drum grow annually.