WIf the Clüvers had a family crest, then an apple would have to be in the center. A few vines with grapes could perhaps grow along the edge, but the pome fruit should definitely be the focus. After all, the family with the German umlaut in their name and German roots owes a large part of their prosperity to the apple trees that were planted generations ago – winegrowing was only added a good 40 years ago.
However, the wines that the Clüvers press on their estate in the Elgin Valley about 70 kilometers south-east of Cape Town now make up a good half of the business – and they are no longer only drunk in South Africa, but also in Europe, the United States and Japan. According to Paul Clüver junior, who runs the family business as managing director, a good 50 percent of the production is exported. The Sauvignon blanc, two Chardonnays and two Pinot noirs are also available in Germany. Only the Riesling, for which the Clüvers are known in their home country, they do not send to their German importers. “It would be like bringing coal to Newcastle,” says Paul Clüver, using the English version of the German proverb about the owls that you don’t have to bring to Athens.
From fruit growing to wine growing: the Clüver family’s business has long specialized in apples, but wines now make up a good half of the business.
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Photo: Paul Cluver
You can drink the Clüver Estate Riesling – with a very slight residual sweetness and very mild petroleum notes for overseas conditions, a convincing representative of this grape variety – in this country, therefore, only in exceptional cases, here and there it is available from a mail order company. However, the wine gives an indication of what makes the character of the Clüver wines so special: Riesling thrives best in cool growing areas, and that is exactly the salient feature of the Elgin Valley. The small valley on the edge of the Hottentots Holland Mountains is one of the coveted “Cool Climate” regions in South Africa and offers ideal conditions for the cultivation of balanced, elegant wines that, with their potential for aging, are more in line with the so-called old, i.e. European, style than the new , i.e. come close to the overseas wine world.
Inspired by New Zealand
It is cool in the Elgin Valley for two reasons: Firstly, it lies like a high plateau about 400 meters above sea level, is surrounded by mountains and has some of the highest rainfall in the entire Cape. On the other hand, the nearby ocean and its cold Benguela Current, fed by the South Pole, acts as a natural air conditioning system for the region. Like the Washington State growing region of the United States, Elgin was primarily apple country for many decades. The potential of Elgin for viticulture remained hidden for a long time. It was not until Paul Clüver senior, the father of the current boss, came up with the idea in the early 1980s, inspired by the booming winegrowing industry in New Zealand and America, that the long apple-growing tradition of the mid-19th century had emigrated from Germany to South Africa Adding a very small wine-growing branch changed the situation.
After a soil analysis, the first commercial vines were planted in 1986 and 1987, the first grapes were harvested in 1990 and the first wines were pressed. This laid the foundation for the new wine region, and the Clüvers were gradually followed by other companies that put Elgin on the international wine map. After his father experimented with numerous grape varieties in the early years, Paul Clüver junior and his cellar master and brother-in-law Andries Burger concentrated on four varieties: Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot noir – and Riesling. The two are primarily concerned with balance and elegance.
Lots of spice, less fruit: the Estate Pinot noir from Paul Clüver
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Bild: Paul Clüver
With the Sauvignon blanc (about twelve euros), this is evident, for example, with all its expressiveness and freshness through a certain round creaminess, which is more reminiscent of a wine from the Loire than a typical overseas drop. The Estate Chardonnay (18 euros) has a similarly European effect, and scores with well-integrated acidity, lots of body, mild vanilla and toast notes and clear minerality. Finally, with the Estate Pinot noir (around 20 euros), this style is particularly evident in the pronounced spiciness and the rather reserved berry fruit.
With his Riesling, Paul Clüver junior may not want to compete against the overpowering competition in Europe and especially Germany. With his other wines, however, he can do this with a clear conscience and self-confidence – and prove that not only high-quality pome fruit comes to us from the Elgin Valley.
The wines from Weingut Paul Clüver are available at www.ludwig-von-kapff.de, www.hawesko.de and www.vicampo.de.