Perfection in the glass and bottle
Wednesday, 18 January 2012 00:00
Luke O'Cuinneagain believes that wine- and glass-making share a lot in common. Glass is an unlikely subject to be chatting about, as Luke, winemaker at Glenelly in Ida's Valley, and I stand high up on the slopes of this winery, overlooking the rolling vineyards that slope off the Helshoogte Pass – with the magnificent vista that, on a brilliant clear day, stretches all the way to Cape Point.
But it all makes perfect sense, as the tasting room of this elegant winery displays a magnificent glass collection belonging to octogenarian owner May-Eliane de Lencquesaing.
Luke explains: "Both use heat in their manufacture – heat to melt the sand that becomes glass, and heat to ripen the grapes," adding "both elements in their alkaline state are liquid and both are in their state art forms."
And, he continues, the best wine and glass originate from poor soils.
Winemaking is indeed an art form at Glenelly, where the youthful but highly astute and articulate Luke manages to craft wines that are raking in the awards and acolades, not so much to great fanfare, but much like the winery, in a gracious and understated manner.
Standing on the top of the world with the sweeping views, which almost take my breath away, it seems Luke is indeed a lucky man – his soils providing the ideal
growing conditions for his wines.
"It used to be a fruit farm, so we have very clean soils here with no virus."
He points down below to a set of vineyard blocks: "Merlot and Shiraz grapes come from fractured rock, so we get fine tannins – there are none of those angular harsh tannins."
When Madame de Lencquesaing purchased the farm in 2003, many questioned as to why this Frenchwoman, now well into her eighties, would want to start up a vineyard in uncharted territory,, being the former owner of the highly regarded of Chateau Pichon Longueville in Bordeaux.
There were also those who said that the wines would merely be mirror images of those in her home country, but Luke has proved them wrong.
There is still a highly elegant and stately Gallic touch to the wines he makes, but they have been given a uniquely South African stamp – offering the best of both old and new worlds.
In the tasting room, surrounded by Madame's beautiful stemware in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours, this becomes evident after a few swirls, sniffs and sips of the wines.
From the Glass Collection unwooded chardonnay, to the terroir expressive flagship Lady May, it's clear that Luke's touch is delicate, moulding wines that reflect those soils.
He speaks eloquently and passionately as we sample the range: the wooded chardonnay "limey and minerally – I wanted the freshness to remain and the wine and land to express itself''; the 2010 Shiraz: "elegant... white pepper which asserts its freshness"; leading up to the flagship 2008 and the 2009 Lady May – well deserved of 4-and-half and five stars respectively in the 2012 Platter's.
"More Bordelaise, austere," comments Luke, adding, "I wanted the freshness and elegance and saw what the sites offered." He is speaking about the vineyards from which the cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot components hail (90/10% respectively).
And so we carry on and the tasting becomes not only a sampling of the wines, but the experience of witnessing a remarkable talent which manages to adroitly step a fine line between the owner's brief and his own individuality.
As it all comes to an end I retrace my steps through the tasting room and cast my eyes over the extraordinary collection once again – delicate glasses rub shoulders with more chunky but stylish glassware, some works donated by the refined craftsmen themsleves. Wine and stemware – both art forms that at this Stellenbosch winery rise well above the ordinary.
Written by Orielle Berry You are reading Perfection in the glass and bottle articles
