At the 2013 Amorim Tsogo Sun Cap Classique Challenge, Laborie Blanc de
Blancs MCC Brut 2009 and Laborie Brut 2010, was awarded a “Highly Recommended –
Gold Medal”.
Laborie is a handful of Paarl wineries that
get their MCC, consistently right, exceptionally well price too, perfect for
any celebrations.
Below is an
exclusive interview with Kobus van der Merwe, Chief
Winemaker and Marco Ventrella, Head Viticulturist and one of South Africa’s
best, understanding Laborie house
style, winemaking philosophy, sourcing of the grapes for that specific MCC, and
what makes their sparkling wine one of the best of 2013.
Tell
our readers a little more about your winery and how long you have been making
wine and why your chosen location to make wine and in particular MCC, what is
special about your site?
Our wine farm has a long and noble
heritage, having first produced a grape harvest in the 1690’s when Isaac
Taillefert made wine described as; “The best in the colony, similar to our
small wines of Champagne” by the French Traveller, Francois Legaut.
Situated on the slopes of the Paarl
Mountain the vista extends across the valley to the Drakenstein Mountains,
reason alone to plant grapes at this location.
As the Laborie farm’s heritage is from
France, with the French settlers responsible for the birth of Laborie,
sparkling wine had to be made on Laborie to express this heritage. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Champagne
clones thrive in this terroir, and produce sparkling wines with lots of
finesse, balance and freshness.
Marco,
explain us your viticultural approach and philosophy, as we all know, it’s all
starts in the dirt to make very good to great wines?
My approach is one of attempting to understand the processes in the vine
and their interaction with the terroir. Its the greatest game there is for me.
I liken it to playing 7 games of chess on 7 boards in tandem where every move
affects every board but only 3 are visible. Action, reaction. Cause and effect. Sometimes doing nothing at
all is the only winning move. Ultimately its about trying to grow wine rather
than fruit. Aspiring to beauty and complexity in this time and space capsule we
call a bottle of wine.
MCC’s will never be Champagne, however
the quality are of a very high standards and represents some of the very best
value bottle sparkling wine in the world, tell us more about the climate and
soil your grapes come from?
MCC is about capturing the sunshine of South Africa in an elegant
bubble. We have various different soils and terroirs. Each brings nuances and
contributes to complexity. We experience the soils of the Cape have to offer; from
the granite based gravel in Paarl that provides primary red berry fruit in the Pinot
Noir’s and citrus notes in the Chardonnay, to soils in the Swartland that offer
creamy texture and brightness in the Chardonnay.
Elgin and Walker Bay are all about mineral and acid lines with
Chardonnay expressing lemons and limes and Pinot Noir offering frambois forest
floor.
MCC is about knife edge balancing in the vineyards. Too much bunch
exposure and its phenolic, too little it’s insipid. Elgin needs more exposure,
Paarl needs less.
2 days too early the base wine is lean, 2 days too late and its flabby
and blousy. We’ve got to read each block during each vintage. Sometimes we get
it right. Then we celebrate with a bottle or 2 of Bubbly!
Viticulturist
are very often the unsung heroes of the South African wine industry and we all
know, demanding style such as MCC, needs optimum grape quality, Marco tell us more
about you?
I grew up far from vineyards and followed my parents into the
hospitality trade where I managed night clubs at first. I spent 10 years in restaurants
before my passion for wine would tolerate no more procrastination. I studied at
Elsenberg, initially as a wine maker, but changed to viticulture as I felt this
was where the real mystery was.
After 10 years I feel like I know less for certain than when I started, and
understand a little more. I find the vine to be the most extraordinary plant on
the planet.
Do
you have any preferences over site specific, i.e Estate / region/district/ward
wine of origin over Western Cape / Coastal Region blends, if so give us more
details?
It all depends on the style we aim for.
The different grapes from the different terroirs produce different components,
and with this we build the style we want to achieve. But we have our
preferences on certain grapes and sites to give the backbone of the blend.
How
long you have been making MCC?
10 years.
How
many styles of MCC’s you produce under your brand?
Brut, Blanc de Blancs and Rose.
Tell
us more about your winning MCC and it’s winemaking process as well as the
percentage blends if any making the final wine?
The Laborie Blanc de Blanc 2009
consists of a 100% Chardonnay grapes, and were harvested by hand in the cool of
the morning and whole bunch pressed. Only the cuvee juice were used for the
final blend. Selected yeast was used for primary fermentation followed by
malolactic fermentation. The wine was bottled and underwent second fermentation
under a stable 15°C. This was followed
by bottle maturation of about 36 months, when it was disgorged, corked and
labelled. This is a typical blanc de blanc that shows flavours of citrus and green apple,
freshness with layers of creamy and
biscuit notes on the palate.
The Laborie Brut 2010 is a blend of 50%
Chardonnay and 50% Pinot Noir. This was
also whole bunch pressed with only the cuvee juice used for the final blend. A 30%
portion of the Chardonnay was put through malolactic fermentation as the
remainder retains freshness to the wine. The wine was blended and bottled where second
fermentation occurred. Bottle maturation took 24 months, where after it was
disgorged, corked and labelled. This
Brut is elegant and fine in style that shows berry flavours with a subtle
yeastiness and brioche.
What
is your view on Reserve wine added prior to dosage, what would be your average
percentage, if any use in your house style?
We do not add reserve wine as of our
stylistic preference. We want to retain
the freshness and elegance.
What
MCC style are your aiming for?
We aim for a refined, clean style but
showing complexity with lots of freshness and elegance.
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- With the new emerging market locally preferring wines with higher residual
sugar, what is your philosophy on dosage and where do you draw the line?
For us it’s all about the balance on
the palate and according to this we will add dosage. A wine that is perfectly balanced is a wine
that will be enjoyed by the majority of sparkling wine consumers.
What
are the source / origin of the grape(s) used in the winning wine?
The majority of the grapes are from
Paarl with other components coming from Stellenbosch, Walker Bay and Robertson.
How
many bottles do you produce per each style?
2009 Blanc de Blanc 48,000 bottles.
2010 Brut 58,000 bottles.
2010 Blanc de Blanc 92,000 bottles.
2010 Brut 58,000 bottles.
2010 Blanc de Blanc 92,000 bottles.
Countries
exported?
Our main sales are seen through the
South African markets however we do export to Europe, West and East Africa as
well as Latin America and China.
Top
local on trade customers supporting the wines or where can your MCC be found to
be purchased and enjoy?
The MCC can be purchased at most Makro
Liquor stores.
Your
favourite food pairings or recommendation to be enjoyed with your winning MCC?
Salmon with cream cheese, Sushi and Seafood
Paella.
Do
you have a special cellar door deal for readers of MCWJ to purchase your MCC
over the holiday period?
Receive a Laborie 2 tier Champagne
cooler / bag with Laborie logo with the purchase of any 2 box branded Laborie
MCC from the Cellar Door (While stocks
last) starting 1 December 2013
What
is the average selling of your MCC’s, cellar door / retail?
Laborie Brut costs R80, and the Blanc
de Blancs costs R98.
