Vergenoegd Löw is showing what a dash of limestone can do for Malbec, with the heritage Stellenbosch estate’s prestige 2023 Family Collection Malbec ranked top of its class at this year’s SA Terroir Wine Awards.
Winemaker Vusi Dalicuba (31), who is being mentored by Abri Beeslaar, a three-time winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) International Winemaker of the Year title, is thrilled by the judges’ decision to award the speciality reserve wine, title of best Malbec.
It’s his first accolade for the grape, although his Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon expressions have won him trophies, high praise and top scores on various competitive platforms since 2022.
When he joined the estate in 2021, work was already well underway to replant the vineyards in a project begun in 2017. The all-new plantings make the most of the proximity to False Bay, just under 5 km away, with its cooling ocean winds. “The influence of the sea cannot be overstated. During the summer months, it keeps temperatures down significantly. It is at least 3ᵒC cooler here than elsewhere in the Stellenbosch area, with the lower ambient ripening temperatures helping to concentrate grape flavours and bring complexity to our wines.
We call our wines Merroir wines, a portmanteau of mer (French for sea) and terroir. We have even taken to calling our corner, Stellenbosch-by-the-Sea, to highlight the imprint of the ocean.”
The vines grow in sandy loam on a mix of clay and a generous seam of limestone, “that with its high calcium content brings acidity, structure and longevity to the wine.”
The 2023 Malbec spent 18 months in a combination of second-, third- and fourth-fill oak to round out its flavours and texture.
Dalicuba says the wine calls to mind ripe, juicy, sun-warmed blackberries and mulberries but also that “unmistakable tomato leaf fragrance you pick up in summer in our vegetable gardens. It’s a wine with a powerful presence but still very elegant.”
Its slight smokiness makes it the perfect partner to “anything braaied. You name it and it delivers – from steak, sausage, chops, even gamey fish and robust vegetables like mushrooms, mielies and aubergine.”
All Vergenoegd Löw’s farming is according to regenerative principles that start with building soil life and health, promoting biodiversity, building climate resilience and enhancing moisture content while using as few external inputs as possible. The Vergenoegd Löw team calls it “farming with as opposed to against nature”.
For us viticulture is extremely hands-on and labour intensive. That way, we can literally follow the grapes when they reach the cellar and let them dictate what happens rather than to impose ourselves on the fruit,” Dalicuba explains.
The estate applies integrated pest control management throughout. Its iconic Indian Runner ducks fertilise the soil, keep vineyard pests at bay and snack on weeds. It also has 106 Dexter cattle, the biggest herd of its kind on any Western Cape wine farm, as well as flocks of sheep and a diverse population of poultry that collectively enrich the soil, curtail pests and consume weeds. At the same time, cover crops and other insectary plants attract pollinators and insects that are harmful to vines and other plants.
The wine is available for speciality tasting at the estate’s Vintage Room in the werf, and it can be purchased at the farm and top-end fine wine outlets. Heritage Circle wine club membership offers outstanding discount options.
Visit https://vergenoegd.co.za/heritage-circle-wine-club/ to find out more.
