An elegant long-stemmed glass of bubbly lends a sense of occasion and luxury to celebrations, festivities or even the dullest of days — and there’s really no need to be looking at big French Champagne names when we have South African Cap Classique.
Made and matured in the same way as its pricey French counterparts, with secondary fermentation in the bottle to capture the characteristic fine, natural bubbles (mousse), while ageing on the yeasty lees in the bottle develops the sought-after depth and complexity of flavours with creamy, nutty or toasty flavours alongside crisp, zesty fruit.
As an aside, this bottle fermentation results in a pressure about three times as much as your average car tyre — no wonder the thick bottles and the wire cage securing the cork, which can travel up to 40km/h when popped.
SA’s Cap Classiques are increasingly seen by international wine critics as not just an alternative to their French counterparts, but a distinctive style in their own right, offering excellent value for the quality of what’s in those bottles disgorged after ageing at least 12 months or, in some cases, for five or even more years.
Market-leading Krone is well-known for Borealis Cuvée Brut, Rosé Cuvée Brut and Night Nectar that are widely available, lending class to any occasion and affordable at R200 (and consistently Platter’s 4* rated).
Krone pioneered the “Nectar” category of off-dry/semi-sweet bubbles —widely emulated by other producers, and wildly popular.
Where many Cap Classiques, as well as French Champagnes, are labelled “non-vintage”, meaning blends of wines from multiple harvests that enables consistency and uniformity from one release to the next, Krone prides itself on making vintage-only bubblies.
Presenting the premium range of Krone bubblies at the Tank Room in Walmer recently, brand ambassador Khathu Sadiki said this was because they believed “each vintage tells a story”, so that the vintage-specific bubblies from Krone’s home at the 300-year-old Twee Jonge Gezellen estate in Tulbagh each “celebrate a moment in time and place, capturing the fleeting moment of each vintage”.
Cellarmaster Rudiger Gretschel has taken it a step further, elevating the art and luxury with premium-level, limited release bubblies (all Platter’s 4.5*), including a range of site-specific Cap Classiques, a concept adopted from high-end boutique French producers, “rooted not only in time, but in place”.
Like all Krone bubblies, these are matured in the estate’s cool, underground cave-like cellars, the first to be built in Africa, and similar to the hundreds of kilometres of subterranean cellars running under the famed Champagne Houses of France, where millions of bottles are matured over decades.
The site-specific Krone range — Kaaimansgat Blanc de Blanc Brut 2021, Koelfontein Blanc de Blanc Brut 2020 and Krone Twee Jonge Gezellen Blanc de Blanc Brut 2021 — is really interesting (deliciously so) because all are made from 100% Chardonnay, made using the same winemaking protocol and all matured for 36 months in bottle.
Yet, their very different flavours and characters reflect three very different terroirs.
From a specific vineyard on the Tulbagh home farm, the Twee Jonge Gezellen Blanc de Blanc Brut has a softness to it, flavours of baked apple and shortbread, sweetish fruit — not as dry and bracing as the other two, appealing for those who don’t like their bubbly too bone dry.
Those are Kaaimansgat, from apple country in Elandskloof, which reflects in its flavours, and the aptly named Koelfontein (“cool fountain”) from Ceres, both sites more than 600m above sea level but with different soils and weather patterns.
Interestingly, one of our group of tasters commented that where the Kaaimansgat had Granny Smith apple-like flavours, woven with lemon, honey, ginger, dry, racy and quite steely, the Koelfontein was “apple too — but more golden delicious”.
Spot-on, and the Koelfontein was also richer with naartije and marmalade flavours, toastiness and some lime zing.
Each of the three has its own appeal — depending on the food and the occasion, and if I absolutely had to choose, the Krone Koelfontein for me.
At this premium level of Krone bubbly, they are joined by the Krone RD Brut 2015 — RD standing for “recently disgorged”, released after 11 years of maturing on the lees.
Bone-dry and fresh, but unbelievably rich with an autumn sense of gold, nuttiness, preserved citrus, superbly complex, one for the Cap Classique connoisseur.
For the lovers of the best-selling Night Nectar, there’s an upper level too — the 100% Chardonnay Night Nectar Blanc de Blanc and Night Nectar Blanc de Noir, both 2021 vintage — seriously classy, the fragrant fruit sweetness lifted by a light touch of acidity to round it all out.
The Blanc de Blanc won the Amorim Cap Classique Challenge in the Nectar category and, interestingly, is the least sweet of its kind in the local market.
These premium Krone Cap Classiques aren’t widely available, but well worth seeking out.
The good news is that Preston’s Main Rd, Walmer, an exclusive stockist, has them on special at R449.99 for the site-specific trio, R389.99 for the RD, and R569.99 for the two Night Nectar Blanc de Blancs — a saving of up to R230 less than what you’d pay at the farm, and a great reason to treat yourself to something exceptional.