Why is the wine called Black Block? Derick Henstra: It started as a play on the logo of our architecture studio dhk, which is our other passion and it works with wine-speak referring to the single block on the vineyard from which our Pinot Noir grapes are sourced. Peter Fehrsen: Of course there’s also the noir of Pinot Noir.
What’s it like making wine as a duo, and who brings which qualities to the process? Have you ever had disagreements? DH: We’ve been working together for nearly 20 years… In architecture we have many disagreements, but in winemaking we have none — we are still learning but we seem to have a similar palate and are striving towards the same goal.
There are plenty of differences between winemaking and architecture — are there any similarities? DH: The similarity is that they are both very creative, both striving for a solution whether its design or the making of wonderful wine. PF: Winemaking is a form of design, and there is also the whole packaging and marketing of wine which is also similar to the design process. DH: We’ve designed a lot of wineries and there is a romance attached to the art of winemaking — it’s not just about what is in the bottle.
The biggest mistake you’ve made making wine? DH: Our first attempt we tried to do everything manually and we made a few mistakes. PF: Expect the unexpected — the pump we had borrowed failed and our wine ran the risk of becoming too exposed to oxygen too early. DH: Thankfully we only made one barrel that year — it’s been very popular with the kids though! Went down very well amongst my sons and their friends. But we didn’t want to risk putting it out to market.
What (aside from the drinking!) is the most enjoyable part of the winemaking process? PF: The whole process of going out to the farm, in nature, watching the grapes ripen, and being involved in the countryside and the whole experience of the terroir. DH: Being in nature makes for such a change from doing architecture in the city.
Nabygelegen’s James Mackenzie has mentored you both in your winemaking adventures. What has this entailed? PF: He has taught us a lot about the technical l side, the chemical makeup, all the lab stuff that we wouldn’t have known about. James has taught us everything we know.
The grapes: why Tulbagh? PF: We came to find this vineyard fortuitously through a friendship, and it so happens that we believe there is something special about inland grapes. One wouldn’t expect a good Pinot Noir from Tulbagh because of the heat, but the vineyard is high up on the mountain slopes, almost in the snow belt. The grapes ripen about a month later than the coastal areas, and we believe that this gives a very particular differentiation.
WINE
Wine by design
The Pinot Noir you should be drinking this summer
“Two architects walk into a cellar…” sounds like the opening line of a particularly bad dad joke, but in truth the efforts of Peter Fehrsen and Derick Henstra among the barrels at Nabygelegen are not to be laughed at. Partners at dhk, they've teamed up (under the careful supervision of James Mackenzie) to produce the dangerously quaffable Black Block Pinot Noir 2014 — their third attempt at making wine.
Black Block reminds me of watermelon slices by the pool and Ceres Secrets of the Valley — which is apt considering it’s made from grapes grown in a single block in nearby Tulbagh. With oodles of exuberant cherry on the nose and palate, this is not the most complex wine you’ll have ever slid into your cellar, but then after a year like 2016 draws to a close, who needs any more complexity? Now: time for a refill, I think.
Why is the wine called Black Block? Derick Henstra: It started as a play on the logo of our architecture studio dhk, which is our other passion and it works with wine-speak referring to the single block on the vineyard from which our Pinot Noir grapes are sourced. Peter Fehrsen: Of course there’s also the noir of Pinot Noir.
What’s it like making wine as a duo, and who brings which qualities to the process? Have you ever had disagreements? DH: We’ve been working together for nearly 20 years… In architecture we have many disagreements, but in winemaking we have none — we are still learning but we seem to have a similar palate and are striving towards the same goal.
There are plenty of differences between winemaking and architecture — are there any similarities? DH: The similarity is that they are both very creative, both striving for a solution whether its design or the making of wonderful wine. PF: Winemaking is a form of design, and there is also the whole packaging and marketing of wine which is also similar to the design process. DH: We’ve designed a lot of wineries and there is a romance attached to the art of winemaking — it’s not just about what is in the bottle.
The biggest mistake you’ve made making wine? DH: Our first attempt we tried to do everything manually and we made a few mistakes. PF: Expect the unexpected — the pump we had borrowed failed and our wine ran the risk of becoming too exposed to oxygen too early. DH: Thankfully we only made one barrel that year — it’s been very popular with the kids though! Went down very well amongst my sons and their friends. But we didn’t want to risk putting it out to market.
What (aside from the drinking!) is the most enjoyable part of the winemaking process? PF: The whole process of going out to the farm, in nature, watching the grapes ripen, and being involved in the countryside and the whole experience of the terroir. DH: Being in nature makes for such a change from doing architecture in the city.
Nabygelegen’s James Mackenzie has mentored you both in your winemaking adventures. What has this entailed? PF: He has taught us a lot about the technical l side, the chemical makeup, all the lab stuff that we wouldn’t have known about. James has taught us everything we know.
The grapes: why Tulbagh? PF: We came to find this vineyard fortuitously through a friendship, and it so happens that we believe there is something special about inland grapes. One wouldn’t expect a good Pinot Noir from Tulbagh because of the heat, but the vineyard is high up on the mountain slopes, almost in the snow belt. The grapes ripen about a month later than the coastal areas, and we believe that this gives a very particular differentiation.
What differences have you picked up between the 2013 and 2014 vintages? DH: The 2014 is a much lighter style Pinot Noir both in colour, texture and flavour. PF: It's more towards what we are striving for, the 2013 was a very extracted wine — but people who didn’t necessarily like Pinot Noir quite enjoyed it for exactly that reason, because of its extraction and its colour. DH: While we got four stars from Platter’s for the 2013, we definitely feel more confident about the 2014 vintage.
You’ve described Pinot Noir as “elegant, evocative and versatile”. What, in your view, is it about the cultivar that gives it these qualities? PF: The lightness and the subtlety. It's light enough to drink on its own, slightly chilled, but it’s also complex enough to work well with food.
Any other cultivars in the works? DH: We’re looking at a white, probably Chenin. We’re already designing the label.
blackblockwines.co.za