"I had to wait 38 years for the right opportunity," says Sakkie Kotzé (61) of his 2009 Le Bonheur Tricorne, a majestic, generous but also surprisingly gentle blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz. "I've been thinking about doing it for a long time but it needed patience and the right vintage. For us, 2009 was an outstanding year and by then the Shiraz vines we'd planted were seven years old and producing fruit with sufficient character."
Prima, Le Bonheur's only other red blend, was launched in 1988 and has developed a devoted following locally and in Europe and Canada for its very graceful elegance.
"Not that that means Tricorne will be an annual event. Our next vintage is the 2012. We will only make this particular three-way blend in exceptional years."
The wine takes its name from the three-cornered hat worn by Spanish soldiers in the 17th century and then adopted by the court of Louis XIV, who made it fashionable throughout Europe, both as a civilian and military accessory. "We liked the idea of choosing a hat name as we are based in Klapmuts, which is the Dutch word for a type of hat too.
"This wine deserves something very special, like a festive beef or mutton dish."
The estate's first vineyard-designated wine, a Sauvignon Blanc made from 35-year-old vines planted 220 metres above sea level in clay-rich soils. "The original material came from the late great viticulturist Desiderius Pongracz who planted it here on the farm in the late 1970s. We have been using the fruit as part of our regular Sauvignon Blanc but we thought that with such a special and long-standing history, the vineyard needed to be commemorated in its own right, as well.
"This is not as fruit-driven and in many ways is more nuanced. It has a lot of body, is crisp and flinty but with some green and tropical flavours. It's an excellent food wine, very distinctive and marks the long association that Le Bonheur has with Sauvignon Blanc."
Tricorne sells for around R200 a bottle and the vineyard-designated Sauvignon Blanc, for around R75.
