Nestled almost on its own, quite literally at the very bottom southern tip of the African continent, in the Western Cape's own Bot River of Walker Bay, just about an hour's drive from South Africa's Cape Town, resides a man with a really big problem. And no, it's not any sort of double edged, highly technical, stuck between a rock and a hard place type of winemaking conundrum, it's in fact one that would probably be relatable to any number of folks around the world, whether they're an accountant or a pilot, and that's having to work for your father-in-law.

The thing is, Peter-Allan Finlayson, isn't just born to South African winemaking royalty - his father, Peter Finlayson, was literally the first winemaker to usher in the Hemel-en-Aarde and Bot River winegrowing regions in the late 70's, which became home to some of the country's most exciting and artisanal, high quality wines, having first helmed the iconic Hamilton Russell Vineyards, before establishing his own Bouchard Finlayson (with Burgundy legend Paul Bouchard) winery, which has earned him the title of "Father of South African Pinot Noir" - he's also a phenomenal winemaker in his own right, who will most definitely go down in the country's history as also one of the greats. Together with his brother Andrew, the pair would establish their own winery in the Hemel-en-Aarde area, named Crystallum, which has of course been met with huge success, with its highly lauded and sought after Chardonnay's and Pinot Noir's that have brought Burgundian winemaking to South Africa.

(Top Left) Bernhard Heyns, (Top Center) Peter-Allan Finlayson, (Bottom Right) Gabrielskloof.

And so when his father-in-law, Bernhard Heyns, a prominent South African businessman whose family had operated a major brick manufacturer turned coal miner (Graspan Colliery), had on his hands a winery that just wasn't putting out wines that lived up to the terroir's potential, he would of course instinctively ask his son-in-law to do something about it - now as you might imagine, Peter-Allan of course probably ran through every possible way he could to say "no" without having to actually say the word, but eventually when financial pressures at his father-in-law's estate intensified, the dutiful Peter-Allan would ultimately relent and step in.

But how did we get here?

Heyns, having come from the manufacturing and mining business, had nevertheless always harboured a lifelong dream of establishing his own winery. And so around the year 2000, this dream started to take a serious turn towards reality when Heyns had met a local farmer by the name of Barry Anderson, who had gotten wind of Heyns' ambition. Together why would narrow their search for a possible site down to the Bot River area within Walker Bay of the Western Cape's Overberg region, where the once Avontuur Farm that had resided there was more or less just a wheat field where sheep were allowed to roam and pasture. They would acquire the farm and thus established the Gabriëlskloof winery in 2001, with its name taken to mean Gabriel's Ravine ("skloof" being the Afrikaans word for a mountainous ravine). By 2002, vine planting would get well underway, and yet unfortunately in hindsight this was where things started to get awry, with Heyns having received some bad advice as to the sort of varieties that he should plant. Nevertheless, the winery with even an accompanying hospitality complex and restaurant was completed in 2009, with the debut vintage for Gabrielskloof set at 2008. And so in its early years, vintage upon vintage, its wines would simply struggle to take off.

Yet just about 20 kilometers away, separated by the Babylon mountain ranges, was Crystallum where Peter-Allan and his brother Andrew had gotten off to a bang, having just established the winery a year prior in 2007 and already proving that South Africa was capable of producing international varietals - single vineyard cuvees no less - to incredible finesse and precision, showcasing the local microclimate and terroir with a Burgundian flair marked by minimal intervention and natural expression.

And so after years of escaping what was probably the inevitable, Peter-Allan would finally step in for Gabrielskloof's 2015 vintage - almost unanimously acknowledged by the wine community, Gabrielskloof has been on a serious tear ever since, with everything from its vineyards to the style and quality of the wines made, and even the way its been marketed with a fresh lineup, quite extensively overhauled and today producing seriously spectacular wines at great value price tags. 

Although in close proximity, Peter-Allan had an incredibly acute awareness of the nuanced differences between the Bot River (where Gabrielskloof is at) and Hemel-en-Aarde (where Crystallum works out of). Even as both areas are characterised by clay and shale at the lower lying slopes with more sedimentary rocks towards the Bot River side, which turns into sandstone and quarts going up the mountain ranges, the tricky bit is that the two microclimates are incredibly different. The Bot River is about 4-5 degrees Celsius warmer, with half the rainfall, as compared to Hemel-en-Aarde, which makes the former more suitable for Rhone and Bordeaux varietals, and the latter better placed to produce cooler climate Burgundian varietals. And thus over at the Bot River, farming has to be adapted accordingly, with more vines planted into actual sandstone which can even create wines with more character by naturally restricting their growth, whilst also paying close attention to the incredibly scarce water supply, where it almost teeters on the edge of the bare minimum that a vineyard can survive on. Consequently, creative solutions have to be employed to keep the vineyards at Gabrielskloof sufficiently hydrated, whilst also ensuring that herbicides, pesticides and artificial fertilizers aren't required. Under the direction of Peter-Allan, Gabrielskloof has figured that mulching (where straw and woodchips are scattered under the vines creating a mat) has worked to stop the weeds and at the same time help to hold in moisture, as well as supporting a healthy biodiversity that benefits the vineyards. 

