"Great wines are made in the vineyard."

This statement features in pretty much every conversation I had with winemakers over the past few years, but I also find that the makers of the truly special wines always discount their own importance in favour of nature's perfect gift.

Great wines have a sense of place - and place is ever so important. We are all familiar with the wine-growing regions, but it is the niches in those that produce the magic. 

A decade ago I was working a harvest on a property with varying soil types that produced noteworthy reds from all varieties - some with decades of cellaring potential. The whites were good but didn't garner the same accolades as the reds. There was this one Sauvignon blanc though... one sip and I was smitten - balanced with aromas of fig, herby nettle and ripe grenadilla, all following through on a lengthy palate with juicy lemony acid inviting one back for the next sip before the glass could even touch the table. Same farm, different world.

Sadly, the volume produced was so small that only a fortunate few will ever experience it.

A few days later while out on the farm tasting grapes, testing sugar and in the middle of tens of hectares of chenin and sauvi, the winemaker and I happene upon a small natural amphitheatre tucked into the hillside, steep sides covered in sauvi vines with a narrow opening on the downward side. He points to a small north-east facing block and says, "That's the sauvi you like so much" and then meaningfully adds, "Go and taste the grapes". What a revelation that first taste was! All the flavours present in the wine were right there in those freshly picked grapes. By comparison, other sauvi blocks tasted of grape and green pepper. These grapes, however, were very special indeed, and yet those intense flavours and potential can be so easily lost during the journey to your glass. Unfortunately, only sauvignon blanc and to a lesser extent cabernet sauvignon make it this easy, showing easily recognisable flavours and potential in grape form, while the rest of grape varietals require a very good palate and years spent in the vineyard to predict the direction they need to go as wines.

So why does this small block excel in a sea of mediocrity then?

The aspect of the block will limit the amount of sun received, thus slowing ripening, resulting in complex flavour development and acid retention.

The site's sheltered nature will protect against high wind but benefit from its cooling effect.

High-drainage sandy soil results in deep root system development, sometimes exceeding 20 metres. Consistent water equals consistent fruit, even in drought. The unique microbial soil population can vary from one block to the next and influence the vines in ways not fully understood yet.

There are dozens of sauvi clones that favour different terroirs, but the ones planted here happen to be in harmony with all the variables and produce very special fruit as a result.

The age of the vines and pruning - older produces less fruit but is more concentrated. It's like raising three kids vs 10. The grapes were picked phenolicly ripe, based on taste, not just sugar level. Heat spikes can elevate sugar with ripeness lagging behind.

And the list goes on…

I haven't stopped tasting since that day and had many great wines all telling the story of their home, but none duplicating that unique wine made in that vineyard.

I think I'll go and taste those grapes again.

Conrad de Wet sells wine for a living. This came about as a convenient consequence of constantly tasting his way towards the next great wine discovery, and then thinking and talking about it until no mystery regarding its greatness remains. He opens a bottle of wine with the same enthusiasm as a pre-schooler opens a birthday present. 082 683 4193 / dewet.wine@gmail.com / instagram: winebynature