South Africa is celebrated globally for rediscovering chenin blanc, for harnessing the charms of old, long-neglected vines and resurrecting their fortunes. Producers such as Sadie and Alheit have created their reputations on these forgotten heroes.
But the stories aren’t always of the fairytale kind. Sometimes they hit hard. Nasty and brutal. Heartbreaking. Economically impoverishing. The shiraz vineyard that helped to put Boekenhoutskloof on the map was grubbed up — and the first (then) winemaker Marc Kent knew about it was when he saw a huge Caterpillar digger wrenching and ripping gnarled trunks from the earth.
Radio Lazarus was another that burned brightly — though briefly — and is talked about with reverence and awe. Chris and Suzaan Alheit discovered a neglected block of bushvine chenin blanc high on Stellenbosch’s Bottelary hills, surrounded by cellphone towers and radio masts. They resurrected the block from 2010, much like the biblical Lazarus. The first bottling was in 2012, the last in 2017.
In an interview with The Drinks Business in 2018, Chris Alheit said: “Radio wasn’t that old, but it was on an extreme site that killed it in the end. It’s on the top of a slope that’s always very dry and three years of drought just pushed it over the edge. It got to the point where it’s unrecoverable.” He harvested eight crates from 2ha of vineyard.
Lukas van Loggerenberg experienced similar tribulation with an old cinsault vineyard in Franschhoek a year ago. At the recent release of his 2024 vintages, he spoke with wrenching candour about the heartbreak — and near financial ruin — attached to the meagre 777 bottles he produced of one wine, the Lötter Cinsault 2024.
“It’s the closest I’ve been to tears in any vintage,” he says. Grapes are from a venerable block in Franschhoek, named in honour of Koos Lötter, the farmer who planted them way back in 1932. It’s the second-oldest cinsault vineyard in South Africa. Van Loggerenberg discovered the vineyard in 2020, and made the deal on a handshake, stupidly not asking the farmer the price; he nearly choked when it came time to put pen to paper.
“I spent way too much money in 2022 and 2023 getting the vineyard healthy — and it was looking good, really good. But over the Christmas break a kalander [weevil] swarm found the vines and bit their way through the stems.” It meant the grape bunches weren’t able to ripen and develop fully.
“I was optimistic at harvest. I took along enough kissies [picking crates] for 5t of grapes. I drove home that day with the entire — meagre — harvest in the back of my bakkie.” Van Loggerenberg had enough fruit for just one 600l barrel — off 1.4ha of vineyard. Careful not to overwork it, he submerged the skin cap by hand, then left the barrel alone for six months. “I didn’t even want to look at it in case it was shit!”
British buyer and master of wine Richard Kelley visited Van Loggerenberg’s Paarl cellar on a trip and they broached the barrel. “I couldn’t believe what the wine had become. It had this pure blackcurrant aroma and flavour with these fine Nebbiolo-like tannins.” Van Loggerenberg described the wine as a “fine dining cinsault”. With just 777 bottles made, the wine will be highly sought after for its scarcity, which is a pity because it has a delicacy, purity and refinement not often associated with cinsault.
Van Loggerenberg’s wines stand out on retail shelves because of the beauty of their labels, all of which are highly symbolic. The label for the Lötter Cinsault 2024 depicts peaches and plums planted elsewhere on the Franschhoek farm, along with a farming father teaching his son to plant, a nod to the next generation following a well-trodden path. There’s a sign stating the year the vines took root, and a fleur de lis looms large, symbolic of the Huguenot influence in Franschhoek.
All these little motifs mean something to Van Loggerenberg and are a nod to how sentimental he is. A humble, soft-spoken, gentle and somewhat unfiltered man, he’s not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve and show his vulnerability, something most winemakers shy away from. But that sincerity and raw honesty are to be admired when he makes beautiful, soul-stirring wines. There are stories behind all his wines and their names: Trust Your Gut chenin blanc, Kameraderie, High Hopes, Graft and Geronimo. The 2024 vintage of Lötter is just another chapter in his tale.
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