SA WINE LOVERS might struggle to remember a time – not so long ago – when there was only a single bottle of note from the Alvi’s Drift cellar in Worcester: a Muscat de Frontignan, a small bottle and in small quantities, but a fine example and one of South Africa’s Top 10 fortified dessert wines to this day. In the family since 1928, the farm now owned by Bertie van der Merwe and his sons, Alvi and Johan, was named after a low-water bridge across the Breede River that runs through the property, a crossing “inspired” by the first Albertus Viljoen ‘Alvi’ van der Merwe – who was also a rugby legend, the 221st player to earn a Springbok jersey. Close to 100 years later, but less than 20 years since the first bottling, wine production has evolved to encompass some astounding achievements in one of the Cape’s more modest wine districts.

Renowned these days for a number of good quaffers made from Chenin, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage, Alvi’s has also become the source of premium quality wines of interest value. The Reserves include a couple of respectable blends, the white CVC and the red Drift Fusion, but then there’s the top-tier Verreaux Pinotage and the Albertus Viljoen range including the Bismarck, a Shiraz-driven combo, and a Chenin Blanc that has proved to be one of the Cape’s top expressions of this variety – as recognised in the SA Wine Classification spanning the past 10 years.

The 2019 vintage of Alvi’s Chenin Blanc is the latest to have shown well, with both the ‘221’ version at under R100 a bottle and the premium-priced Albertus Viljoen excelling at the country’s Top 10 Challenge. Of the ‘221’, the panel said: “Subtle to start, with pretty notes of white flowers, some layered earthiness leading to a juicy entry, with great fruit purity and sweet-fruited but satisfying end. Vibrant and sunny.” Of the Albertus Viljoen: “A lovely open and pure-fruited nose with bright lemon and lime blossom, following onto a linear, focused and sophisticated palate. There is a sense of elegance to the subtle power here.”

ALBERTUS VILJOEN CHENIN BLANC 2019
WO Scherpenheuwel, Worcester. Vines 25 to 40 years old. Grapes hand-harvested. Whole-bunch pressing. Barrel fermentation. Regular stirring. 12 months maturation in oak barrels (40% new).
Alc 13.7 | RS 4.4 | TA 6.9 | pH 3.2
Winemakers’ Tasting Notes: brilliant straw colour; on the nose, a soft chamomile greeting, with notes of nectarine, peaches, fresh cream, a touch of vanilla pods and hints of roasted cashew nuts; rich and velvety, with the ripe fruit following through and fantailing out towards the long, lingering end.
Maturation Potential: will improve with proper cellaring for at least five years after vintage.
R240pb ex-cellar.

Alvi & Junel van der Merwe, Proprietor and Cape Wine Master at Alvi’s Drift