Simonsig Kaapse Vankel is a case in point. The maiden, pioneering bottle-fermented bubbly made by Johan Malan's father in 1971 was from chenin blanc in the Loire style; the classic méthode champenoise varieties of chardonnay and pinot noir were not yet available locally.
In 1985 Johan combined pinotage with chenin blanc as a local take on the traditional French varietal duo while the farm's newly planted chardonnay and pinot noir vines matured. His 1987 vintage heralded the first blend under the Simonsig label of the two classic Champagne varieties.
Acknowledged as a particularly skilled technician who gives uncompromising attention to detail, Johan admits: 'Our early Cape méthode champenoise bubblies were too lean, and lacked body and flavour. Tasting the base wines of Moët & Chandon in Champagne in 1990 I realised that by picking grapes at slightly riper levels, we could produce base wines that were not "neutral" as we'd previously thought desirable, but had expressive fruit flavour and complexity. That was the turning point for me.'
'I don't want people to see Cap Classique as a special-occasion wine: you should always have a bottle in your fridge. After all, it's the only wine we enjoy with breakfast!'
It also led to the planting of another small Champagne ingredient: pinot meunier, added to the assemblage from the 1997 vintage Kaapse Vonkel, the first Cap Classique to include it.
Johan was also preparing the prestige Cuvée Royale, a Blanc de Blancs Cap Classique from chardonnay left for seven years on the lees after bottle fermentation before its maiden celebratory disgorgement at a memorably festive launch on top of Table Mountain in 1999.
Despite initial appearances - lack of song and dance is typical of the unshowy nature of Simonsig and its vintner - Johan's bubblies have consistently been in the Cape's and world's top echelon for some time.
The Kaapse Vonkel 1992 won the sparkling wine (non-Champagne) category at the 1995 International Wine Challenge. The 1999 vintage won the inaugural local WINE magazine Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge in 2002, with the 2005 vintage taking the award in 2009. Then the Cuvée Royale Blanc de Blancs 2005 took top honours in 2011, making it three wins in the first 10 years of the competition.
While classical in his approach, Johan has always maintained a strongly and proudly South African stance. The homebred pinotage grape found its niche in the Kaapse Vonkel Brut Rosé (blended with pinot noir and pinot meunier).
His loyalty to all things Cape also found expression in the formation in 1992 of the Cape Classique Producers Association, of which he was founding chairman. It was the first of its kind in South Africa (winemaker associations for port, pinotage, sauvignon blanc and others were to follow). It helped establish not just the name Cap Classique in the face of international prohibition on the use of 'Champagne' by anyone other than Champenoise, but also guidelines for quality control. Now with some 80 members, it provides a forum for bubbly producers to compare notes and continue improving an internationally recognised, uniquely South African category of wine.
Hangklip crayfish soup recipe with mussels by Johan Malan paired with Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel or Simonsig Cuvée Royale Blanc de Blancs....
Pecan nut tart recipe by Johan Malan paired with Simonsig Vin de Liza Noble Late Harvest....