White-on-White:
Porseleinberg 2010-2020

BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;NOVEMBER 14, 2023Fans of
Rob Reiner’s spoof documentary This Is Spinal Tap will recall the scene
when manager Ian Faith bounds into rehearsals carrying a cardboard box filled
with copies of Spinal Tap’s forthcoming album. “Here it is, lads. Gather
round,” he beckons. Having originally anticipated a cover design as risqué as
its title, band members inspect the record company-sanctioned textless plain
black cover. Bassist Derek Smalls appreciates that he can see his reflection,
and members agree that it represents mourning and death, at least until lead
singer David St. Hubbins remarks that it's rubbish. Now, I’m not for one moment
suggesting that a similar conversation ensued when winemaker Callie Louw first
set eyes upon the white-on-white label of Porseleinberg. But I imagine his
initial reaction was one of…bemusement.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Though Porseleinberg
is the pet project of Boekenhoutskloof, from day one, it has operated as a separate
entity under the direction of Callie Louw, to the extent that many consumers
are unaware that it is part of Franschhoek’s leading estate and the brainchild
of shareholder, Marc Kent. Since I began covering South Africa, Porseleinberg has
represented the apex of the country’s Syrah, inspired by classic Northern
Rhônes such as Clape and Jamet.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1699974373261-porseleinberg+callie+%281%29.JPG">Winemaker&nbsp;Callie Louw 

Louw made
a rare visit to London, coincidentally at exactly the same time as the
Rugby World Cup was about to kick off, to host a vertical of every release
since the maiden 2010. As expected, the room was packed, many attendees having
heard of, yet never met, the elusive winemaker. Louw does not relish the
limelight. He begins the tasting, forewarning that he is a poor public speaker,
then embarks upon one of the most entertaining and informative tutorials in
recent months. His irreverent, almost self-mocking manner, not uncommon within
the Cape’s winemaking community, belies an erudite and thoughtful winemaker. A
bit like Adi Badenhorst, Louw’s slightly grizzled features and carefree, slacker-like
demeanor deflect from what is an astute mind. He makes a refreshing break from Gallic
euphemisms and flowery language.

Louw
began his career at Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards, working alongside Chris and
Andrea Mullineux. It was a chance meeting in London with Marc Kent that
introduced him to Boekenhoutskloof, which led to an invitation to join as
winemaker a couple of years later. He is a straight talker who freely admits
errors made in the past, for example, using dusted sulfur in 2014 to little
effect and consigning one parcel to an early demise. “There is a block where
there is no topsoil. It is pure blue schist, a soil called Mispah and normally
not suited for planting,” Louw later clarified by e-mail. “The Syrah vines did
not make it [well, all but four vines apparently]. But the Grenache loves it.
After learning this lesson, I planted Grenache on all the super marginal sites.”

“I had
been working with grapes from various sources [for Boekenhoutskloof],” he begins.
“This site at Porseleinberg always produced small bunches. I thought that maybe
it wasn’t being managed properly, then I saw for myself that’s just the way it
is. The vines are like bonsais, the fruit is so concentrated.”<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1699974459166-porseleinberg+in+swartland+%281%29.JPG">I snapped this outside Callie Louw’s hilltop home as the light was fading in Swartland just before a spectacular sunset. It’s a long drive if you need to pop out and get some milk from the supermarket. 

Some
notable winemakers were sourcing fruit from this parcel, including Eben Sadie,
who used it as part of the blend for early vintages of Columella.

“The
original site consisted of five hectares of vines planted around 1996 or 1997
that were burnt down to around one hectare in 2006 [after a neighboring field
of wheat caught fire]. Boekenhoutskloof bought
it in 2009, and we started to re-plant in 2010, expanding to 10 hectares
between 2013 and 2018. In 2014, we bought the Goldmine vineyard in
Riebeeksrivier, which consists of 3.5 hectares of bush vines whose yields tend
to be lower. There are also two single-hectare blocks next to the house and
cellar that were planted in 2011 and 2012 that are trellised by post. All the
plantings used for Porseleinberg are Syrah on mica schist, blue on the top
slopes and redder (more ferrous) on the lower slopes [such as the Goldmine
vineyard]. It is important to farm the soils correctly and sustainably to
maintain natural acidity, which is better than just planting lots of grape
varieties.”

