‘You ring like a preacher!’ says Kevin Grant as I tug ropes at his chapel-like tasting lounge in the mountains over whale watching resort, Hermanus, an hour and a half’s smooth drive south east of Cape Town. Inside, amid polka-dot canvases and white orchids, I taste Grant’s refreshing ‘Eskimo grape’, Sauvignon Blanc, which, he says, has ‘a thread of athleticism - Usain Bolt in style.’ It is subtle: more Loire than New Zealand, although perfecting it has been problematic. If harvested too hastily, ‘it can result in a sweaty armpit aroma,’ confesses Grant.
Next, his multi award-winning, oak-bevelled Chardonnay is a grape he has ‘romanced’ for nearly two decades. Outside Chablis, Chardonnay and wood ‘belong together like white lines and tarmac,’ he says. Fruit from a mosaic of vineyards are matched to custom-crafted Burgundian barrels. Enticed by the attraction of a safari afterwards, Grant’s French coopers visit Ataraxia every year.
Finally, Pinot Noir is unequivocally pretty. ‘A Vogue cover girl to romance, not a Playboy centrefold,’ appraises Grant. Explaining the clear fruit, Grant says, unlike the unashamedly oaky Chardonnay, he never ‘Botoxes Pinot with wood.’ Like Burgundy’s best, it is built to last. ‘Vintage dates aren’t sell-by dates,’ he states. ‘I’m looking for texture beyond everything else,’ he adds of the lithe pour.
Formerly chief craftsman at nearby Hamilton Russell, Grant and wife, Hanli went on to buy what he terms ‘thoroughbred’ land within Hemel-en-Aarde (Afrikaans for Heaven and Earth). ‘If fear were the basis on decision, Ataraxia would never have been born,’ he says.
I ask after the meaning of Ataraxia. ‘Despite sounding like a sheep’s illness, it has a lovely meaning. Simply, a serene state free from worry or preoccupation.’
Grant attributes the rise in premium South African wines to a new generation of dynamic producers working exceptional land. ‘Dedicated terroirists don’t feel the need to perform alchemy in the cellar but nurture our much-loved dirt into a bottle.’
Born in Malawi, Grant graduated from Pretoria University with a BSc in Zoology. He notes from his research that male porcupines ‘make good fathers,’ and ‘in the last hour of any wine tasting, you see plenty of animal behaviour!’
Find the wines online at www.sawinesonline.co.uk and at super-indie merchant, Handford (greg@handford.net).
Read More
MORE ABOUT