Golden
Triangle Cabernet Sauvignon
Golden
Triangle Pinotage
Golden
Triangle Sauvignon Blanc
Golden
Triangle Shiraz
Guy Webber,
Stellenzicht winemaker
Some claim – and Guy Webber of Stellenzicht is one of
them – that the small area between the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountains
down to where the R44 runs between Stellenbosch and Somerset West, produces
some of the very best wines in South Africa.
Forming a triangular shape, this prime wine-growing
area that includes the Stellenzicht farm, has become known amongst aficionados
as the Golden Triangle.
To celebrate the uniqueness of the area, the winery
has decided to create stand-alone branding for four of its wines. These are a
2009 Shiraz, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Pinotage, both from the 2010 vintage,
and a 2012 Sauvignon Blanc.
“We’ve made wines, in the past, under the Golden
Triangle name, but the upgraded new range is much more clearly defined, with an
identity all its own,” says Guy, winemaker at Stellenzicht. “It is indeed
intended as a tribute to the area.
“It is difficult to identify exactly what makes the
area so special. There are, of course, a number of factors contributing to its
uniqueness. The soils are relatively poor. That makes the vines put all their
energy into producing fruit as opposed to foliage, and helps to create wine of
considerable character.
The yields are low, lower than the average for the
Stellenbosch area which is, in turn, lower than that for the rest of the
Winelands. Again, a low yield is, in my view, beneficial for the quality of the
grapes we harvest.
“Add to that a range of other factors: the area’s
closeness to False Bay and the benefit of its cooling breezes in summer, the
great variation in height above sea level, in slopes and aspects, meso-climates
produced by the folds and angles of the mountains. All of these contribute to
the quality and complexity of the wines produced here.
“The old saying goes that the proof of the pudding is
in the eating. When WINE magazine celebrated its tenth
anniversary, it published a list of the 20 top producers its team had
rated during that time. Five of them were from this miniscule area.
“In my view, what all the wines from around here have
in common is balance. That is why the name we have chosen refers to a triangle
in mathematics which is in perfect balance in that its three angles are in a
2:2:1 proportion.
The observant will recognise this symbol, known in mathematics
as an isosceles triangle, as the one depicted on the labels of the new range.”
“This obsession with balance, the Golden Ratio, as
found in nature and the greater world around us, has for centuries occupied
mathematicians, philosophers and artists such as Leonardo da Vinci. The quest
for perfect balance is also what motivated us in creating the four wines in our
new series.
The revamped Golden Triangle range of wines will be
available in stores countrywide from the end of October. They are expected to
retail for around R50 for the Sauvignon Blanc and around R80 for the reds.
