Lanzerac Wines

Winemaker’s Update on Harvest 2015

Could 2015 be the best vintage of the past decade? Winemakers are notorious for playing their cards close to the chest when it comes to making predictions about the latest harvest.

In my time at Lanzerac the wine years that went on to justified the initial feeling of greatness was 2007 and particular 2009 – a vintage that is widely acknowledge as the best the Cape has produced in the new millennium. The 2013 vintage is also now proving to be one of the better ones.

So how about the 2015 vintage you may ask? Well I am going to stick my neck out here and declare it as potentially rivaling the great 2009. First off the current vintage is by the end of March just a memory by being the earliest on recent records. Of more importance was the state of the grapes what can only be described as “superb”. Never have I seen grapes that were more healthy and had better technical analysis (acidity and pH levels was amazing). What makes me very excited about the earlier ripening varieties like Chardonnay, Merlot and Pinotage is that the grapes reached phenolic ripeness at lower sugars, higher acidities and lower Ph. levels – all markers that the modern wine maker is looking for.

As the dust is settling on the current vintages (we had the added excitement with huge veld fires in the Jonkershoek Valley at the end of harvest. Luckily it did not affect any vineyards or grapes as the harvest was in the cellar by then) we are pressing the last of the Cabernet tanks and filling barrels.

The new white wines in the cellar are finished with fermentation and have been sulphured and filled up in full tanks, while the red wines are currently undergoing malo-lactic fermentation. This quieter time in the cellar gives me time to taste, contemplate and access each wine and to make all important decisions regarding barrel use and maturation potential.

While this is going on we will also start to shift our attention slightly towards last year’s wines with blending and preparing them for bottling.

Have a blessed and peaceful Easter.

Wynand Lategan and the Lanzerac Cellar team.

In 1959, SFW launched the Lanzerac Rosé, the longest-standing wine in the range. Two years later, the company also launched the world’s first commercially bottled Pinotage (the indigenous varietal developed in 1925 by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsaut/Hermitage) with a 1959 vintage. The range grew over the years but with the introduction of the Taskelder brand it was virtually culled in 1973, with only the Lanzerac Rosé remaining.Despite the brand’s virtual withdrawal from the market, older vintages of the Pinotage continued to excite interest at the Annual Auction of Rare Cape Wines at Nederburg, fetching high prices.

During the mid-eighties a Lanzerac range was re-introduced and in order to raise the label to the quality standards set by Buchanan, a number of serious wines were added in the early nineties including a Chardonnay, Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines won several Veritas gold medals and were widely acclaimed.SFW and Christo Wiese have taken a joint decision, to once again produce wines at Lanzerac, for which its vineyards have been extensively upgraded.

The Lanzerac Rosé which remains a national favourite, will continue to be made by SFW, as will the Lanzerac Pinotage, which with its distinguished heritage will create the quality benchmark for the new-generation wines. However, all other wines are being produced at Lanzerac itself by wine maker Wynand Hamman in close association with SFW, which provided expertise on blending and undertakes responsibility for the marketing of the full range in South Africa. Quantities of the wines have also been reserved for export.

The new wines to emerge from the Lanzerac cellars are a 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon; a 1996 wooded Chardonnay and a 1995 Merlot. These three wines will be marketed together with the 1995 Pinotage, the flagship of the range, as limited edition, premier offerings and will carry a distinctive label to set them apart from the traditional dewdrop shaped bottle of the Lanzerac Rosé.

The town has a rich history dating back to 1679 when it was founded by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Simon van der Stel. The town grew so quickly that it became an independent local authority in 1682. Today, Stellenbosch is home to a leading university and is one of the larger wine growing regions in South Africa that attracts wine connoisseurs from all over the world with its numerous vineyard sights and activities. Stellenbosch has the oldest wine route in the country and is arguably the most famous.

The mild weather and unique terrior is ideal for wine-growing, allowing Stellenbosch to amass countless international awards over the years. There are numerous ways guests can experience the Winelands, including wine tours on foot, horseback or self-drive. Nowhere else will you find over 200 wine farms and estates, where both connoisseurs and novice wine-drinkers can indulge in some of the world’s top award-winning wines.

Wynand Lategan, Winemaker

Born and bred in Stellenbosch, life presented Wynand Lategan with a few twists and turns before he discovered what should have been a logical and natural life choice for anyone native to this area.Having completed his matric, Wynand set about completing what was then compulsory two year military service before enrolling for a B.Comm degree at the University of Stellenbosch. Spurred on by his dream of becoming a professional athlete and eventually representing South Africa at the Olympic Games he extended his carefree existence as a student by enrolling in an Honours degree in Journalism which gave him the opportunity of working as a volunteer at the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

When the time came and Wynand had to enter the job arena he started working at Die Burger as a financial journalist – a position he would remain in for four years.

At the age of 30, weighed down by the frustration of spending each day bound to an office desk, Wynand enrolled at Elsenburg – and so began the fulfillment of a life-long dream of farming and an opportunity to hone his growing passion for wine.

He completed his studies in 2002 when he joined the winemaking team at the then newly completed Lourensford Cellar. An opportunity of an international harvest at Château Durfort-Viviens and a second growth in Margaux paved the way to Lanzerac where Wynand took over the winemaking responsibilities in 2005, a position he still holds today.

Wynand’s winemaking philosophy is quite simple. When he makes a wine he is led by balance – balance in fruit, tannins, colour, alcohol, mouth-feel and in the use of wood – these are all key elements in the wine sculpting process. Wines should add joy and friendship to life; create memories of an occasion, place or the people you share it with.

Besides spending most of his time in the vineyards or in the cellar doing what he does best, Wynand is an avid outdoor enthusiast whose passions include running, surfing, mountain biking and hunting. He is married to Nelleke and is a doting dad to their three beautiful daughters, Ella, Fila-Marie and Barbara, whom he believes keeps him grounded.