Few regions capture the imagination as the Swartland. Here, it’s about the wines as much as it is about their story, writes Clifford Roberts…
Explore the community of South African wine long enough and you’d be forgiven for discerning a regional type. It’s unfair, but the blame may all lie with the Swartland. Stand out enough and everyone else gets evaluated too.
These days it’s difficult to not get excited whenever a label indicates origins from those vineyards – a region you might not instinctively associate as The Winelands.
Nonetheless, the last few years have seen it become a destination by a new kind of visitor – one intent on getting to the heart of its wine culture. Because it is unlike any other. It is most likeable perhaps because for one, while its wines have escalated in quality at speed, wine snobbery is abhorred. Join in at on of its events like the Swartland Street Party on November 1 and it’s plain to see.
Yet behind the Swartland’s laidback, rogue-like character are among the most calculating and serious wine people in the business.
It wasn’t always like so. Before the 1990s, the Swartland was generally associated with bulk production, co-operative wineries and fortified wines. That era brought us Portuguese wine varieties, a category that cellars like Allesverloren pioneered and excelled at, which have remained a mainstay – albeit as still wines.
Beyond wine, it has always been a territory ripe for discovery. The occurrence of olives, for example, seems completely congruous with these climes, except that these were first planted in the late 1980s by Kloovenburg. A thriving industry has been the result here too.
In the case of shining fresh light on the vineyards, it took a new wave of winemakers to believe in the Swartland’s ability to produce spectacular, site expressive wines and to lead in the pursuit of environmental sustainability. Despite limited means, most of them came with ideals and conviction, buying fruit from trusted growers to establish themselves.
The story of the Swartland “revolution” is well known by now. Since then, the story has moved on since the transformations that came in the early 2000s. Its evolution has seen the reputation well established while drawing in established wineries too. At the same time, an all-important recognition of the intent behind the wines has become apparent.
It is all bound up with winemakers striving for “natural” wines that show fruit character without the need for heavy oaking, manipulating yeasts, or overworking of fruit in the cellar. In the vineyard, this extends to making sure varieties are matched to their environment in ways that not only ensure a more faithful expression, but also environmental sustainability.
The vines are typically dry-farmed and many go untrellissed to thrive as bush vines. Biodiversity and organic farming are high up on the agenda in these parts, as is an appreciation for vineyards that have stood the test of time.
Rather than typical noble varieties, the grapes favoured by wine growers here hail from across the southern, more arid parts of Europe because of their drought resistance. Along with Portugal, places like Italy and Greece too.
As their excellence has been recognised, so have their champions. Among them, names such as Sadie, Badenhorst, Mullineux and Kent. Wines from the Swartland have found themselves infused into the portfolios of ranges elsewhere, while also taking hold with wine-lovers overseas.
Brands like Columella set the price bar high and made the sustainability of wine not only a conversation around the environment but around people’s livelihoods too.
It might be expected that the Swartland has found its groove, but in fact, that rogue-ish character remains as winemakers continue to challenge conventions and push boundaries. Through this mission, they perhaps inadvertently have remained relevant.
For one, the diversity of expressions produced in the region make it not only highly accessible but have also kept it intriguing. While not exclusively, a focus on site has produced a category of wines that are light-bodied yet infinitely complex and delicious.
But be warned. If there’s one over-arching definition of Swartland wines that has held true, it’s that it can’t be pinned down. That’s a kind of type that many wine lovers are only too happy to embrace.
ALSO SEE: THE SWARTLAND: LITTLE BLACK BOOK
Text and images: Supplied
