Hot but chilled

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

Usually the expression “blowing hot and cold” indicates vacillation and indecision. Quite the contrary when it is applied to Wellington however. This sleepy little backwater, once renowned as the vine nursery of South Africa is showing very promising signs of progress linked to its temperature(s).

It’s human nature to apply broad brushstroke descriptions and the one usually applied to Wellington is hot – and stinky, with some wags even calling it Smellington… That’s less of a factor nowadays, since Mossop’s Western Leathers have refined their tanning process and toned down the olfactory emissions. Wellington has always been a bit of an afterthought when it came to wine though. It was a sub-area of the greater Paarl district, but that too is no longer the case since it has individual ward status now. Some of the wineries to be found in Wellington include Diemersfontein, Schalk Burger, Doolhof, Nabygelegen, Dunstone, Mischa, Linton Park and Bosman Family Vineyards.

And yes, it’s hot: the mercury frequently hits 40 degrees in summer – but Bruce Jack also ably demonstrated that there are parts of Wellington which are distinctly cool when he produced his first Jack & Knox Green on Green Semillon from the Groenberg.

Well, James McKenzie of Nabygelegen is following suit with Chardonnay, Shiraz and Pinot Noir from the Sneeuberg. Snow Mountain is the range’s name and it was added to his regular lineup in 2009. The vineyards are at around 500m above sea level on the slopes of the Sneeuberg – one of the highest peaks in the area with a height of 1 685m. Early settlers in the valley of the wagonmakers took note of the frequent snows blanketing its peaks in winter and anointed it Snow Mountain. McKenzie is a fan of the cold dormancy the vines experience in winter and also says that because of the vineyard’s altitude, heat is not as much of a factor in summer as it is in vineyards on the valley floor.

The wines show lovely elegance and restraint and are quite classic in their delicacy and nuance. No stonking great full-ripe bruisers here! Ten years ago, there is no way that description would have been applied to wines from Wellington.