Dalla Cia

Monday, March 18th, 2013

“Staves are to good barrels what Nescafé is to properly made espresso – you’re reminded of the real thing but it’s not nearly as good,” says Giorgio Dalla Cia, at Meerlust in Stellenbosch from 1978 to 2003 and subsequently making wine under his own label.

Dalla Cia was famously involved in pioneering  the Bordeaux-style red blend in the Cape, the maiden vintage Meerlust Rubicon 1980 appearing the year after Paarl property Welgemeend produced the first ever. He’d studied at the Scuola Enologica di Conegliano just north of Venice but spent holidays in France to broaden his wine knowledge and was particularly taken with the wines of Bordeaux.

“It became clear to me that high-quality barrique was a crucial determinant of wine quality. Bordeaux had long been drunk by the English and the use of barrique originally came around for practical reasons as it made shipping easier. In Italy, meanwhile, most consumption was domestic and wine tended to be vinified in large-format vats which did not impart the same complexity,” he says.

When Dalla Cia arrived in South Africa in the 1970s, Cabernet Sauvignon was relatively widely available and along with the late Nico Myburgh, father of current Meerlust owner Hannes, the two set out to make a wine inspired by Bordeaux.

“Lafite was the reference – I loved the wine and we needed a target to aim for.” He relates showing the 1984 to the Lafite team at a later stage and taking great satisfaction at their disbelief that South Africa was capable of such high quality. “They called it ‘the best French wine outside of France’”.

According to Dalla Cia, South Africa’s sunshine is both the greatest asset and liability of the wine industry. “We get better ripeness but also higher alcohols than Bordeaux,” he says. “As soon as I arrived here, I could recognise the potential to make a great Bordeaux-style blend – no frost, no rain, no hailstorms. You get a good vintage here 80% of the time.”

Now 72 years old, Dalla Cia’s winemaking skills seem far from waning with his current release Giorgio having been rated 5 Stars in the current edition of Platter’s. It’s a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot, all grapes sourced from the Helderberg area of Stellenbosch. His approach to oak maturation, as you might guess, is none too cautious, the wine having spent 18 months in barrel, 80% new. “You must allow the wine and oak to interact. It stabilises colour, enriches the bouquet, adds intricacy.”

– Christian Eedes