Creation’s masterclass in mineral precision
(And what’s meant by “terroir” and “minerality”)
Earlier this week, I attended a vast and rather grand tasting laid on at the Amstel Hotel by Vinites – one of the Netherlands’ biggest wine importers. Talking to other wine industry folk beforehand, it seemed Vinites was more divisive than I realised: some people thought their wines were stuffy and old-fashioned (“what the Dutch used to drink 20 years ago”), while others were impressed by the sheer breadth and variety of their portfolio (“you can find everything on their site!”).
I’m still new enough to this industry to try and avoid having an opinion until I know what I’m talking about. So I went along with an open mind, representing Dutch Wine Apprentice (a group of enthusiastic wine people, both experienced and aspiring on the professional front), to see what it was all about. There were literally hundreds of bottles lined up to taste, and even more hundreds of people there to taste them. Which, as a post-covid introvert, I found a little overwhelming. More interestingly, however, there were a number of masterclasses – and these ended up being a far more valuable use of my time.
Speaking of time, I’m seriously struggling to produce weekly Substack articles while simultaneously holding down my regular copywriting work, staying on top of a heap of other wine work, and trying my best not to neglect my husband, friends and (most importantly of all) my dog. So with permission from Dutch Wine Apprentice, I’m reproducing the notes that I took during the masterclass from South African winery Creation in an expanded article format below…
Chardonnay in a time of Apartheid
Led by fourth-generation wine maker Glenn Martin, Creation’s masterclass demonstrated not only what a South African winery can do with classic Burgundy grapes (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir); it was also testament to the love and respect between generations.
Glenn’s grandfather first brought Chardonnay vines to South Africa during Apartheid – a gutsy move that was illegal at the time, made even riskier by the fact that such organic matter was not always clean and was often riddled with viruses that would eventually kill the vines off. (Spoiler alert: Creation’s vines are proudly virus-free and still going strong.)
Nowadays, Glenn and his father are committed to continuing to harvest from the same vines for as long as possible – believing that great wines require old vines. And they must be doing something right, because in 2023 Creation placed proudly in the top ten of the World’s Best Vineyards.
Terroir and tasting notes
The Creation Estate itself was founded in 2002 on the Hemel-en-Aarde ridge – only five kilometres from the ocean as the crow flies, part of the Walker Bay district on the coast south of Cape Town. The ridge’s altitude and proximity to the ocean ensure that the grapes enjoy a diurnal range (that’s the difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures) of a relatively cool 10-28 degrees Celsius during the growing season. That means the Martin family are able to pick the grapes later in the season, resulting in intensely concentrated flavour, without reaching dizzying heights of alcohol and while maintaining strongly balancing acidity.
At the same time, the cool clay and shale soils on Creation’s ridge are nutrient poor but high in minerals. There’s some debate about whether you can literally taste the minerals from soil in the wines that result from grapes grown in it, but most people agree that the fabled “minerality” comes from a range of cooling factors – including climate, altitude, proximity to ocean and indeed soil type. In other words, terroir.
Chardonnay “Creation Reserve” 2023
Given everything I’ve just described above, it’s unsurprising that the Creation Reserve Chardonnay is full of refreshing minerality and acidity alongside its zesty lemon, pineapple and white blossom aromas. Delicate notes of toast, vanilla and hazelnut round out a very elegant and accomplished wine.
Chardonnay “Art of Creation” 2023
“Less is more” is how Glenn described the “Art of Creation” – his father’s signature Chardonnay. The vineyard site sparkles with quartz crystals in the soil (causing discussion among the family about the wine’s minerality much like that I described above). The grapes enter the winery in whole bunches to retain their acidity, and fermentation happens in stainless steel before the clean juice is racked off into neutral oak barrels (50% new and 50% used). “Toasting oak is a bit like putting make-up on,” Glenn continued, much to my delight having written an article on this very topic back in August. All of which explains why this Chardonnay couples ripe peach and vanilla creaminess with a laser-like, mineral-driven precision.
Creation Glenn’s Chardonnay 2022
If Art is the father, Glenn’s is (quite literally) the son. While the grapes come from the same area, Glenn’s Chardonnay uses a very different method – resulting, of course, in a different style of wine. Glenn lets the juice oxidise in open tanks for two days, ferments using wild yeast, and retains a little of the sediment in the barrels. Techniques that result in a more robust-textured, exciting wine that has an oyster-shell salinity and nuttiness alongside stone fruits like apricot and nectarine. That body and texture are what Glenn believes will allow his wines to age beautifully in the coming years. Time will tell, but I think he might be onto something…
Given that Vinites is apparently now importing Creation’s wines to the Netherlands, I’m assuming you’ll start seeing these bottles popping up in restaurants and at wine stores across the country very soon. Those of you elsewhere can have a look at Wine-Searcher.com to see where you can get your hands on a few of these prize bottles.
