John Bouwer
(credit drwinkler)
South Africa’s St Helena Bay region seems an unlikely place to find a vineyard. It’s very dry with fine, sandy soils that require a 4×4 to navigate. Located very close to the Atlantic, the winds can be ferocious, and ravenous birds devour grapes as they ripen. However, the weather is marine-influenced, growing seasons are long, and two meters below the silty, white sand lies limestone bedrock easily penetrated by vine roots. This is the region where Eben Sadie harvests Palomino and Chenin Blanc from old bush vines for his Skerpioen wine; Adi Badenhorst sources bush vine Palomino for his Sout van die Aarde Palomino; and it’s where the vineyards of the 850 ha Brakkuil Farm are located. I recently visited Brakkuil, explored the vineyards with winemaker John Bouwer, and tasted his unique wines (including the country’s only Barbarossa variety and white varieties aged under flor) along with biltong of Springbok grown on the farm. The wines are marketed as Gedeelte Wines. John’s wines are now sold under the Swartland’s St Helena Bay appellation.
First settled in the early 1800s, Brakkuil was planted to Palomino and the rare Barbarossa varieties in 1978 and Sauvignon Blanc in 2002. The Palomino and Barbarossa are bush vines, while the Sauvignon Blanc is trellised. John Bouwer is one of South Africa’s few winemakers to make wines under flor, a practice best known for making sherry in Spain’s Jerez region where fino and manzanilla sherries are aged under a velo de flor. [See our IWR Reports Introduction to Sherry and Best of Sherry), although it also used to make vin jaune in France’s Jura region. As in Jerez, Bouwer’s flor is natural, a product of the humid, sea air. Unlike Jerez, his flor does not require fortification with grape spirits; as a result, the Gedeelte wines are considerably lower in alcohol than Sherry.
In addition to white wines made from Palomino and Sauvignon Blanc, Bouwer makes a rosé and red wine from Barbarossa, identified as the French table grape Danugue by Abraham Perold in 1927. As reviewed below, Barbarossa makes a pretty, light colored, easy drinking wine.
John is an experimental winemaker, constantly searching for ways to improve his vineyard and his wines. This year he lost so much crop to winds and birds that he’s thinking of planting vines below ground, Santorini style, which in addition to offering protection from the wind would also facilitate protection from birds.
Exported to the UK and Japan, but, alas, no US importer.
Sauvignon Blanc with Klein Tafelberg in Background
(credit drwinkler)
The Wines
Palomino Bush Vine
(credit drwinkler)
Gedeelte 2022 Deel 23 Palomino St Helena Bay 92 Medium yellow straw. Nose resembles Manzanilla sherry with herbs, stone fruit pits, Manzanilla aromas. Very dry with sherry like flavors. It’s wonderful to have a sherry-like wine with such low alcohol. Native ferment with 3 months under flor then aged 12 months in 300L French oak. Just 11% alc. These bush vines were planted in 1978 to produce fruit sold to KWV for making brandy.
Gedeelte 2018 Deel 6 Vin John St Helena Bay 91 Similar to a Vin Jaune aged under flor. Clean Sauvignon Blanc juice is picked ripe, pressed and fermented and left for flor to start growing 2-3 weeks later. It is is then aged under flor for 4.5 years. The wine evokes a dry sherry with aromas of marzipan and fennel. It’s soft on the palate with concentrated flavors and bitter and saline notes. A good aperitif wine. 14% alc.
Gedeelte 2023 Deel 6 Sauvignon Blanc St Helena Bay 94 Medium yellow with a gold tinge. The nose reveals savory herbs, lemon peel, chamomile and fresh thyme. Clean and crisp on the palate with a rich, semi-creamy mouth feel, moderate acidity, and apple, papaya and ripe citrus flavors, finishing long and flavorful with savory and saline notes. From trellised estate fruit planted in 2002, 45% fermented under flor for a month in barrel and the other 55% fermented with native yeast in concrete eggs; blended together after 10 months. 13.5% alc. Pairs well with curry dishes. An original and successful take on Sauvignon Blanc.
Gedeelte 2023 Barbarossa Kalksteen Rosé St Helena Bay 90 Medium copper-pink color. Fresh red berry nose followed by a softly textured palate. Fresh, nicely balanced with medium acidity and a long finish. Sourced from trellised vines picked at 19.5-20.0 brix, then inoculated using a German yeast. Racked to 300L French barrels for malo and aging for about 3 months. About 6 months total from the vineyard to your glass! Serve well chilled!
Gedeelte 2023 Barbarossa Frederick St Helena Bay 91 Medium ruby red, showing spice, red berries and cranberry on the nose. An uncomplicated, easy drinking wine that’s flavorful, clean, and crisp on the palate. Sourced from old bush vines. Labeled Barbarossa, but evidence suggests it is an old French grape variety called Danugue. Matured in French oak 13 months before bottling. 12.5% alc.
