Hats off to the creative and hard-working team at Kleine Zalze. 25 years of consistent quality and attention to detail is what they do, both at scale and now too for the smaller experimental artisanal range, named Project Z. I recently attended the launch of the 2nd set of wines from this project at the newly opened The Wine Glass in Stellenbosch, and what a treat it was.
It is not easy to process 3500 tons of grapes and remain true to brand and quality. But seeing as they have this sussed now, the team is being given ample room to explore geeky wine-making techniques, sourcing wines from specific sites and using different fermentation vessels. Already they are working with 24 clay amphorae and 2 concrete eggs, who are tended by winemaker Hanri Ferreira.
Not only are the wines really interesting and memorable, but the labels are printed from hand-cut lino artworks, which a few of the KZ team created with guidance from artist Theo Paul Vorster. Each print reflects each person's connection with Kleine Zalze. What stunning individual labels!
Many of the wines in the Project Z range are from old vines, and this has been one of the big realisations that in fact 14% of their wine production is from Old Vines. This must make Kleine Zalze the biggest producer of old vine wines in South Africa. They are in the process of certification of these old vineyards used and look forward to how they will make old vine wines more accessible.
The first wine we enjoyed was an unusual blend of Riesling and Verdelho. The Verdelho comes from as far away as Koekenaap up the West Coast, where irrigation water is sourced from the local desalination plant. It is very dry up there and the vineyard is just a few kilometers from the salty Atlantic Ocean. Sensibly the grapes are crushed at Klawer, to avoid the hot journey down to Stellenbosch. Roaming winemaker Natalie Botha is responsible for all the Kleine Zalze custom crushes so she spends a lot of time with these smaller pockets of grapes and thus a lot of time on the road.
The Riesling was sourced from slatey soils from Durbanville and Elgin - a delicious combination.
PROJECT Z Wines from Kleine Zalze
The Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is crystal clear and crisp and was likened to a diamond - and inspired by RJ's trip to Sancerre. Sourced from Ridgemor farm in Faure, it has a very intense palate but does not overpower - and was delicious paired with the squid starter I had.
There were 2 Chenins to explore, both from the same old vines block yielding 4 tons/ha on granite soils on the Ridgemor farm in Faure, but one was left to ferment on the skins for 7 days, which produced a more intense colour, and surprisingly different flavour profiles. Good to hear also that the farmers are being paid per block and not per volume picked. This will keep these old vineyards sustainable, as long as the wine producers can get good return, and at R490/bottle for each of the Chenins it makes financial sense.
And a small portion of this skin-fermented Chenin goes into the acclaimed Family Reserve Old Vine Chenin, giving it great intensity.
The 2 reds were a Grenache and a Syrah and for me the Syrah just jumped out of the glass - just a stunning wine!
And of course RJ does not take the easy road, and we ended off with a delicious Sweet Fortified Wine in a cute dumpy bottle. Such intensity!
This is being made in the Solera method, with 2 barrels being made annually, but with one constantly being added to.
Seems that the paperwork to produce a fortified wine is not insignificant, so when you sip some of this liquid gold, you need to appreciate all the hard work gone into each drop.
Well done to team Kleine Zalze!
See more pics HERE
What a treat also to experience the new The Wine Glass, recently opened in Stellenbosch on the popular Ryneveld Street. They offer an extensive range of wines and excellent well-priced repast. It is a hot space but fortunately we were in an air-conditioned room (on one of those hot days in Stellies - really necessary)
Very limited stock of these wines are available from the tasting room as each amphora produces only 700 bottles.
Look out for these wines in the Kleine Zalze Online Shop soon while stocks last.