Nature's mystery
With every first effort, there is always the opportunity to make an indelible mark on those you aim to impress with your endeavours.
Once a good impression is made first time around, one can be assured of unlimited possibilities beckoning on the horizon and perhaps sustained interest in one's endeavour.
While these possibilities wait to be tapped, further success can only be assured if one remains true to their vision and their stamp of promised quality.
A mere three years after its very first commercial vintage of 2008, Oldenburg Vineyards of Stellenbosch has made its first impression in a rather spectacularly manner. For its troubles it notched up a brace of international gold medals for producing fine wines of distinguishable quality.
These awards were handed over at the authoritative 2011 Syrah du Monde in France recently for Oldenburg Syrah 2008 as well as for its 2010 Chenin Blanc at the 2011 International Wine Challenge in London.
This is in addition to its local success in April 2011 when three of its 2008 , the Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Cabernet Franc were listed in Top 100 SA Wines.
To achieve such success in a short time has certainly given an inestimable boost to the estate's confidence. It released its first vintage early 2010, with a Cabernet Franc 2008, Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 and Syrah 2008, and in January 2011, and also released its maiden white vintages, Chenin Blanc 2010 and Chardonnay 2010.
Oldenburg owner Adrian Vanderspuy says his vision is to establish the estate as a premium boutique producer, something he shares with viticulturist and winemaker Simon Thompson, previously at Tokara.
Tasting some of the estate's wines at Sandton's HQ Restaurant, Thompson dabbled in a pairing exercise to showcase the prowess of his vinous effort.
The wines were the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 Syrah, 2008 Cabernet Franc, 2010 Chenin and 2010 Chardonnay.
No doubt terroir plays a major part in the constitution of the estate wines, decipherable in the concentration of intense flavours and well-defined structure.
"The geography, the soil and the climate all point to the possibility to make extraordinary wines. Here we have everything we need from nature to make the best wines," Thompson says.
His philosophy is to craft the wines with minimal intervention in the cellar, always allowing nature to take its mystical course.
His 2010 Chenin Blanc (R97), aged in French oak, is a creamy, highly textured proposition, with hints of tropical fruit on the nose, layered with notes of honey.
Unmistakable is the delicate touch of oak in the elegant 2010 Chardonnay (R118), which exudes an intricate balance between fruit, wood and acidity.
I loved Syrah (another name for Shiraz) with the typical spiciness of the grape, but understated palates.
Priced at R154 this Syrah straddles both Old and New world styles - endowed with an understated palate and specks of fruit.
Common among all the wines is the richness of texture that adds to their character and other interplaying nuances.