Roxette discovers De Toren

Having had dinner at the fabulous Roundhouse Restaurant in Cape Town, Per and Marie were introduced to the 1999 De Toren Fusion V and enjoyed it so much that they just had to visit the estate.

It all started in Liverpool, right after the second World War. The story of The Beatles, that is. Roxette, however, came out of Sweden in the late ‘80s. Roxette is Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, and their game is pop. With 31 chart-busting pop-singles, we feel assured enough to say that few play it better.

Marie and Per met in the laid-back West Coast town Halmstad in the late ‘70s, but individual success prevented them from "doing something together" in the following years. Per's former power-pop group Gyllene Tider is still one of Sweden's most loved acts, and Marie's impressive solo career gave her an equally solid platform. In 1986, they were ready to merge their creative forces. Per had the songs, Marie the voice. Together, they argued, they would be a match made in heaven. Nineteen years later, Roxette is still flying high.

Albie Koch our wine maker is a great follower of their music and therefore volunteered for the tasting. Needless to say the Albie had an absolute ball and we have great new fans of De Toren in Sweden.

THE SECRETS OF OUR SUCCESS (Part 2) Free Energy…………

In our last newsletter we discussed our attempts to achieve optimal balance in our vineyards. Now we turn our attention to Free Energy! There are two free energies known to us.

• Sunlight. By optimizing photosynthesis the vine has the ability to ripen the berries to its fullest potential. With Richard Smart’s publication “Sunlight into Wine” as our manual, we manage our canopies to their fullest potential. Understanding the ratio between healed, soil potential and canopy, we can ensure that our berries reach optimal phenolic ripeness. We make extensive use of phenolic ripeness measurements to ensure full ripe tannins in our wine. Here we use the analytical services of Dr Andy Roediger who now has obtained his Cape Wine Masters qualification with his thesis on “Phenolic ripeness in South Africa”. Essentially phenolic ripeness assesses the quality of the grapes which is a culmination in the grape variety as well as the suitability of the variety to the terroir that it is planted in. The quality is monitored by the amount of anthocyanins present in the grapes and thus it is not advisable to harvest grapes at a stage when the anthocyanins are increasing, as this means that the quality of the resultant wine is still increasing. In addition the laboratory extraction percentage of the measured anthocyanins is a very important factor in determining the ripeness of a grape. Further measurements that are conducted are the amounts of tannin present in the grape which is subdivided into seed and skin tannins. Additional information that is provided is the contribution of tannins to the total phenolic compounds as well as tannin to anthocyanin ratio. This information is important in stabilising the polymeric colour compounds in the wine, and thus preventing early bottle precipitation. Finally to further quantify the quality of the grapes a total phenolic index (TPI) is also reported on.
   

• Facing the Ocean. The second free energy available to us is the cool sea breeze that blows through our vineyards rows. By planting our rows facing the ocean and at the correct slope we ensure a homogeneous micro climate throughout the vineyard. This in turn guarantees that all the bunches ripen simultaneously. On a macro scale this daily sea breeze ensures cooler afternoon temperatures and blesses us with dew at night. This moderate climate ensures a long and even ripening of our berries giving them the complexity and deep color our wines are renowned for. Therefore design in vineyard is critically important in getting the best out of your vines.

Mathew Jukes puts De Toren Fusion V in his top 50 wines in the U K

The latest is a Top 50 from Matthew Jukes, wine writer for the Daily Mail, who was one of the most conscientious tasters at Cape Wine 2008. But this is no laundry list – the picks are idiosyncratic (albeit expensive, ranging from £6 to £50) and there are some killer tasting notes. Whites dominate: seven each to Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc; six Chardonnays and five white blends.

De Toren Fusion V, Stellenbosch, 2006, £23.00

"The bravest Fusion V ever, with lashings of tannin and gobs of structure. This is a brazen wine and it deserves to be feared and adored in equal measure. It will thrill you for years to come."