After a break over the festive season, the Enjoy Discovering Wine Alumni Club reconvened for an evening of superb South African wines with Mr. Chenin himself, Ken Forrester.
Over 25 years ago, Ken, his wife Teresa and their young family bought a derelict farm and homestead at auction, one of the oldest wine farms in the Cape, with history of vines being grown on the land since the 17th century.
Within a year the first wines were produced from vineyards on the property dating back to the 1970s and since then, Ken and his wines, split into three ranges, are respected throughout the world.
Located in the maritime region of Stellenbosch in the shadow of the Helderberg mountain and just a few kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean, the vineyard enjoys long dry hot summers with wet winters. Tilling, pruning, thinning and harvesting is all done by hand and no herbicides or pesticides are used at Ken Forrester wines.
It became clear within minutes of hearing from Ken that he is a passionate man. Whether the subject was family, rugby, wine, food or his vineyard team, his zeal was palpable, even through the medium of a Zoom call.
Wine, ballet and rugby… 
Elegance and power is something Ken strives to achieve in his wines, comparing the two to the talents of the late internationally acclaimed ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev and world-class rugby player Martin Johnson.
We also learnt about the devastating impact on the South African wine industry during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the domestic alcohol sales bans, of which the most recent one was partially lifted last week. It has been reported by Decanter magazine that several billion rand has been lost in direct sales since March 2020.
With around two thirds of the 2020 vintage unsold and the 2021 harvest underway, excess stocks and insufficient storage capacity is seeing some smaller growers struggle with cash flow, destroying jobs.
How can we help here in the UK? We can support the South African growers and winemakers by stocking up on our favourite South African wines and spreading the word for others to do the same. Thanks to all our Alumni Club members who certainly did their share for Ken and his team by depleting The Great Wine Co.’s stocks rapidly during the evening! We were delighted you all enjoyed the wines so much.
Chenin Blanc
So, what did we taste? Chenin was of course in the line-up. We started out with the refreshing, fruity, easy drinking Petit Chenin Blanc 2019, which has notes of quince, crunchy green apple and grapefruit. From the same vintage but fuller and richer thanks to being partially barrel fermented and left on the lees, was the Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc 2019. Ken advised that this white wine, with melon and spicy baked apple aromas pairs particularly well with washed rind soft cheeses such as brie and camembert. It also lends itself to being a fine companion to white meat, fish and seafood dishes.
The last white wine of the evening was The FMC, which came about from a project embarked upon in 1997 between Ken and Martin Meinert, who in 1989, was responsible for establishing the new Vergelegen winery. Ken revealed to Martin that he wanted to make the best white wine in the world, so that is what they set out to achieve through their journey with the FMC. The FMC stands for ‘Forrester, Meinert Chenin’, although we found out an alternative acronym, named by Matthew Jukes at London International Wine Fair in 2000. You’ll have to ask Ken or Matthew for the full story!
Fermented and aged for 12 months in oak barrels The FMC is rich and layered with ripe stone and tropical fruit flavours, a hint of coconut milk, baked apples, brioche, vanilla, honey and spice. Ken advised giving the wine at least 18 months in bottle before enjoying, to experience it at its best.
Moving on to the red wines, the Pat’s Garden Merlot Reserve 2017 is named after Ken’s mother-in-law Patricia, who lives overlooking the vineyard where the grapes for this wine are grown. Complemented by a little Cabernet Franc, it has hints of cherries and mint with smoke and spice undertones. An accessible wine with balanced tannins, it’s suited to many red meat dishes. We were advised that this is the final vintage of Pat’s Garden as a Merlot before it becomes a Bordeaux style blend.
The last two wines of the evening were Rhône-style blends of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, a trilogy Ken clearly loves, particularly after having spent time at Château Rayas, famed for its Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The first of the two was the Renegade 2016, full of cherries, strawberries, nutmeg, black and white pepper from the Grenache and Syrah, with an extra oomph powered by a small amount of Mourvèdre. This is Ken’s go-to wine for a braai or roast chicken as it is mild and gentle but with body.
We had to end the evening with Ken’s flagship wine, The Gypsy 2015. Ken told us the story behind the Grenache vines, which were planted in 1959 by a widow who was trying to provide for her two young boys, who earnt her living by pruning others’ vineyards in the winter, keeping the cuttings and grafting them on the plot at around 2,000 feet elevation, then selling them.
The Gypsy is a focussed rich blend of cherries, plum and black cherries with some spice such as nutmeg and cinnamon from the Syrah. Ken advised decanting to appreciate it most and if you’re not drinking it now, it will lay down for up to 10 years. Needless to say, the group loved the wines and tried their best to buy out the stocks at The Great Wine Co! If you would like to try any of the wines mentioned, you can enjoy a 15% discount, if purchased before Sunday 21st February 2021 using code ENJOYKF15 at The Great Wine Co.
If you have a minimum of WSET Level 2 wine qualification, you are welcome to join the Enjoy Discovering Wine Alumni Club, which meets online 10 times annually. For more details: Alumni Club.
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