Overview: Regenerative entanglement
Happy New Year! In keeping with the times, I will start the year and this piece with a question or two to Chat GPT.
Me: Define regenerative farming in a way that references Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life and applies it to viticulture?
GPT's answer: Regenerative farming, inspired by Merlin Sheldrake's "Entangled Life," involves cultivating a symbiotic relationship between plants, soil, and fungi to enhance ecosystem health. In viticulture, this approach integrates mycorrhizal networks and diverse plant cover to promote soil biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and resilience, fostering a more sustainable and interconnected grape-growing environment.
Me: What are mycorrhizal networks?
GPT: Mycorrhizal networks are intricate fungal networks in the soil that form mutually beneficial partnerships with plant roots. These networks facilitate the exchange of nutrients and water between plants, enhancing the overall health and resilience of the ecosystem. In viticulture, mycorrhizal networks play a crucial role in supporting grapevine growth and improving soil conditions for sustainable cultivation.
Why did I incorporate Merlin Sheldrake into my question? I wanted to see how GPT would handle a little complexity (well done, GPT. The answers are excellent). I also read his book a couple of years ago, which I found fascinating (definitely worth a read – filled with important thoughts and also hugely entertaining). It led to an epiphany: we needed to trust and better use nature to improve and move forward.
Regenerative entanglement involves creating a system of practices with overall and specific sustainability in mind and entangling them with what nature does best – trusting its ability to build resilience – with the farm's ecosystem more broadly and specifically its soil health – at its core.
At Oldenburg Vineyards, we are deeply invested in the philosophy and implementation of Regenerative Farming practices. We only formally defined what we did last year, but the more we thought about it, the more we realised we were on a solid and sustainable path.
"The critical element of Regenerative Farming practices is protecting and improving soil health. We can create an overall healthier farm, vineyard and individual vine. The plants have an enhanced ability to guard against negatives (deficiencies and diseases), and their enhanced sub-surface environment also promotes better overall vine health and ultimately leads to optimisation of the quality of grapes produced." - Oldenburg Vineyards, Regenerative Farming Environmental Sustainability 2023
Over time, we will test the theory, but let's now look at the current season as we head into an early harvest. After last year's wet winter, we have had a relatively cool but bone-dry summer until January, when the heat spikes arrived. These are generally ideal conditions for us. However, it has been a very windy season, with some quite vicious instalments of damaging south-easterlies. One such event around New Year managed to cause extensive leaf damage on several of the more exposed blocks. The heat spikes, the dryness, and the excessive winds have moved the harvest forward two to three weeks.
Despite more difficult conditions to normal (I am not sure there is such a thing as normal, however), our vineyards are coping well, and we have only intervened minimally with irrigation around the time véraison started, to give them a little assistance and reduce the level of stress to what we think is ideal and beneficial for them. In the leaf-damaged blocks, such as our Grenache block (which sits in the eye of the wind) we have started the process of green harvesting, which involves taking the number of bunches down to allow for a smaller canopy to achieve optimal ripeness. We have done this across many of our blocks, which will significantly lower our yields. You can read more about this in the Point of View section below. This year will be a significant trade-off of quality over quantity – a decision we will always make.
As we head into the end of January and the first grapes head into the cellar, it is clear that Nic, Christo and their team have been alert to every detail – the fruit quality looks fantastic! Here's to a spectacular harvest 2024!
We concluded 2023 on a positive note with an exciting New Year's Eve review by Anthony Mueller from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. During his inaugural visit to the farm in August, he bestowed some excellent scores upon the wines he sampled. Garnering attention from influential critics can be challenging, but Anthony declared that Oldenburg had earned a spot on his list as a noteworthy producer to keep an eye on. His ratings as follows:
- Rondekop Per Se Cabernet Sauvignon 2020: 95+ Pts
- Oldenburg Vineyards Chardonnay 2022: 94 Pts
- Oldenburg Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2021: 93+ Pts
- Oldenburg Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2022: 92+ Pts
- Oldenburg Vineyards Merlot 2021: 92 Pts
- Rondekop Rhodium 2020: 91+ Pts
“Bravo” was the word Mr. Mueller used a few times. Bravo to Nic and the entire team! Please see the Review section for further details.
The Tasting Room has been very busy, and the new team under Greg's leadership has settled in nicely. Please see the Interview segment to get to know Greg a little better.
Freda, one of our new somms, also received some great feedback: "The only thing that beats the breathtaking views are the people. We had the pleasure of Freda assisting us with our tasting. Her personality and knowledge made for the most enjoyable tasting. She truly made the whole experience next level". Well done, Freda!
Last year was a pivotal year for Oldenburg Vineyards. As we commence 2024, and with harvest already upon us, we are motivated to regenerate and entangle ourselves in all it takes to deliver the potential that we know exists. Stay tuned, and all the best for a successful 2024 for you.
Review: Rondekop per 2020
“I’ll be adding some of this to my cellar when it’s available, and I recommend you do too. I’ll be keeping an eye on this producer from here on out. Bravo!”. 95+ Pts
- Anthony Mueller (Robert Parker: The Wine Advocate)
To garner this kind of praise from one of the world’s leading wine publications is truly exceptional. We have always known Rondekop wines are on an undeniable quality trajectory, and this feedback is a welcome confirmation. The Rondekop Per Se 2020 is truly an embodiment of Banghoek Cabernet Sauvignon, showcasing the cooler climate terroir with subtlety and finesse, and beautiful structure in the wine.
