(Pic: Carl van der Merwe, winemaker at Quoin Rock)Quoin Rock Winery releases its first sparkling wine.
The Quoin Rock Winery is a double establishment, with properties on the southern coast of the Western Cape, near Cape Agulhas, and on the foothills of the Simonsberg mountain at Stellenbosch.
The unusual name comes from a landmark near Quoin Point, a dangerous reef (many ships have been wrecked here) off the coast west of Agulhas. Quoin is an old English term for a wooden wedge used to lower or raise gun barrels.
From its land in the small Cape Agulhas wine region Quoin Rock produces some high quality cool climate varieties of wine, such as sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir. Cultivating vines here at the southern tip of Africa is a difficult job, with the farmer facing high humidity, occasional and unseasonal summer rainfall, and strong winds which can damage vines. But, correctly managed, the vineyards can produce exceptional wines; Quoin Rock’s white wines from this area are all rated four stars or more in the Platter Guide.
The winery uses part of its 160 hectares of prime wine-growing land near Stellenbosch for the production mainly of red wines, which make up 70 percent of its total annual output of 5,000 cases.
Quoin Rock has now released its first sparkling wine, a Cap Classique made by the slow and difficult French champagne method of fermentation in the bottle. I think we should be allowed to call these wines Cape champagne, but the French object and make dire threats about trade between South Africa and France. Okay, Cap Classique it is, and the best examples are comparable to true champagne, in my opinion.
It is a densely packed chapter in the Cape wine library; there are about 70 Cap Classiques on the market (as distinct from lesser sparkling wines made by tank fermentation or artificial carbonation). But the Quoin Rock is the first to come from the Agulhas area.
Only 4,000 bottles of the Quoin Rock Cape Agulhas Cap Classique First Release, to give its full name, have been produced. The wine is a 50/50 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. The grapes were harvested by hand and then transported by refrigerated truck to the winery in Stellenbosch for vinification.
The Quoin Rock winemaker Carl van der Merwe points out that the cool climate of the Champagne region in France preserves flavours and acidities in the grapes, a vital factor in sparkling wines, and says this is equally true of grapes grown at Cape Agulhas.
I have sampled the wine and it is distinctive and distinguished. It is a bone dry white wine with a slightly pink tinge, thanks no doubt to the pinot noir in it. The bubble is fine and long-lasting, and the wine has delicate strawberry and oatmeal biscuit flavours. It would go well with most foods but especially of course with shellfish and oysters. And on its own it is the perfect aperitif in hot or cold weather.
It is a luxury wine. Cellar price is R125 a bottle, and I guess you would probably have to add about R20 for a local retailer’s price. All the same, it is about a third of the cost of most French champagnes.
The Quoin Rock Winery has tastings and sales at its Stellenbosch cellar. Phone 021 888 4740. – Michael Green
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