Cap Classique specialists & champions not always the same |

Cap Classique specialists and champions not always one in the same

09/2017 Mike Froud Leave a comment

AT THE TIME of writing, 46 years after South Africa’s first Méthode Champensoise sparkling wine was made at Simonsig in Stellenbosch (Kaapse Vonkel Brut 1971), the number of Cap Classique bubblies had grown to around 300, produced at some 200 cellars adhering to the traditional method* that dates back to the 17th century and which resulted in the famous wines of Champagne, France. That said, there are not many producers who specialise in Cap Classique to the point of it being their main focus – Simonsig and Villiera, also of Stellenbosch, are just two of the SA sparkling wine market leaders whose portfolios extend to many other types of wine. Even the bubbly house JC Le Roux in the Devon Valley of Stellenbosch has a ‘split personality’, so to speak – home of top Cap Classique brands Scintilla and Desiderius Pongrácz, but also the name on a lot of carbonated fizz.

* For anybody wanting a brief explanation of sparkling wine produced according to the traditional method, see ‘bottle fermented’ among the wine terms listed here.

SPECIALIST CAP CLASSIQUE HOUSES

Ambeloui – Hout Bay Cellar
Charles Fox Cap Classique Wine Estate – Elgin Cellar
Colmant Cap Classique & Champagne – Franschhoek Cellar
Genevieve Méthode Cap Classique – Based in Bot River
Graham Beck Wines – Robertson Cellar
Le Lude – Franschhoek Cellar
Silverthorn Wines – Based in Robertson
Tanzanite Wines – Based in Worcester
Twee Jonge Gezellen (Krone Collection) – Tulbagh Cellar

In fact, unlike Champagne, most of the Cape’s top sparklers are from cellars that also offer a number of wines without any bubble to them (full Classification here). Robertson’s Graham Beck was among them until the decision in 2016 to shed much of the range to become a specialist. And as in previous years, the top-rated wines in the 2017 Amorim Cap Classique Challenge are associated with baskets of beauties in which, for the most part, MCC is not a factor – Simonsig’s Cuvée Royale Blanc de Blancs 2012 (overall winner) and Woolworths Pinot Noir Rosé 2015, and Domaine des Dieux Claudia Brut 2011, from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge outside Hermanus, judged to be the best of the double gold medallists in their respective classes.