“In
2016, we became fully organic, but I took a break in order to get the
foundations right. Now, we are certified in both vineyard sites so that in
2025, there will be 180 hectares of organic grapes. These vineyards produce
around 1,000 tonnes of fruit, of which 800 goes into the Chocolate Block
[arguably South Africa’s most successful brand] and also up to 90% of the
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah.”

“I use
whole bunches, which forces you to be a bit hands-off and less eager in the
winery, though I did a little de-stemming in 2014 and 2015. All vintages have
been produced more or less in the same way, though in 2018, inspired by what I
saw when I visited Domaine Jamet, I started building my own submerged caps.
This has made a positive change. I can be even more ‘lazy’ [Louw’s way of
saying ‘hands-off’]. We started out using 2,500-liter wooden foudres,
and so for the first vintage, they were new, so I mixed them with larger
barrels and Noblot concrete eggs.”

Though
I have met Louw many times, this year was my first visit to Porseleinberg. The
single road to the winery seemed to go on forever, flanked by endless hectares
of netted fruit trees, until finally, we reached Louw’s modest homestead that
lies adjacent to the winery. The location suits someone who is happiest out his
tractor in the vines. He has nurtured his own tenets towards winemaking over
the years. “I don’t look at pH anymore,” he explains. “I don’t get freaked out
if it’s over 4.0. I don’t have to look for acidity. We have a lot of potassium
in the soil, so we manage the canopy. I don’t want my vines to stress. I want
them to be happy.”<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1699974582753-porseleinberg+bottles+%281%29.JPG">Every
vintage of Porseleinberg to date with its distinctive embossed “white-on-white”
label. 

This
was a vertical tasting that I have wanted to do for some time. Some have
remarked that the style of Porseleinberg has changed in recent years, though
Louw strongly denies that and seems perplexed by their comments. I must admit
that tasting through the vintages, I could not detect any shift in style, even
when he commenced using submerged caps. What is interesting is to see how the
origins of Porseleinberg have changed incrementally over the passing years as
new plantings gradually contribute higher percentages to the blend: 30% in
2013, 40% in 2016 and 60% in 2018. There have been some inevitable changes
during bottle age, the 2014 losing a bit of its luster, the 2018 slipping past
the 2019. What I did notice was how much these wines shapeshift in the glass,
to the point where I end up rewriting many of my initial impressions. As such,
Porseleinberg definitely requires three to four hours of decanting and benefits
from bottle age. Stylistically, it is clearly inspired by Northern Rhône, Jamet
in particular, though it still bears the stamp of Swartland.

This
vertical confirmed that Porseleinberg is a world-class Syrah both inspired by
and, in my view, equalling the aforementioned Rhône wine Though part of
Boekenhoutskloof, Porseleinberg is more like a satellite orbiting a planet, a
singular cuvée that has charted its own course since inception with ups and
downs on the way. While there have been changes in the vineyard, stylistically,
the wine has remained constant, and that is down to Callie Louw’s vision of
exactly what he wants to make.

As for
that white-on-white embossed label, perhaps, in retrospect, it was a stroke of
marketing genius. There’s nothing else quite like it. Who cares if the contents
of the bottle speak for themselves? And at least the cuvée was never planned to
be called “Smell The Glove”. © 2023, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.<hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/the-a-to-z-of-south-africa-nov-2023">The A to Z of South Africa</a>, Neal Martin, November 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/growing-up-n-getting-wiser-south-africa-in-2022-sep-2022">Growing Up ‘n Getting Wiser: South Africa in 2022</a>, Neal Martin, September 2022 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/back-in-black-kanonkop-black-label-pinotage-2006-2019-aug-2022">Back In Black: Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage 2006-2019</a>, Neal Martin, August 2022

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