“The 2020 Rondekop Per Se offers seductive oak tones with sweet cherry essence, plum blossom, and dusty, dark red fruit before bursting with elegant notions of turned earth and baked clay. Locally selling for around 850 Rand and easily worth triple that price, the wine exudes layers of complexity with fine-grained tannins and possesses power with finesse. The wine concludes with a long, lingering and mineral-laced finish that has me returning for more…” - Anthony Mueller
The Rondekop Per Se 2020 is available now from The Tasting Room (R850 per bottle, Rondekop Wine Club member price R810 per bottle) and online.
Returning USA Rondekop Wine Club members can order for delivery to the US at $75 per bottle
- Minimum order for delivery: 12 x bottles – Mixed cases are possible
- Delivery, duties and taxes are included in the bottle price
If you would like to add the Per Se 2020 to your collection, please contact our private client sommelier, Stefan Reinmuth, to place your order.
Interview: Greg Lorimer
This month, we bring back the interview section to welcome our (still relatively) new head sommelier, Gregory Lorimer. Greg joined the team in October last year, and we spent some time with him to learn more about the journey that brought him to Oldenburg Vineyards.
Originally from Durban, Greg’s family moved to the Cape when he was young. They settled in Durbanville, and lived in a house with a view of a vineyard – so the subtle influence of the wine industry was always close by. While he was not yet versed on the intricacies of the industry, he recalls always being fascinated by the seasonal changes of the vineyards.
His interest in wine was solidified when he realized it embodied many cultural and economic factors – art, agriculture, history, engineering, biology, people and the social element of wine.
He believed this would be a career in an industry which would offer endless interest and opportunities.
Delving into what excites him most about Oldenburg, his response is simply: “Quality”. He also loves the attention to detail, sharing with us that he always felt like that was an aspect he was driving wherever he was working, and it was refreshing to walk into Oldenburg and see that it was already established, and that other people shared his views on the importance of detail.
When Greg isn’t working in wine, he’s mostly found discovering more of it doing industry-related activities, tastings, visiting restaurants for recommendations and exploring other wine tastings.
We then we posed the question that true wine aficionados usually try to avoid: which is your favourite cultivar, and why (and also what is your best recommended pairing for that cultivar)? To Greg, it felt like we were asking him to pick a favourite child. After a little wriggling and squirming, he admitted that it’s definitely Chardonnay at the moment. He loves the versatility of the cultivar and that there are so many different interpretations of it out there to enjoy. And while he might be biased, he really enjoys the current vintage of the Oldenburg Vineyards Chardonnay. He’s of the opinion that Nic has a way with Chardonnay, and that there is a floral component to the wine that really appeals to him.
We ended the chat by asking Greg to divulge one unusual fact about himself – something most people would never guess – and we were not prepared. Greg is not only versed in marital arts, he is a 1st dan black belt. Impressive (and good to know we have built-in security).
Point of view: Veraison and green harvesting
Making our way through summer, there is an interesting and observable process that occurs in the grapes called véraison. Véraison occurs at the onset of ripening, and is the point in berry development where the grape berries change colour: from green to black on red grapes and from green to light, translucent yellow-green on white grapes. At Oldenburg, the period of véraison begins in late December and continues through the different cultivars into the end of January. Some varietals are early ripening (like Syrah) while others ripen later in the season, with Cabernet Sauvignon usually the last one to complete the process. During this progression in ripening, the berry softens, sugar increases, the pips change from green to brown, the acid decreases and the flavours begin to develop.
In the red cultivars, the process of ripening is easy to follow – the grapes change colour from green to red, and about halfway through the process the clusters have a mix of green berries, red berries and shades in-between. This is often referred to as a “smartie box” due to all the various colours on the same cluster.
When ripening has progressed to about 80%, Christo and the team begin green harvesting. They go through the blocks and evaluate the clusters, looking for uniformity in colour. If a cluster is found to have too many green and pink berries, then that bunch is behind in the ripening process. These bunches are cut and dropped to the ground. Bunches on shoots shorter than 30cm are also dropped, as shorter shoots do not have enough leaves to properly ripen the cluster. Furthermore, very thin shoots (thinner than a pencil) are reduced to only one bunch per shoot, to also ensure proper ripening.
Green harvesting is done to balance the fruit load, and ensure the berries ripen physiologically at the same time. It is not a regular commercial practice, but rather performed on ultra-premium wines, to further enhance the quality of the grapes and the resulting wines.
Bird's eye view: Library and vertical tastings in February 2024
Vertical tasting: Syrah
One of our most popular varietals, enjoy a comparative tasting of some of our best vintages, including the 2017, 2015, 2012 and the Maiden Vintage 2007 Joshua.
Cost: R550 per person
Library tasting: Mentor vs Protégé Tasting
A comparative tasting where we choose two vintages of the same wine – one younger and one matured – to showcase the differences. This month, we are presenting the 2014 and 2017 vintages of both the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
Cost: R500 per person
All library and vertical tastings are strictly by appointment, only. Tastings include our complimentary snack platter consisting of olives, cheese, and olive oil crackers.