Reputations, we're told, are not built on the things one is going to do. Particularly in wine, a field that is so heavily skewed towards tradition and history (think of the extent to which France 'owns' these concepts when related to wine), it is exceptionally difficult for young businesses to get taken seriously.
2004 saw the first release of Cloof's Crucible Shiraz (the 2003 vintage), which was only the second harvest from the vineyard, and produced in minscule quantities. We thought that Crucible was one of the world's unique wines, which was not an opinion we were necessarily shy about expressing. We called it Crucible because the vines experience adversity in the form of the hot and dry summer conditions at Cloof, which literally and metaphorically are a crucible.
Crucible 2003 started collecting gold medals at a variety of wine shows, the most notable of which were a double gold on Veritas and a gold medal on the Decanter Wine Awards. Crucible was also nominated for five stars in the Platter Wine Guide, ending up with four-and-a-half stars. And, in 2005 it was the highest-scoring wine on the Michelangelo International Wine Awards.
Along came the 2004 Crucible, which went one better on the Decanter Wine Awards, by winning the Regional Trophy in the Shiraz category. SAA selected it for service in First Class and Platter once again awarded it four-and-a-half stars in the wake of another five star nomination. Veritas followed up with yet another double gold.
The 2006 Crucible also won gold on the Decanter Wine Awards, making it the only South African wine ever to win a gold medal on this show with every vintage ever released. The track record amassed by Crucible make it one of South Africa's most pre-eminent shiraz wines. Cloof's winemaker, Christopher van Dieren, may have trained in Bordeaux (where cabernet sauvignon and merlot are the major grape varieties), but he has a particularly gifted touch with shiraz.
2003, 2004 and 2006 are the only vintages of Crucible ever released. At this point it is likely that there will be a release of the 2010 vintage, towards the end of 2011.
The unique flavour profile of Crucible is directly attributable to the single vineyard from which we get the fruit. We have many other shiraz vineyards which also produce high quality fruit, and it is from these vineyards that in 2004 we made about 50 barrels of a wine that seriously impressed us.
We knew we needed to bottle this wine on its own, we just weren't certain what to do about a label. The fruit all came from a vineyard at Burghers Post, so the temptation was to create a Burghers Post label. But we couldn't get out of our heads the attractiveness of this package of gorgeously juicy ripe fruit and new French oak.
Ultimately, it was the titles of Eric Carle's books that gave marketing man Oscar Foulkes the inspiration for The Very Sexy Shiraz, “a wine of such immediate appeal and attractiveness it couldn't be called anything other than sexy”.
The Very Sexy Shiraz didn't waste any time in joining Crucible Shiraz at the top of wine judges' score sheets. Within weeks of release, the 2004 was awarded four stars on Wine magazine's Shiraz Challenge, half a star below the winner. This achievement was followed up with gold medals on the Michelangelo International Wine Awards, as well as the Sélections Mondiales des Vins Canada.
There was no 2005 Sexy Shiraz, but the 2006 vintage was awarded a gold medal on the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles.
As enjoyable as it is to look back on the achievements of vintages past, there are always vintages waiting in the wings. The 2008 vintage of The Very Sexy Shiraz is on its way into the market, we've bottled the 2009, and the 2010 is in barrel. Next year will see the first Crucible Shiraz release in four years. We look forward to building on the reputation of shiraz from Cloof.