SA Rocks

Ed’s note: This is a contribution from Vanessa Clark.

Every morning when the sun rises over the Franschhoek Valley, its rays reach the aptly named Môreson wine farm first. In winemaking terms this means the vines benefit from the early, gentler rays that warm up the grapes. Less prosaically though, I think it might also be partly responsible for the magic that the team at Môreson say they are making.

On a baking hot Wednesday morning last week, I headed up the N1 from Cape Town to the Franschhoek wine region. The air was pretty hazy from the devastating fires threatening the Cape’s winelands in many places. Fortunately Franschhoek has remained unscathed.

To reach Môreson, you turn off the R45 and onto Happy Valley Road – which just sets the scene for the rest of the visit.

We’d been invited for wine tasting and a spot of lunch, but that description really doesn’t do justice to the day (bearing in mind that secretly I am a bit of a wine geek and love seeing the behind the scenes stuff!)

We kicked off with a glass of the Môreson Blanc de Blanc Cap Classique – now my bubbly of choice for the summer. It was light, fruity and sparkly, with none of the chewy yeastiness that often stops me reaching for a second bottle.

We then tasted the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc – straight from the tank. I have good news to report to anyone who, like me, found many 2008 whites disappointingly fruity: if Môreson is anything to go by, 2009 is going to be a WINNER!

In the past, I have typically been an “anything but Chardonnay” girl – directly as a result of drinking too much heavily oaked Australian Chardonnay while living in London. However, Môreson is leading the charge towards a lighter, more integrated style of wooded white wine, resulting in an elegant, delicate drinking experience, rather than the feeling of gnawing on a plank. The 2008 Chardonnay is currently still in various parts in different tanks around the cellar – but a taste of three of the components heralds good things ahead.

After swinging by the bottling plant, where the 2006 Magia was being bottled, there was the ultimate wine geek treat for me: the disgorgement of the Methode Cap Classique before final corking.

A quick bit of background: Champagne, and in South Africa, Cap Classique, is fermented in the bottle it is sold in. This means that before it can be sold the dead yeast cells need to be removed from a bottle of sparkling wine with a pressure of around six bar (that’s three times the average scuba tank). To achieve this, the bottles are first riddled (moved slowly to an upside down vertical position so all the dead yeast, called lees, is resting in the neck) and then disgorged.

Although the technique is more mechanised nowadays, it still closely resembles the method used since the start of Champagne making. To disgorge the bottle, the neck is frozen, the beer bottle-style cap is popped off, and the dead yeast cells shoot out, leaving the bubbly ready for corking.

After all the excitement it was time to move on to lunch, at 2006 and 2007 top 10 restaurant Bread and Wine, located in the Môreson courtyard. Tina and Neil Jewell are widely known for their charcuterie – so that was a must for starters, and included their delicious version of a scotch egg, wrapped in bacon rather than breadcrumbs. For mains we had the kudu and the duck – both delicious taste sensations and exactly the right size portions for a hot summer’s day.

The menu has something for everyone, and always something a bit new and different. It is not cheap if the economy is biting, but neither excessive, with main courses around R 120. If you are watching your rands and cents, but now and again want to treat yourself, Bread and Wine would be a great option.

The wine list is of course Môreson and its alternative label Pinehurst. I especially like the tasting option, where for the cost of a glass of wine, you get three generous helpings of white or red wine, or a combination, so you can try before you commit to a bottle.

Môreson only produces about 300,000 bottles a year. With half going abroad, do yourself a favour and track down some of the bottles that remain in South Africa. My particular recommendations from the current vintage are the Blanc de Blanc MCC, the 2008 Chenin Blanc and 2007 Pinotage.

The relatively new team is young, passionate and obsessed about wine. And in my opinion this is very clear when the bottles are uncorked.

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