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Interview with Pieter Ferreira of Graham Beck
We had the absolute pleasure of meeting and tasting with Pieter Ferreira, COO of Graham Beck Winery in South Africa, last week—and the response was unanimous: “Are you sure this is the price?!”
The lineup of exceptional, traditional-method sparkling wines at Graham Beck has set a whole new bar for quality and affordability in my book. Quite frankly, they should all be more expensive. But I’m certainly not going to urge them to raise the price! These sparklers are dead ringers for Champagne, and the winery chooses to age all of their cuvées longer on the lees than the minimum required. These three featured today stood out to me above the rest. The 2018 vintage Brut Rosé actually reminds me of Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne Rosé (except the price tag!). The Blanc de Blancs is a spot-on, mineral-driven expression of Chardonnay, and the Cuvée Clive—the winery’s prestige cuvée—is an incredible vintage bottling that will absolutely compete with Champagnes three to four times its price.
We were fortunate enough to attend a wine dinner the following evening featuring each of these special sparklers, paired with amazing dishes. It was a great reminder of the versatility and food-pairing prowess of sparkling wine. If you have yet to experience these great wines from South Africa, do yourself a favor and grab some to try. As I mentioned before, the prices are frankly too low!
The only bit of bad news: only 180 bottles of the Cuvée Clive are imported into the U.S., and we have access to just 15 of them!
Featured Graham Beck Wines
Graham Beck Brut Rose ‘Methode Cap Classique’
Made from 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay, the 2018 Pinot Noir Rosé is fresh, ripe and succulent with lively citrus notes and nuances of wild cherry and strawberry aromas. Light-bodied and with 11.5% alcohol, flavors of yellow apple with bright, juicy acidity pounce across the mid-palate, making me very happy. Buy extra bottles of this little gem, and you can thank me later. It’s overdelivering for the price. Just under 78,000 bottles were produced after spending six months on the primary lees before being bottle aged for an additional five years. – Wine Advocate
Graham Beck Brut Méthode Cap Classique
This 100% Chardonnay vintage bubbly was half barrel-fermented and aged for four years on lees in bottle before disgorgement. It offers a creamy brioche depth, lively acidity and a purity of apple, pear and lemon citrus fruit. Enjoyable drinking now, but this will also develop nicely over the next decade. – Decanter
Graham Beck Cuvee Clive
Marzipan nuance to lime, red apple and oyster shell aromas. Lemon sherbet vitality sliding into a rich, nutty and creamy palate. Long tapering finish. – Decanter