Gabrielskloof uses mulching to retain moisture and promote organic matter. 

Yet, unlike the better funded, larger cooperatives over in Stellenbosch and the Swartland, Gabrielskloof has often had to make difficult tradeoffs. Practices such as mulching are costly and so even covering the entire estate's 60 hectares of vines has been financially challenging, with the team even limiting the number of barrels being purchased just so they can direct more cash towards the vineyards. The estate has even gone so far as to audit every element's water usage to determine that they've had to bring down their 17 hectares of olive trees to just 6 hectares, as olive trees use up to 6 times more water than the vines require. Instead, sweet pea, barley and hops are used as an alternative cover crop which are more organic friendly and water efficient. Even so, the estate has pushed hard into a more holistic approach towards sustainability, setting itself the goal of having 80% of its energy needs supplied via solar power, which will go towards all of its vineyard irrigation pumps, and thereby also reducing their fuel needs. Perhaps most impressively, Gabrielskloof has worked to hire all 100% of its employees from the local community for its vineyard team, and have guaranteed them fair wages, with employees who have stayed with the estate for 10 years being gifted their own houses under their own name! Gabrielskloof is incredibly clear about the importance of taking care of its local community, having also sponsored the local rugby club which holds great cultural significant in South Africa, and are also working towards having the staff create their own wines and taking a share of the profits.

The many faces of Gabrielskloof.

And so situated over a hill in the Bot River Valley, cusped on one side by the Babylon mountains and on the other by the Houwhoek mountains, with a direct path (just a 30 minute drive down to the coast) to the south for the cool Atlantic breeze that blows through the 60 hectare vineyards, Peter-Allan now oversees a wide range of varietals planted, with Rhone and Bordeaux varieties such as Syrah, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and of course the incredibly versatile Chenin Blanc. As alluded to earlier, Gabrielskloof's vineyard site is particularly unique for its ability to naturally restrict growth, both as a result of the sandstone soils and also the cold winds which stresses the vines, thereby producing intense and concentrated fruit at the expense of yields. This is further heightened by the cooling influences which help to lengthen the growing season whilst also simultaneously allowing for slow ripening, which again have the effect of creating greater flavour development and fresh acidity. Notably, Peter-Allan has found that Cabernet Franc in particular works wonderfully here. Gabrielskloof has also had the benefit of tapping on famed vineyard consultant Rosa Kruger, who is often called the Queen of the Cape's Old Vines, and is also a Decanter Hall of Fame-r who has worked on many of South Africa's most highly regarded estates.

Beyond its own vineyards, Peter-Allan has also sought to work with fruit from old vines, in particular old Chenin and Semillon, which he believes can beef up Gabrielskloof's white wine portfolio to complement its natural advantages where it comes to its estate-grown red wine cuvees. And thus today sources from the Swartland and also from Franschhoek. With a wide range of fruits to work with, Peter-Allan then carries over his preferred style of winemaking from his own Crystallum, where he takes a minimal intervention approach in the cellars, so as to allow the terroir and its resultant fruit to speak for itself, thereby delivering a purity of its sense of place. Winemaking at Gabrielskloof under Peter-Allan is thus characterised by the use of whole bunch ferments and indigenous yeasts, although particularly interesting and much in the vein of frontier winemaking, a range of vessels are used, from old oak to clay amphora, with Peter-Allan having mentioned that he's found that the estate's fruit works even better with less new oak.

"20 years ago, South Africa was trying to make big, bold Napa style Cabs, which were popular at the time, but there wasn’t really any space for us to compete there. And for a long time, we were seen as a cheap, bulk-wine-producing region. Now there’s been a massive shift to focus on regionality, on old vineyards, and sustainability. I think the producers that are at the top end success and quality-wise are all taking those things really seriously. We’re not quite old world, but I think we are focusing on those consumers that are looking for more European style elegance, rather than new world power. 

