Villiera Down to Earth Touriga Nacional-Shiraz Stellenbosch 2019 is no longer available

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Villiera Down to Earth Touriga Nacional-Shiraz Stellenbosch 2019

4.000000000 star rating 5 Reviews
Ripe and fragrant South African blend of Portuguese grape touriga nacional – previously used for fortified wine – and spicy shiraz.
is no longer available
Code: SA17151

Wine characteristics

  • Red Wine
  • Full-bodied
  • Touriga Nacional
  • 75cl
  • 13.5% Alcohol
  • oak used but not v. noticeable
  • Cork, diam

South Africa

South Africa is undoubtedly one of the world's most dynamic wine producers. Established winemakers re-emerged onto the international scene in the early 1990s, following the demise of the apartheid era, and new wines, wineries, highly qualified winemakers, and even new regions have appeared steadily ever since. This makes South Africa more exciting than ever, but more complicated, too.

Most South African wines are varietally labelled - a key factor in any buying decision. Styles vary of course, and our notes aim to clarify this, but you will probably already know whether you like sauvignon blanc (now among the world's best), chardonnay, riesling, syrah, pinot noir, or cabernet.

South Africa's most famous grapes - white chenin blanc and red pinotage - will be less familiar unless you are already a convert. South African chenins are quite different from those in the Loire - almost always dry, but ripe and full of flavour (often with the complexity that comes from the increasingly...
South Africa is undoubtedly one of the world's most dynamic wine producers. Established winemakers re-emerged onto the international scene in the early 1990s, following the demise of the apartheid era, and new wines, wineries, highly qualified winemakers, and even new regions have appeared steadily ever since. This makes South Africa more exciting than ever, but more complicated, too.

Most South African wines are varietally labelled - a key factor in any buying decision. Styles vary of course, and our notes aim to clarify this, but you will probably already know whether you like sauvignon blanc (now among the world's best), chardonnay, riesling, syrah, pinot noir, or cabernet.

South Africa's most famous grapes - white chenin blanc and red pinotage - will be less familiar unless you are already a convert. South African chenins are quite different from those in the Loire - almost always dry, but ripe and full of flavour (often with the complexity that comes from the increasingly sought-after old-vine fruit and the use of oak). Pinotage, a South African creation, is for many a love-it-or-hate-it grape. Pinotage's 'parents' are pinot noir, which imparts its strawberry aromas and lovely texture in young wines, and more complex, farmyard characteristics in more mature examples, and cinsault, the southern French grape, which adds spice and body. It was developed in South Africa in 1926. Shiraz is now making a name for itself in South Africa with some superb examples bottled varietally and showing characteristics that often places it between the plush New World style pioneered by Australia and classic Rhône balance and elegance.

More significant in South Africa than much of the New World (notably New Zealand and Chile) are blends, which make selection more complicated, as the style of the wine is less easy to anticipate. As in Australia and California, however, many of the best wines here are blends - a sign of maturity in the industry. Bordeaux blends were favoured initially but there are increasing numbers of Rhône and southern French influenced blends, including some eclectic mixes, many of which are among South Africa’s best wines.

The Regions

The vineyards of South Africa are at a latitude of about 35o south, with hot, dry Mediterranean-type summers tempered by oceanic influences in the south, particularly the very cold Benguela Current. Much of the country is mountainous or hilly with a multitude of terroirs for winemakers to play with. Soils are ancient and complex, and many and varied from region to region, and even vineyard to vineyard. Rainfall is very varied from one area to another, largely depending which side of a mountain or range a vineyard lies on, and in some parts irrigation is essential.

South Africa’s rigorous Wine Of Origin scheme demarcates vineyard areas, including some single vineyards, and guarantees the geographical source of the wine much like the old French appellation contrôllée system recently renamed AOP, though there are no controls on yields and grape varieties as there are in France..

Bordeaux-style blends are one of the Stellenbosch region's great strengths. Wines such as Kanonkop's Paul Sauer, Meerlust's Rubicon and Warwick's Trilogy are South African icons, produced over many years, and with proven ageing capacity. The striking Simonsberg mountain names the ward (or area) most highly sought after for these reds, but Stellenbosch produces a wide range of wine styles, from excellent chenin blancs and sauvignons to robust pinotage and Cape Blends.

Paarl is its less-well-known neighbour, also warm, and best known for its robust but smooth reds. Franschhoek is understandably one of the most-visited towns in the Cape (with lots of French Huguenot history and some of the best restaurants in the region). It has a number of famous producers, most notably Boekenhoutskloof, but most do not produce exclusively from Franschhoek fruit. Cape Chamonix is an exception we rate highly, producing a wide range of wine styles from bubbly to cabernet franc led red blend Troika.

The generally warmer Swartland region has been at the forefront of the development of Rhône varietals in South Africa, led by stars such as Eben Sadie, as well as home to some of the best old chenin blanc vines. Further north, and much cooler is Citrusdal, where fresher styles are produced and chenin blanc can achieve real finesse.

The Cape peninsula, to the south of Cape Town itself, is home to Constantia, known for its cooler climate thanks to the influence of the two oceans that almost circle it. Here, sauvignon blanc and the Bordeaux grapes predominate, but there are lovely examples of aromatic varieties too, notably Klein Constantia's elegant riesling and its wonderful sweet muscat Vin de Constance, and the vibrant sauvignon blancs from Cape Point vineyards to the south. Rhône varietals are successful new additions.

