James,

I noticed that even for the very best South African wines, the drinking windows you mentioned are relatively short. Is it to play it safe? Do you see those wines falling apart that quickly?
Do you see any improvements coming in the future in that regard?
Thanks in advance!
Arno

Bump!

It's a good question french16 but I'm curious if there is any good historical examples to show that these wines in fact do age. The rise in quality in SA has been rather recent. I have some nice bottles of syrah from 2003 that I'm sitting on for now.

Good question, and I'd love to hear James' thoughts as well. I have a couple of Anwilka Stellenbosch bottles that I'm betting will go another 5-10 easily (even though WS says drink now). Also, my Meerlust Rubicons, 2000 and 2001, taste great now, and have some life left. But, neither is LONG term wine, and are mid-range vinos.

Mark, you're totally right. It may be because that we don't have many historical examples that those drinking windows are quite short.

Indy, Anwilka and Meerlust are great stuff. Love them too. If you can give it a try, try the Ernie Els. The 2001 was just awesome (littl ebit pricy though at $70). I have a 2004 that I intend to open soon to see how (if) well it drinks)

I also really enjoy the better South African wines. My guess, and it's just a guess, is that y'all are correct, the lack of track record on these wines tends to make James give conservatively short drinking windows (and understandably so).

Yes, I am conservative on South African wines when it comes to cellaring, for a few reasons...

South African wine is rapidly improving - just 10 years ago the wines were dominated by hard, green tannins (typically explained away as a result of the leafroll virus which is still a major problem there, the virus retards ripening)...

In the past, many wineries used to release their reds after several years of additional bottling aging - and they did not perform well in my tastings. I still get reds with 3, 4 or 5 years of bottle age on them coming into my tastings as 'new releases', only to show murky, muddled notes, or worse...(this could be as much a function of the wine's storage over the years, or of second rate importers just grabbing any South African wine they find as they try to catch a rising trend, but in the end, results are results).

South African wines today are much riper (but not overripe), fresher and better balanced, with sound acidity and rounder tannins. Cape producers are dealing with a changing (drier and warmer) climate. Leafroll is still a problem, but some are able to manage around it. Others have replanted - half of the country's entire vineyard base was replanted during the late '90s and early part of this decade. That's a whopper of a change. Producers are still sorting out things out. Even the best, most experienced people among the Cape's vintners, such as Gyles Webb at Thelema, Neil Ellis and Charles Back admit they are still learning...

The end result is today's pool of wines is dramatically different from what was produced there a decade ago. The wines have yet to prove their track record. Even some of the best wines from the Cape - de Trafford Shiraz, Sadie Family Columella, etc. - have only a handful of vintages under their belts.

If you put them in a cold cellar will they last for a long time? Sure. But do they change, develop and take on greater complexity? That has yet to be proven. There's a big difference between simply enduring and truly aging. For the most part I feel the Cape's top reds still deserve to be drunk within their first few years. Time may change this - but 'time' in a vinous sense can mean a generation or longer...I'm not going to pound my chest as I slap a drink recommendation of "Now through 2030" on a review unless I think the wine truly deserves it...(in a perfect world, I'd like to be around in the long term to answer for my reviews, right or wrong!)

Of course, wines that are more ideal for short term aging can still be great wines. I've been covering the region for a few years longer than the rest of the American wine press, and over that time I've been pretty adamant that the Cape's top Syrah and Chenins are world class wines. Cabernet is very strong as well. If you're not trying South African wine, you're missing out...

Anyone want to weigh in on Pinotage?

Another much appreciated posting, James. Thanks.

Thanks a lot James!