Coals to Newcastle

Spar's Group Liquor Manager Ray Edwards not only announced the release of the supermarket group's latest vintage of Olive Brook Chardonnay 2008 (gold medal winner at last week's Veritas awards) and Sauvignon Blanc 2008, but provided a preview of a range of imported French wines which should hit the shelves at the end of this month.

The French wines are currently still in a container in Cape Town but should hit chosen stores in about two weeks," said Edwards.

The six wines chosen by Spar consultant Tinus van Niekerk include:
A sparkling Cremant de Bourgogne (R129.95)
Two white Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blends (R34.95 and R49.95 respectively)
Four red blends (R35.95, R58.95, R65.95 and R799.95) 
Three Bordelaise in style and one a Rhône blend of predominantly Grenache and Syrah.

Setting these wines apart are the value, point of difference and low alcohol levels - most between 11% and 12% - they offer."The idea behind bringing the French wines in was to offer our customers something different," said Edwards yesterday, noting that the top 5 red wine sellers for Spar were Chateau Libertas, Tassenberg, Nederburg Baronne, Two Oceans Cab/Merlot and St Augustine. "We wanted to broaden our wine offering and enhance it. After all, we already do it with our spirits with exclusive bottling of special whiskies - and our customers respond well by snapping them up. These wines will be targeted for distribution to our pinnacle stores." Edwards revealed that the Tops at Spar chain of liquor stores had grown from 280 a year ago to 359 at last count.

Of the new release own-label Olive Brook Chardonnay 2008 and Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Van Niekerk said the wines were not simply sourced, but were made exclusively for Spar according to their specification. "We have the records and buying information to see what the consumer wants - and we tailor-make the wine to hit that sweet spot." Evidence of Spar's success is that 11 500 cases of Olive Brook were sold last year, the first year of release. Edwards said the wines would be broadly available across both Spar and Tops at Spar outlets and would retail for around R39.95 a bottle.

Also tasted at the lunch at Ritrovo in Pretoria were three vintages of Spar's exclusive red Bordeaux-style blend, Quintette. "We kept about 1 000 cases of the inaugural 2005 vintage back," said Edwards, "and we'll reintroduce that next year - with the 2006 vintage following in the second half of the year. We're holding the 2007 until it's ready probably only in 2010."

The Quintette range shows a departure in style with the 2006 and 2007 vintages. The inaugural 2005 was a blend of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, while the subsequent vintages are Merlot-driven with the other four varietals playing a supporting role. Also changing is the price the Quintette 2005 sells for around R90 a bottle while the subsequent vintages will be in the region of R170 upon release.