Elgin, en route to Hermanus, is another very cool region, very much up-and-coming for sauvignon blanc, as is Elim, which is even further south and the source of our former Exhibition Sauvignon. Robertson is almost due north of Elim, but way inland and far hotter. A small number of family producers manage to make excellent sauvignon here, too, but it is also a good source of chardonnay, increasingly pinot noir, and elegantly styled pinotage and Rhône varietals, not forgetting the excellent fortified muskadels which are unique to the Cape.

The most important factor in deciding whether or not to buy is often the producer's name. This is easily achieved when some of the grandest 'old' names, such as Meerlust, Hamilton Russell, Kanonkop, and Klein Constantia, still rank among the country's best producers. Where it gets trickier is when the winery is new, has no track record, or the winemaker is not a household name.
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Villiera Wines

Villiera is a large, family-owned estate on the borders of the Paarl and Stellenbosch wine regions in South Africa.

The estate takes its name from the Villiers family who were former property owners. Since 1983, Villiera has been run by the Grier family; cousins Simon and Jeff Grier are in charge of viticulture and winemaking respectively and have steadily raised the quality of the wines. Cathy Grier Brewer, Jeff’s sister, is in charge of sales and marketing and is a regular visitor to Society tastings.

The wines
The 180 hectares of vineyards are split into roughly 40% red and 60% white grapes, with different varieties being planted as consumer tastes change. There are trials for the conversion to organic viticulture as well as plans to improve the drip irrigation system, but the farm has already been insecticide free since the early 2000s, and uses a flock of Peking duck as natural pest control. The cellars and winery were first built in the 1940s but they have expanded dramatically since the Griers took over in the 1980s.

Overall, the Grier family’s approach is one of understatement as exemplified by their Down to Earth house wines which are accessible blends of ripe fruit with distinct varietal character. The mantra here is ‘turn the ordinary into an occasion’ which the Griers certainly manage to deliver through extraordinary wines at unremarkable prices. They make a wide range of wines across a broad price spectrum, including some of the...

Villiera is a large, family-owned estate on the borders of the Paarl and Stellenbosch wine regions in South Africa.

The estate takes its name from the Villiers family who were former property owners. Since 1983, Villiera has been run by the Grier family; cousins Simon and Jeff Grier are in charge of viticulture and winemaking respectively and have steadily raised the quality of the wines. Cathy Grier Brewer, Jeff’s sister, is in charge of sales and marketing and is a regular visitor to Society tastings.

The wines
The 180 hectares of vineyards are split into roughly 40% red and 60% white grapes, with different varieties being planted as consumer tastes change. There are trials for the conversion to organic viticulture as well as plans to improve the drip irrigation system, but the farm has already been insecticide free since the early 2000s, and uses a flock of Peking duck as natural pest control. The cellars and winery were first built in the 1940s but they have expanded dramatically since the Griers took over in the 1980s.

Overall, the Grier family’s approach is one of understatement as exemplified by their Down to Earth house wines which are accessible blends of ripe fruit with distinct varietal character. The mantra here is ‘turn the ordinary into an occasion’ which the Griers certainly manage to deliver through extraordinary wines at unremarkable prices. They make a wide range of wines across a broad price spectrum, including some of the Cape’s most popular bubbly.

Environmental sustainability
In 2010 Villiera installed the largest privately owned roof-mounted solar power generation facility in South Africa. It supplies most of the estate’s needs outside of harvest time.

In the vineyard they limit the amount of passes that tractors make, which both limits compaction of the soil and burns less fuel. Insecticide use has ceased and they rely on natural predators to control pests such as mealy bug. They also attract birds of prey to scare off flocks of smaller grape eating birds. In an area of water stress, the estate captures all its winter runoff water and strictly control the use of it for irrigation purposes in summer.

The family quietly gives a large percentage of its land over to conservation as part of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative as well as planting thousands of indigenous trees and maintaining a wildlife sanctuary on site. They estimate they have planted planting 100,000 trees.

Social sustainability
Villiera Wines is home to the Pebbles Project which enriches the lives of thousands of children in the Winelands of the Western Cape by focusing on five key areas: Education, Health, Nutrition, Community and Protection.  Villiera is also home to The Owethu Clinic.

The Villiera Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centre is operated under the supervision of the Pebbles Project.  Early childhood development is provided to more than 30 children of Villiera farm workers and the fully equipped after-school club provides a safe environment where children can complete homework assignments under supervision while their parents are still at work.

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South Africa Vintage 2019

More drought condition, following the difficulties of the heat in 2018, meant that yields at harvest were again considerably smaller than usual. Winter rain, though welcome, had not significantly dented the effects of prolonged drought. Early in the growing season the weather see-sawed between warm and cold and early summer warmed up and kept warming up until it was scorching. And then, out of the blue, temperatures dropped agin, making ripening a tricky business for some red varieties. Chenin blanc, though, seems to have been a big beneficiary, with its natural acidity offsetting the fruit flavours and aromatics.

2017 vintage reviews
2017 vintage reviews

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