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A parent knows their children the best — they can tell you where one child got their knobbly knees or sarcastic tongue, why one has a fiery temper and their sibling is blissfully calm, or how they were shaped by a particular childhood experience.
Listening to and talking with La Bri general manager and winemaker Irene de Fleuriot is a bit like that, except that the subject is her wines.
As La Bri’s winemaker since 2010, she has remarkable, intimate knowledge of each wine in each of its vintages; she can tell you what the weather was like during a particular growing season and how those rainfall and temperature patterns influenced a particular wine’s tannins, aromas or body.
She can tell you what a particular vintage of Merlot, say, was like on release, how it has since developed, and where it is likely to go in terms of ageability.
She can tell you, for instance, what the 2018 Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon, a Platter’s 5* wine, was like when first bottled (“a bit soft, but it’s firmed up now, and would benefit from decanting to open it up”) vs the current release 2021 — “firm tannins, still evolving, don’t decant it, aeration won’t do anything to tannins”.
An evening with De Fleuriot recently was absolutely fascinating as she wove the story of La Bri’s wines with her hands-on winemaking and what feels like a proud parental relationship and intimate knowledge of each wine’s personality and character.
Wine tasting has to be one of the best “edutainment” experiences around — one always learns something new about wine and the making of it, and in sociable company while enjoying the subject of the education.
In this tasting, for example, De Fleuriot changed up the regular order in which wines are presented, to create tasting pairs of wines related to each other in various ways.
Merlot followed Chardonnay, since the Merlot is fermented and aged in barrels used the previous year for Chardonnay — meaning, she said, that there’s no reason to rinse the glass between the tasting of the two, as one aptly follows the other.
The Double Door Petit Verdot 2021 (Platter’s 4.5*) is always a hit, with its abundant florally-fragrant nose and intense purple colour, the wine deliciously juicy and chewy — “it’s like gummiberry juice, because everything about it makes you smile”, De Fleuriot says (revealing herself as a child of the 1980s to those in the audience of similar vintage.)
Then followed the Bordeaux-style Affinity 2020 red blend, where the influence of Petit Verdot in the blend is instantly recognisable in the bouquet, and of the preceding Merlot too, in the wine’s herbal/fynbos notes.
Always led by Cabernet Sauvignon, and only made in the best years for the grapes to work in affinity with each other, this is a bold and assured Bordeaux-style blend, juicy dark fruit with savouriness, mocha and cedar spice, velvety texture — just outstanding.
Recently under new ownership, the La Bri vineyards are on a regular replanting and revival cycle, and an improved tasting area has been created, offering wine tastings and pairings with chocolate, Turkish Delight or biltong, and one of the best spots to sit and soak in the sunset over the mountain amphitheatre of the Franschhoek valley.
La Bri’s tagline is “Signature styled wines, created with passion”.
Part of the signature style is in the colour-coded capsules and the distinctive black-and-white labels featuring indigenous Cape flowers and herbs, illustrating the symbiotic relationship of wine and fynbos seen across the winelands.
The signature wine style, a golden thread running through the wines, is a clearly distinctive character — plush elegance, voluptuous aromas, generous, deep flavours, and exceptional ageability.
The passion is evident in De Fleuriot’s presentation of her wines, and her intimate knowledge of each and every one’s character and development.
Weekender
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