Fable Mountain Vineyards is a 200 hectare farm situated in the slopes of the Witzenburg mountains, at approximately 600 metres above sea level. There are 32 hectares of Rhone variety cultivars (Syrah, Grenache and Mouvedre) on the farm that grow slowly from the challenging shale soils. The shadows from the mountains are cast over the vines, reducing their exposure to the sun and keeping the temperature down, allowing for the grapes to retain their natural acidity. Wild animals (see first 3 pictures below from
https://twitter.com/Fablewines?lang=en), bush fires and exigent weather conditions are just some of the challenges that the vines and the farm face.
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| A Caracal caught on the motion sensor camera |
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| A curious Baboon |
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| Leopard spotted at night |
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| Grazing animals in the lower part of the farm |
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| The view from the cellar |
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| Zebras on the farm |
A biodynamic approach to farming is practiced at Fable, in an attempt to create wines that reflect the site. The cellar was renovated in 2011, and is now completely gravity fed with cleverly designed, shallow fermentation vessels sitting on a level above the large tanks below. The cellar has a 150 tonne capacity, with all fermentation taking place naturally- no yeasts are added and a mixture of tank, barrel and concrete egg aging containers are used. The red wines usually spend 2 years in barrel, with some new oak (around 20-30% being used).
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| Barrel storage and a concrete egg |
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| Shallow fermentation vessels sitting on the upper layer of the cellar |
Paul Nicholls, winemaker at Fable, walked us through the cellar and we tasted some of the new vintages from the containers. We then drove up the mountain to taste the current vintages in bottle. The tasting spot was in a stunning location, situated high on a slope overlooking the farm and vineyards beneath. It also doubles up as an improvised golf driving range.
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| Tasting sofa/driving range |
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| An essential piece of golfing equipment |
The first wine we tasted was the 2012 'Jackal Bird', a white blend of Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Roussane, Chardonnay and Viognier. The batches are all fermented separately, some spending time in stainless steel, some straight into barrel and some into concrete eggs. This lends a lovely complexity to the wine, there are undulating layers of flavour, stone fruits and subtle citrus notes are nicely rounded off by a slight toastiness, resulting from the 500l French oak barrel components.
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| 2012 Jackal Bird |
Next up was the 2012 'Night Sky', a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mouvedre. It was aged for 18 months in barrel, including 30% new oak. Vibrant cherry, plum and red fruit stands out on the nose and herbal, fynbos characteristics create an earthy edge. There are notes of vanilla and oak on the finish, it is slightly too much for my tastes and Paul explained that there will be slightly less new oak contact for the next release. Even so, it was in no way overwhelming and is still a delicious, complex wine that should develop very favourably over the next 5 years or so.
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2012 Night Sky
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The third and final wine we tasted was the 2012 Syrah. 30% whole bunch press, there was a lavender, herbal touch which, when combined with the distinctive black pepper and crimson fruits made for a refined, layered wine. The tannic backbone adds structure and leads to a finessed, elegant expression of Syrah. It should age well, with winemaker Paul stating you could drink this 'anytime within your lifetime'. If you can resist the temptation, that is.
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2012 Syrah
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