Around the Horn in South Africa

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Around the Horn in South Africa

By Warren Rojas

Courtesy of Spice Route (Pinotage); Courtesy of Mulderbosch (Faithful Hound); Courtesy of Thelema (Sauvignon Blanc)

Courtesy of Mulderbosch; Courtesy of Thelema; Courtesy of Spice Route

Things I know about South Africa:

It’s hot.

It’s far away.

And they apparently know something about winemaking.

Kelly Magyarics considers the sun-splashed nation to be a “great off-the-beaten-path option for wine lovers,” listing the region’s proclivity for expertly blending Old World techniques with New Age technology as a driving force of their winemaking prowess.

“The country’s wines boast an appeal that is traditional yet modern, exotic yet approachable,” she claims.

And while chenin blanc—or steen, as the locals call it—gets all the ink from wine critics, Magyarics prefers the “racy, crisp and herbaceous style” of South Africa’s more demonstrative sauvignon blancs. She cites the 2007 Thelema Sauvignon Blanc ($19) as one such solid performer, praising its “great balance of grassiness … zesty acidity and a hint of flint on the finish.”

To drink like a true native, she recommends uncorking a bottle of the 2007 Spice Route Pinotage ($22)—an unblinking red bearing “lovely aromas of plum and spice, with lots of blackberries and a touch of oak.” Magyarics suggests pairing the intense varietal—the offspring of a pinot noir and cinsuat crossing—with local game (buffalo and ostrich over in Paarl; venison or buffalo around these parts).

Walter Martley prefers a more smoothed-out red, singling out the Bordeaux-mimicking 2005 Mulderbosch Faithful Hound ($24) as more his style. “This wine is equally at home with a dish of roasted duck and herb-roasted potatoes or a bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin,” he says of the heady blend. Subtlely is his prerogative for whites as well. Which is why Martley favors the 2008 Neil Ellis “Sincerely” Sauvignon Blanc ($16), an easy-drinking white displaying “delicate stone fruit character (think ripe peach) … and a slight minerality that echoes the Sancerre style.”