It is quite a daunting prospect to rise to the challenge of writing a guest blog. Stick to what you know would probably be good advice, but this is a wine blog and not an aviation blog. OK, perhaps I know a little bit about wine but is any of it interesting or vaguely entertaining? After all, I don’t want Quaffable’s blog ratings to plummet – it’s a competitive world in the wine blog arena and it might be nice to be invited back some day.
Tell a story perhaps? Hmmm, well they all start with a bottle of wine
and usually end up with me not remembering what happened between the second
bottle being opened and waking up in another familiar hotel room on the
network. Although I’m pretty sure I would have managed to solve many of Cathay
Pacific’s rostering, pilot pay and recruitment issues during the course of the
evening. There would undoubtedly also have been perfect solutions to the
problems of bankers’ bonuses, the Euro and world peace. Throw a bunch of
pilots together, add wine, all your problems solved!
Right, back to wine it is then, why on earth does somebody with a
reasonably well paid job decide to start up a business importing South African
wines? We all know that the wine business is sewn up by the big boys, there’s
cut-throat competition, miniscule margins, import duty, VAT, large upfront
costs, and of course there’s only a small niche market that is interested in
anything other than Jacob’s Creek or First Cape.
The answer is passion. A passion that develops from the instant that you
taste a wine that utterly blows you away. A wine that unexpectedly takes
you by surprise with its elegance, mineral purity and complex depth of flavour.
That wine is Uva Mira Chardonnay.
Stellenbosch may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking
of elegant Chardonnays, but Stellenbosch includes the picturesque Helderberg
mountain which rises majestically above the plain with panoramic views to Cape
Town. Uva Mira is located at the top of this mountain, above Hidden Valley and
Ernie Els and stares down to Ken Forrester’s Chenin Blanc FMC vineyard. The
Chardonnay vineyards are at an average elevation of about 1700 feet and this
provides a cooler climate enabling chardonnay grapes to retain their freshness,
elegance and mineral focus. Restricted yields of 32hl/ha, careful handling and
hand sorting are all part of winemaker Matthew van Heerden’s fanatical approach
to quality.
Fermentation is in new, lightly toasted, French oak with the occasional
batonnage and a small amount of the wine is allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation
for some added complexity.
Returning back to the UK after tasting this stunning wine I was amazed
to see that it wasn’t available anywhere. Why hadn’t this wine been discovered?
I still don’t know the answer to that question but a few phone calls and emails
later and I had started a new business, invested a sum of money that caused
some ‘discussion’ with my wife and Vincisive was born, importing the wines of
Uva Mira as their UK agent. The worst thing that could happen would be being
left with a pallet of fantastic wine that I would have to drink by myself, now
wouldn’t that be a shame!
Fortunately, I’m not alone in thinking it’s a great wine. Take Neal
Martin for example,
“The palate is very well balanced with a delicate entry that expands
beautifully across the palate with notes of orange peel and subtle apricot. It
is both long and vibrant in the mouth with a palpable sense of tension. This
Chardonnay exudes thoughtful winemaking and is highly recommended. 94 points”.
With reviews like this, my stash of fine Chardonnay that I can keep to
myself is getting smaller. Production is limited to 800 cases a year so it’s
not easy to secure a bigger allocation. However, I’m prepared to make the
sacrifice as wine this good should be shared and enjoyed by a wider audience!
Passion for wine is something that cannot be indulged in alone, it needs to be
articulated, debated, discovered and above all enjoyed. I look forward to
having that conversation with you over a glass of South Africa’s finest
Chardonnay!
Written by Darren Brogden and first published
on U.K. wine blog ‘Quaffable’ - You can find Uva Mira Chardonnay and other great
South African wines in Hong Kong at Vincisive. For more information go to www.vincisive.com.hk
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