2020 Porseleinberg

During my fortnight in the Cape, I met winemaker Callie Louw twice. the second time at Boekenhoutskloof, where he presented the latest release. “It was a nice vintage, perhaps 2015 with a bit of heat,” he tells me with his usual casual insouciance that belies an extraordinarily talented and dedicated winemaker. “It was a bit dry. Winter of 2019 was bad, but then we had nice rain in October with an inch and a half, dry in November that was great for fruit set. The rain was sporadic afterwards, which is great for the vines. The Goldmine site, the vineyard next to Roundstone [Chris and Andrea Mullineux’s farm] had more problems with disease due to humidity. January was nice and warm, not as hot as 2022. The sugars came quickly, and I finished the harvest in 10 to 14 days. We finished the Goldmine farm 14 March. There was no heat stress, and the yield was light due to the previous year’s drought, around 5 tons per hectare. The wine is matured for 12 months in foudres, blended in concrete and then aged 16 months in bottle. There is often too much [juice] for the tank that risks attracting flies, so I’ve been trying de-stemming a little bit. When I saw the submerged cap at Jamet [the famed Rhône producer], it was a light bulb moment and I’ve submerged the cap since 2018. Some people say that I have changed the style of Porseleinberg, but that’s not true. I don’t know how to.”