South African wine still has the paradoxical feeling of newness and tradition, coupled with stylistic innovations unique to South Africa. The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Heaven and Earth in Afrikaans is a comparatively new wine region, founded by Tim Hamilton Russell in 1975. A new kind of pioneer, as South Africa was under trade restrictions due to the Apartheid regime, and despite the Cape’s long history of wine growing, Hemel-en-Aarde was a vinous virgin. Even now there are only two dozen or so wine producers in the region, mostly focusing on pinot noir and chardonnay.
Hemel-en-Aarde falls into the the larger Walker Bay wine district, with the historic seaside town of Hermanus as its gateway. Genuinely cool climate, buffeted by the winds of the South Atlantic, the region is split into three wards; in order from the coast, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. Only Storm has vineyards in all three wards, three pinot noir and two chardonnay.
The further away from the coast, the later the ripening, yet the soils of the Hemel-en-Aarde valley and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge are clay rich, shale derived, whilst the vineyards of the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley are planted on decomposed granite. But it’s not just the soils to influence wine style. The Ridge being the highest, is also the coolest and last to be picked. Coupled with rich clay soils it produces a parodically powerful wine of intense fragrance and complexity. The lightest wines are generally found in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, where the climate is cool and the soils iron rich, granitic.
Hannes Storm honed his craft at the pioneering Hamilton Russell, yet their approach is quite different. Whereas Hamilton Russell produce a single pinot noir and a single chardonnay from their significant 52 hectare holdings, Hannes and Nthalia Storm produce five wines, pinot noir and chardonnay from each of the three Hemel-en-Aarde wards. Single vineyard wines, in other words, capturing the essence of the region’s three wards.
Perhaps it’s a bit of a stretch to claim that Storm are pioneers, although Hamilton Russell certainly is. Hemel-en-Aarde has garnered an incredible reputation at lightning speed, and with such a tiny crop of producers, it’s simply remarkable. Learnings come quicker now, you don’t need centuries to figure it out. It’s obvious that Burgundy is the inspiration for any pinot noir and chardonnay producer, but Storm wines take it a step further.
When we first tasted Storm, what struck us most apart from the outstanding quality, was their individualism. Wines were crafted with maximum emphasis on fruit expression, rather than attempting to manipulate, push or create a particular style of wines, they just run with it, adjusting their winemaking as required. They are, after all, not making Burgundy, but Hemel-en-Aarde.
As of this moment, the wines are line priced, as they don’t see one site as better than another, just different. Storm’s Ridge vineyard, with 1.1 hectares of chardonnay and 1.2 hectare of pinot noir is east facing and cool, with shale over clay. The Ridge chardonnay is the richest of the two made here; round, luscious, juicy and open, with an incredible acid line drawing out the finish. The pinot however, is more red fruited, chiselled and sappy. It’s not just contrasting colours, but contrasting styles.
In the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley lies the Vrede vineyard, planted to pinot noir and chardonnay. North east facing with very similar soils to the Ridge vineyard. This is a muscular vineyard, displaying iwines of great fruit intensity, palate weight and strucutrual power. If the pinot is all silk, then the chardonnay rich as it is, is bristling with tension and minerals. The last vineyard is the Ignis in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, a rocky vineyard with soils of decomposed granite. The prettiest wine, of either varietal, the granite soils tend to emphasis florals, red fruits, and fine grained tannins.
So are they like Burgundy? Not really, but that’s a good thing. There is, after all, plenty of Burgundy, but there’s hardly any Hemel-en-Aarde. The shadow of Burgundy looms so large in our conciousness, wine crtics and experts too, constantly making the comparison, justified or otherwise. The philosophical concept of site expression is either a vindication of the status quo and the undeniable exclusivity of ownership or a treatise into viticultural and winemaking decisions. The Storm wines certainly express the qualities of their patches of dirt, but wine producing is a skill and the best are like great coaches of sport; they simply get the absolute best out of the raw materials they have. Don’t buy these wines if your’e looking for an alternative to Burgundy. Buy them because they are thoroughly rewarding and an intellectual drinking experience; beautiful, gorgeous and exhilarating.
A wine of phenomenal detail, complexity and layered richness. Juicy, succulent, rich and luscious with butter, honey, mandarin, fig, grapefruit, pawpaw, citrus blossom, star jasmine, crushed pineapple and macadamia. Textured with savoury oak, dry extract, and fleshy fruit stuffing. Thoroughly irresistible and the acid line taut, tensioned and driving. Like an Italian interior; sumptuous yet with a delectable lightness of touch. Purring, effortless grace and power, the flavours drive and hold the line for many long tantalising minutes. One of the great chardonnays of the New World, pushing the boundaries of grandeur.
The best wines have elements of contradiction, a balancing act and tension of elements. All of Storm’s pinot noirs are distinct yet they share in their sense of the obviousness and elusiveness. The 2022 Vrede pinot noir is made from two clones and aged in 35% new wood. Juicy and mouth filling, a sense of controlled lusciousness. Fantastically complex with smoked almonds, compote summer red fruits, smoke, fresh compost, Iberico jamon, violets, lavender, tar and kirsch. For all its purity, savouriness is at hand to remind you of how serious this is. Such a long palate, the tannins coaxing, rich and mineral. Mint, basil, sweet balsamic and blackcurrants envelop the close, just as the minerality sweeps. To have such a volume of fruit tensioned by such as mass of minerality is astonishing.
