Obikwa Shiraz 2009.
Stop the presses! Something extraordinary happened this week in the normally fractious world of wine reviewing and commentary.
Something so extraordinary, that it could be equated with news of Helen Zille agreeing with Julius Malema, the bank giving you a refund, or minicab drivers suddenly observing the rules of the road and being courteous.
That extraordinary thing was that Neil Pendock, Christian Eedes and Cathy Marston, three of South Africa’s top wine reviewers, actually agreed on somthing ; that the Obikwa Shiraz 2009 was stonking great value and a good drink at R20 a bottle.
Well off I had to go, at once, to buy a bottle and taste this wine!
I gave Cape Town supermarkets a miss as Cathy Marston had cornered the market there and bought every bottle in sight.
I headed east, and did not stop until I arrived in Hermanus where I figured the local Pick n’Pay might have a few bottles left. They did, and an hour or two later I poured myself a glass.
The label is a bit naive, and depicts an ostrich. Maybe the brand is designed as an accessible recruitment brand, although it does not have the sweetness of some, Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz springing to mind. The brand name comes from the earliest settlers of the Cape region.
It was a fruity, spicy, lovely glass of Shiraz that delivered a lot more than some shiraz’s I’ve drunk at more than double the price.
It only cost R20. Apparently they can get the price so low because they make so much of the stuff.
I don’t care, it was great.
COMPETITION*****COMPETITION*****WIN A CASE OF OBWIKWA SHIRAZ!!!!!!!!!!
Answer this simple question by e.mail to clare@spill.co.za.
Where does the name for this wine come from?
Correct answers will go into a hat and the winner will be drawn at 6pm on Monday evening, July 26th. Winner will be announced on Twitter.
- Neil Pendock.
COMPETITION RESULTS
Good Morning Clare,
Upon reading that “Obikwa” is a reference to the earliest settlers in the Cape, I was a bit disappointed. It did not tell me who they were and I felt that I would not be deserving to win what is arguably the best Shiraz around!
So I did a bit of research. Well allot as I could not find anything under the name Obikwa.
It is after playing around with the name breaking it up into syllables and spelling it differently that I found the name “Obikqu”. Well if I lived in the Cape I would have been aware of the Obiqua Mountains and the Obiqua Prison and as such might have stumbled on it a bit quicker.
Then in the book “Table Mountain to Cape Point” by Carrie Hampton and Andrew McIlleron I found a short passage (at p54) which read “the early inhabitants referred to themselves by their clan names, which for the Khoi included Cochoqua, Goringhaiqua and Gorachoqua, while Sonqua and Obiqua were typical San tribe names”.
Further and in “Falling into place: the story of modern South African place names” by Elwyn Jenkins it is recorded at p73 that “Alternatives for Hawequas Mountains were Hawekwas, Obiqua and Obiekwa and a river near Calvinia was called by the related name Ibequa. It means ‘murderers’ a name given to the San by the Khoi”.
Smith (a web researcher) further mentioned that “when the Hottentots became into conflict with the Bushmen they called them Abiqua or Obiqua (robber men). The term still survives in the plant vernacular name Abiquaboom or Abiquageelhot (two species of the Tamarix), as well as the place names Obiquas Mountains in the Tulbach district and Abiquaspan in the Great Namaqualand”.
This is also echoed in wiki.nuwegeskiedenis.co.za which record that “Die herkoms van die naam Hawequas word toegeskryf aan die Khoiwoord “Obiqua” wat “moordenaars” beteken (die naam wat die Khoi aan die San gegee het)” (Translated “The origin of the name Hawquas is derived from the Khoi word “Obiqua” which means “murders” (the name the Khoi gave to the San)” )
Conclusion: -
Obikwa, is derived from Obiqua which is a San clan or tribe who lived in the area of the Obiqua Mountains. Whether it was a name the clan gave themselves or a name the Khoi gave then (which in Khoi means “murders”) still appears open to debate.
Warm Regards
AJ Nel
Posted in 
I shared your amazement and after looking at the press out there around the WINE Mag Shiraz challenge was interested at the comparative coverage received by Saronsberg vs Obikwa. There’s a short post on my blog about it. Yet to taste the wine, but now it seems it has to be done!
sounds great – but how many good shiraz do you drink at R40 a bottle?
Chris, I’d be interested to hear your views once you have tasted it. Clare.
Hi Michael, Aren’t you going to enter our competition? Or is Obikwa a little unsophisticated for your palate?
But on the topic of good drinkable Shiraz at around the R40 mark I have been able to come up with two for you.
The first is from Neil Pendock’s Good Value Guru Diaries 2010, where he highlights Pulpit Rock Shiraz 2007. 022 461 2025. His tasting notes comment “Leather and spice with slippery tannins”. It costs R36.
The second was sourced by Cathy Marston, Wine Editor of Food 24.com, and someone who knows how to sniff out a good deal. It is Porcupine Ridge Shiraz 2009 from Boekenhoutskloof. It’s coming in at R48.99 from Ultra Liquors.
Very keen to try the Shiraz 2009!
Have tried the Sauvignon Blanc 2009 and was brilliant!
I will “wet my whistle” when I am invited to the Obikwa party or any other time I am served it. But I’d rather save up a bit and quaff something with a little more substance.
But then again, for a wine that delights so many for a mere 20-odd South African Rands, it is hard to be too cynical.
But enjoy all, and I hope that all the pennies you save buying Obikwa you put toward something more, well, intellectually demanding.
I am actually quite amused by how much attention the Obikwa Shiraz has created. Considering just those wines included in the ‘challenge’ there were possibly 70 odd wines which ranked equal or higher – why for instance is there not the same excitement about the Saronsberg Provenance – at a relatively modest R89 which actually came top of the whole pile?
Thanks so much for my lovely prize. I’m really looking forward to the experience of tasting this wine!
Ah, but have you experienced the Obikwa Pinotage rose? Visit Sediment to see how CJ got on…
Sediment? CJ? I’m afraid you lost me there……..
Michael,
I think the real point about this “Shiraz Challenge” is how irrelevant and invalid the competition thing is. Whilst Obikwa was a deserving win in its category the event was rendered second rate by the number of top class Shiraz’s that did not enter. Saronsberg did not even enter its topflight Shiraz. So what’s the point really?
Claudine, we are waiting anxiously down here on the Cape to hear how you are getting on with the Obikwa.
Clare,
Sorry for the confusion – Sediment is a review blog in the UK, which has written about Obikwa Rosé – at http://www.sedimentblog.com – perhaps it doesn’t travel.