Now, I think we’ve got the right focus. The winemaking is very much on point in terms of respecting where the fruit is from."

Today Gabrielskloof makes to a high degree an impressively wide array of wines, white, red, and rose, that's expressed across a range of terroirs, elevages and also in various styles of still, sparkling and late harvest sweet wines. Particularly notable are Gabrielskloof's Amphora Sauvignon Blanc, Whole Bunch Syrah, Rosebud Rose and sparkling Madame Lucy Methode Cap Classique, with also its highly lauded Landscape Series designed to feature its single vineyard wines that includes the old vine Chenin and Semillon Elodie and Magdalena cuvees, as well as the comparative cuvees Syrah on Sandstone and Syrah on Shale, and finally of course, it's estate single varietal Cabernet Franc.

Much of Peter-Allan's work has paid off, with Gabrielskloof today named as one of South Africa's First Growth's by notable wine critic Tim Atkin.

And so with all that said, today we're going to taste Gabrielskloof's Madame Lucy South African Method Cap Classique Sparkling Brut!

PS. This was showcased by Wine To Share, the South African wine specialist based out of Singapore, who had put together an illuminating Method Cap Classique and fried chicken (a local style Har Cheong Kai) wine pairing event! Check them out for some incredible South African picks, many of which are highly lauded and deliver immense value at their rather ridiculously wallet friendly prices!

Wine Review: Gabrielskloof Madame Lucy South African Methode Cap Classique (MCC) Sparkling Brut

Part of the Projects Range, which features Gabrielskloof's more stylistically experimental wines, this is Gabrielskloof's only MCC, and has now been produced for 9 vintages, and was so named after the family's French Toy Poodle, Lucy, whose silhouette adorns the bottle.

A little bit about MCC, or Methode Cap Classique - it's fundamentally the same way French Champagnes are made (Champagne can only be called Champagne, when made in the Champagne region of France and according to the methode traditionelle process of having a second fermentation in bottle), and so is sparkling wine, and just as how the name "Champagne" is a protected designation, so is South Africa's Methode Cap Classique - only sparkling wines made according to the methode traditionelle in South Africa can be called an MCC!

It is typically made with 75-85% Chardonnay and 15-25% Pinot Noir (the 2021 Vintage is 83% Chardonnay and 17% Pinot Noir) that's sourced from several vineyards. The fruit is put through extended whole bunch pressing and is then naturally fermented and aged separately in older oak barrels for 6 months before blending and bottling under crown cap, and finally left to rest on the lees for another 20 months before disgorgement with zero dosage.

This is the 2021 vintage.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Straw

Aroma: Opens with lots of plucky doughiness, coaxed in with drizzles of honey, toasted almonds and also baked apples. There's a waft of oriental florals too, of jasmines and frangipani. It's in fact incredibly toasty and doughy, which only builds with time, with a combination of toasted shio pan crusts (Japanese salted butter bread), really warm and inviting, with then also lots of wet, chewy and fresh doughiness. Incredibly aromatic!

Taste: Medium-plus bodied, it's really luscious and rich, super honeyed, with all of that baked apple savouriness, stewed orchard fruits of apple and pear pie filling and then a doughy mid-palate, that's then garnished by some more of that toasted almond nuttiness. The acidity here is really gentle and plush, easily folded into the richer body. The pearly bubbles are soft and gentle, yet firm.

Finish: More doughiness here, really persistent with those toasty shio pan crusts, balanced against the savoury baked apples, really honeyed too, giving this lushness through the finish. That red apple quality really boldens here. A seamless and plush finish, with the slightest crispness.

My Thoughts

A really enjoyable and inviting MCC that really delivers that beautiful toastiness and doughiness that comes from lees ageing (where the wine is aged on its yeasts, in a process known as autolysis), with here a more rounded and riper fruitiness of red apples, really honeyed and richer too, along with these perfumed aromas of oriental flowers! This feels more luscious and easy going, with a really nice, generous body, offering that heftiness, with then just a side of oxidative character of that baked apple savouriness, as well as a plushness of the acidity. 

If you've always thought sparkling wines should be richer and more generous with the fruit and honey, or if you're looking for that often promised and seldom delivered doughiness and toastiness, the Gabrielskloof Madame Lucy MCC is the one for you. It's super aromatic, fruit driven, and with bountiful richness - and whilst we often try to veer away from talking price tags (because it's subjective and doesn't impact the taste or quality), we can't help but point out how much this one comes in at a fraction of the price.

PS. Once again, you'll find it in Singapore at Wine To Share.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot