Tasting and Assessing the Hedonistic New Vintage Releases from Franschhoek’s Holden Manz Estate…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Discreetly tucked away in the southernmost corner of the spectacular Franschhoek Valley, the Holden Manz Wine Estate has earned a glowing reputation over the years as a premier boutique producer of ultra-premium, deeply expressive wines. Situated between the Franschhoek River and Stony Brook at an altitude of 300 metres, this 22-hectare estate benefits from an exceptional multi-layered terroir featuring rich loam soils and a unique mountain microclimate.  

The signature Holden Manz wine style has always been unashamedly plush, opulent, and hedonistic. Under a philosophy that champions generous fruit concentration, textural elegance and seamless tannin structures, the estate focuses its own 16 hectares of vineyards heavily on classical red cultivars – namely Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, and Merlot.

These estate-grown grapes yield powerful, velvet-textured reds like the flagship Big G Bordeaux blend and their highly acclaimed Reserve range, known for sweet, ripe tannins and impressive cellaring potential. Complementing their reds, Holden Manz crafts sophisticated, wild-fermented white wines, including a critically acclaimed barrel-fermented Chardonnay Reserve, an elegant old vine Semillon and a notable Chenin Blanc Reserve. Striking a perfect balance between New World fruit intensity and Old World structural refinement, Holden Manz delivers a luxurious, deeply satisfying tasting experience tailored for the modern-day drinker in search of pure pleasure.

Holden Manz Chenin Blanc Reserve 2023, WO Simonsberg – Paarl, 12.5% Abv.

Already three years old, this enticing Chenin Blanc is crystalline and bright with a canary yellow hue. The aromatics are incredibly intricate and subtle, revealing delicate notes of savoury lemon cream biscuits, dried straw, waxy green apples, incense, and delicate quince nuances. While the nose is quite savoury with minor oak spice notes, the palate is far more vibrant and tangy, showing a pronounced sweet and sour mouthwatering acidity with hints of white peach, green melon and yellow apple fruits. Delicately pithy with a fine core of fruit concentration and depth, this is a very impressive expression of Chenin Blanc with a fine textural depth that should repay additional cellar ageing handsomely. Drink now to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Holden Manz Chardonnay Reserve 2022, WO Coastal Region, 13% Abv.

The Reserve range wines from Holden Manz can normally be relied on to turn heads and this 2022 Chardonnay Reserve is no exception. Wonderfully cool, fresh, and crystalline, there is a lovely precise purity and brightness to the aromatics that flow from the glass with notes of pithy lemon peel, white blossoms, vanilla pod and subtle baking spices before delicate leesy, biscuity nuances. Medium bodied with a refreshingly moderate alcohol of 13% serves to emphasise the wines underlying minerality, freshness and focused energy. This is a wonderful success for the vintage. Drink now to 2032+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Holden Manz Big G 2022, WO Franschhoek, 15% Abv.

The 2022 Holden Manz Big G returns to its big, bold hedonistic best after the cooler, fresher 2021 vintage. A Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blend with components of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the individual parcels are picked to express a lavish ripeness and a true fruit intensity. Always made from specifically selected blocks on the farm, the aromatics are opulent and expressive with layers of sweet violet perfume, notions of black plums, black currant compote, roasted coffee beans and subtle mulberry nuances. The palate is sleek and silky, the tannins sweet, soft and elegantly generous adding to a fulsome glycerol weight in the mouth where the fruit power grows, held in a fine balance by soft well integrated acids. This wine is all about harmony and pleasure – seamless, comforting and simply delicious. Drink now to 2034+.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Holden Manz Merlot Reserve 2023, WO Franschhoek, 14% Abv.

The 2023 Reserve Merlot was aged in new French oak barrels for circa 20 months and possesses aromatics that suggest a wealth of seductive complexity, offering up intricately perfumed layers of violets, cinnamon and clove spices, pithy black cherry, black currant compote and hedonistic, brûléed dark mulberry hints. The subtle notes of vanilla pod oak and cedar spice continue on the palate that is impressively plush and creamy, the tannins delicately spicy but luxuriously soft and mouth coating. The reserve wines from Holden Manz are never short on fruit opulence and once again, the palate boasts an incredible depth of fruit with delicate graphite and roasted coffee bean notes on the finish. A wine that will resonate with fine wine drinkers searching for palate depth and opulence but without the structure and muscularity of Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Holden Manz Cabernet Franc Reserve 2023, WO Franschhoek, 14% Abv.

The Cabernet Franc Reserve has always been one of Holden Manz’s most impressive wines, which is fortunate because after decades in the wilderness, this cultivar is experiencing somewhat of a highlife moment with fine wine consumers. This splendid example shows the true essence of Cabernet Franc with Holden Manz’s signature opulence and concentration at the fore. The aromatics on the 2023 are actually surprisingly quite classical and restrained, leading with top notes of dried violets, bay leaf, black chai tea, sweet cedar, and a graphite minerality over a solid layer of dark broody black berry fruits. The hints of sweet tobacco leaf, pepper and sappy cedar spice continue on the plush, densely textured palate with subtle dried herb notes and picante fine grained stony tannins on the finish. When it comes to Cabernet Franc, this is simply top-drawer quality. Drink now to 2038+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

From the Fine Wine Safari Cellar – Part 9: Tasting the Graham Beck Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs 2012…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Situated in South Africa’s breathtakingly pretty Robertson wine region, Graham Beck has firmly established itself as a premier global benchmark for Cap Classique quality, the country’s prestigious traditional method sparkling wine style. Crafted on a unique estate defined by limestone-rich soils and extreme diurnal temperature swings, these world-class bubblies showcase an exceptional balance of bright acidity, vibrant fruit profiles, and complex depth.

While the estate’s entire portfolio captures the essence of refined Cap Classique craftsmanship, most notably with their premium ‘Cuvee Clive’ bottling, their Blanc de Blancs stands out historically as a true crowning jewel. Crafted from 100% hand-selected Chardonnay clones and partially fermented in Champenoise barrels, this acclaimed vintage sparkling wine epitomises true elegance. Extended lees aging infuses the palate with rich layers of creamy brioche and roasted almonds, building toward a long, saline-tinged finish.  

Now retired from Graham Beck and focusing on his own label, Pieter ‘Bubbles’ Ferreira was the mastermind behind Graham Beck’s global Cap Classique dominance.

Whether marking a historic moment, such as being poured at the presidential celebrations of Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama, or elevating an intimate gathering, Graham Beck’s Cap Classique wines capture the true spirit of celebration. Ultimately, their Blanc de Blancs serves as an undeniable testament to South Africa’s world-class sparkling wine culture and terroir.

Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs 2012, WO Western Cape, 12.5% Abv. 

Still a fresh vibrant bright golden lemon yellow in the glass, the wine is zippy and fresh, the bubbles dancing in the glass with verve and vigour. The first sniff confirms the youthful machinations of this wine, loaded with brioche, bergamot lemons, hints of honey and leesy autolysis. Most importantly, the tertiary notes are pure, precise and beautifully integrated with the citrus and toasted sourdough nuances, finishing with real electricity, an energetic mousse and delightfully tangy acids. Guests I served this blind to called Blanc de Blancs but went straight to Champagne because of its creamy balance, acid freshness and overall complexity. What a treat when ageing a wine rewards you like this. Drink now but no rush at all!

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Hervé Bizeul and Jean-Yves Bizot Celebrate the Fifth Vintage of their Highly Acclaimed Clos des Fées “100 Phrases” Pinot Noir Project….

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The “100 Phrases pour Éventails” project is an extraordinary meeting of minds between two of France’s most iconic winemakers: Hervé Bizeul of the Roussillon’s legendary Clos des Fées, and Jean-Yves Bizot, the revered cult producer from Burgundy’s Vosne-Romanée. Named after a collection of haiku poetry by Paul Claudel, this rare cuvée represents a captivating cross-regional experiment that challenges traditional French winemaking boundaries.

The core of the project involves crafting a world-class Pinot Noir under the IGP Côtes Catalanes appellation. Bizeul provides the pristine fruit from the dramatic, sun-drenched terroirs of the Roussillon, while Bizot travels south to apply his uncompromising, low-intervention Burgundian winemaking philosophy. The vinification relies strictly on whole-bunch fermentation in oak demi-muids, without any added sulfur or inputs.

Hervé Bizeul of the Roussillon’s legendary Clos des Fées, with Jean-Yves Bizot, presenting all five vintages at a tasting recently.

The result is a striking paradox. It marries the concentration, depth, and wild black fruit of the Mediterranean climate with the signature ethereal elegance, floral aromatics, and silky texture of Bizot’s top-tier premium Burgundies. Produced in highly confidential quantities, the five acclaimed vintages (2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025) have quickly achieved a mythical status, coveted by fine wine collectors worldwide as a pure expression of a unique artistic winemaking collaboration.

Tasting the Clos des Fées “100 Phrases” 2024 at the Bizot cellar.

In November 2025, I travelled to Jean-Yves Bizot’s cellar in Vosne-Romanée to taste his new release Burgundy 2024 wines from barrel and was treated to an early surprise tasting of his Clos des Fées “100 Phrases” 2024… a wine that unexpectedly took my breath away. 

Inside the Bizot cellar in Vosne-Romanée.

Clos des Fées “100 Phrases”  Pinot Noir 2024, IGP Côtes Catalanes, 11.5% Abv. 

The aromatics show a seductive melange of sour black plum and pithy black cherry with a very delicate sapidity and bramble berry spice over crushed limestone mineral nuances. The textural focus and precision is simply sublime, an ethereal purity and finesse triumphant in the glass with a complex plum spice, sour cherry and red currant intensity lingering on the crystalline finish. Simply incredible! Without doubt, the finest expression of the Clos des Fées “100 Phrases”  Pinot Noir since the commencement of this unique project. (I have not tasted the 2025 yet.)

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Clos des Fées “100 Phrases” is imported into the UK by Jean-Yves Bizot’s exclusive UK agent, Musigny Wines. For more information on pricing and allocations…

Contact: Andrew@musigny.wine

Sakkie Mouton Releases His New Revenge of the Crayfish Chenin Blanc 2025 From Koekenaap…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Sakkie Mouton is one of South Africa’s most exciting, low-intervention winemakers, celebrated for putting the rugged and remote West Coast on the global wine map. Based in Vredendal and Koekenaap, Sakkie champions a forgotten, wind-swept terroir shaped by intense Atlantic breezes and sandstone soils. After studying at Elsenburg and traveling the world, he returned home to champion old vines and distinct coastal identities. 

Known for a minimalist, “Weskus” style, his small-production, critically acclaimed wines like the flagship Revenge of the Crayfish Chenin Blanc, are famous for their vibrant acidity, complex textures, and unmistakable coastal maritime salinity. While Sakkie’s personal “wine style” is ever evolving, no two vintages are ever quite the same, with each subsequent release showing his own personal growth and evolution. The 2025 style moves yet again, focusing on texture, mouthfeel and concentration of fruit flavours, making a wine that is arguably one of his most “grown up” yet.

Revenge of the Crayfish 2025, WO Koekenaap, 13.81% Abv. 

Picked slightly later than usual, this 2025 Chenin Blanc reveals an intricate aromatics of white blossoms, white peach, tinned pineapples, green apples over a delicate yet complex array of dried kelp, oyster shell and Weskus maritime sea spray. The first Crayfish cuvee to undergo 100% malolactic fermentation, the palate does feel a little denser, fleshier and slightly less nervy that early editions, but whatever is lost in terms of tart steely austerity, is more than compensated for by a plusher, more harmonious mid-palate texture and balance, built with compact layers of tangy pineapple fruits, apricot, tart yellow plums and green apple cordial hints with a gentle yet assertive salinity on the finish. This is a serious Chenin that exudes a quiet confidence with plenty of the 2025 vintage concentration, illuminating Sakkie’s continued growth and development as an accomplished premium winemaker. Drink on release and over the next 8 to 10+ years. 

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Sakkie Mouton’s wines are exclusively available in the UK from South African specialist merchant Museum Wines and Wood Winters UK.

Could the Future of the Bordeaux Wine Region be Resting On White Wine Shoulders? Tasting the Stunning New Chateau Climens Lilium Bordeaux Blanc Sec…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Chateau Climens, legendary for its sublime sweet Sauternes wines from Barsac, brings its centuries of winemaking mastery into the dry white wine arena with their Lilium Bordeaux Blanc Sec. Named after the delicate white lily that mirrors its elegance, this exceptional cuvée marks a thrilling new modern chapter for this historic Barsac estate.

Produced with the same meticulous attention to detail and organic and biodynamic principles that define the estate’s sweet Barsac grand vin, Lilium is composed of 100% of Sémillon grapes. This choice beautifully bucks the Sauvignon Blanc-heavy trend of the region, allowing the grape’s natural texture, power and complexity to shine through. In the glass, Lilium is a masterclass in balance. It bypasses oak treatment completely in favour of pure, vibrant fruit flavours from fermentation and ageing in glass demijohns, offering a bouquet of crisp white peaches, citrus blossom, and a distinct, classical chalky minerality derived from the estate’s unique limestone soils.

Sémillon vineyards at Chateau Climens on limestone soils.

Lilium Bordeaux Blanc Sec is not just a second act, or even a recovery from difficult sweet wine sales, it is a complex, fresh, sophisticated expression of Barsac terroir, tailor-made for contemporary wine lovers seeking a dry white wine with deep historical roots and a bright, energetic soul – fully suited to a new generation of younger wine drinkers. 

The very fancy 4000 Euro glass demijohns used for the Lilium white fermentation and ageing.

Chateau Climens Lilium Grand Vin Blanc Sec 2023, Barsac, 12.5% Abv. 

This is the top 100% pure Semillon dry white from the Chateau Climens range. Fermented and aged in large glass Demijohns, this is a more mineral, taut, ‘serious’ stylistic expression of Bordeaux Blanc Sec made for extended ageing. The aromatics are more backward and steely, restrained with suggestions of white apple blossoms, jasmine, pear fruits, and honey suckle. Cool and sleek, the texture is beautifully polished and elegant, the acids finely integrated with a steely structure that is at once accessible and seductive but also restrained and mineral, holding back a little extra exuberance for later in life. Drink now or cellar for another 3 to 5+ years before cracking your case. 

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW) 

Bruwer Raats Profiles His Stunning New MR de Compostella 2023 and Vesperi 2024 Releases in London…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

A recent recipient of the ‘Winemaker of the Year’ award, Bruwer Raats has carved out a niche for high-quality wines from the decomposed Dolomitic Granite soils of the Polkadraai Hills in Stellenbosch, in what he refers to as a focus on ‘terroir not trend’.

His collaboration with Mzo Mvemve has brought about the MR de Compostella, one of the most critically successful red wines produced in South Africa, the pinnacle of the Cape Bordeaux Blend category, which was recently joined by the MR Vesperi White Blend. 

With both the MR de Compostella 2023 and second release Vesperi 2024 hitting the market soon, I took the opportunity to taste these two new releases with Bruwer Raats on his recent trip to London. I’ve now tasted the new MR 2023 red four times over the past 6 months and am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this 2023 is one of Bruwer and Mzo’s most serious creations to date… not to be missed!! 🍷

MR Vesperi 2024, WO Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.

This second edition of the “white MR” is a similar blend to the maiden 2023 but possess a slightly higher Chenin Blanc portion at 41%, alongside 37% Sauvignon Blanc and 22% Semillon, that was matured for nine months in older oak barrels. While the oak and vanilla spice is perceptible, it’s also beautifully integrated with alluring aromatics of lime blossoms, lemon cordial, hints of waxy bergamot citrus, before more savoury, biscuity notes of nutty lees, wet straw and yellow orchard fruits. With the Sauvignon Blanc picked opulently ripe, its no surprise that the palate entry leads with more intense green fruit notes of greengage and orange citrus before the Chenin Blanc and Semillon slowly assert their presence. Broad and fleshy in the mouth, the balance is impressively harmonious and the fruit acid integration seductively seamless. Vibrant and noticeably chiselled on the finish, this is such a wonderfully accomplished addition to the lucrative Cape white blend category. Drink the Vesperi on release and over the next decade.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

MR de Compostella 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.

The 2023 MR de Compostella, or Compilation of the Stars is another 5-way blend of 30% Cabernet Franc, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Malbec, 17% Petit Verdot and 8% Merlot. With all fruit picked in prime condition long before the late harvest rains descended, this 2023 stands as one of the most fascinating MRs Bruwer and Mzo have produced since the maiden 2004. Sharing many aromatic, flavour, and textural similarities with previous vintages like the 2013, 2018 and the 2021, this 2023 is beautifully fragrant with top note aromatics of violets, rose petals, sweet cedar, crushed cranberries, saline crème de cassis and black cherry fruits that melt away into hints of dried herbs, graphite, and sweet tobacco leaf. Medium to full bodied, the palate shows a sleek strictness, a polished, elegantly restrained silky texture over an incredibly taut, powerful, titanium skeletal frame. The tannins are fine grained, tight knit and tensile but never grippy or chunky. This wine possesses a different kind intensity and muscular power – one shaped by pedigree, classicism, and restrained wound spring tension. This could well be one of the most “serious” MRs assembled to date… and I absolutely love it. Pop this one in your cellar for a few years while you enjoy the MR 2020 or the 2022.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Raats Family Wines and MR de Compostella wines are imported and distributed to the wine trade in the UK by Alliance Wines.

Glenelly Estate Releases Their New Lady May 2021 Cape Bordeaux Blend – A Wine That Reaches New Heights of Quality for This Prime Stellenbosch Property…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The Lady May is the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon-led Bordeaux blend from Glenelly Estate, nestled on the southern slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain in Stellenbosch. Named in honour of the estate’s founder, the legendary May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, the former owner of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, this wine represents a seamless marriage of French pedigree and prime South African Stellenbosch terroir. 

Characterized by its deep complexity, the blend typically features Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc alongside its Cabernet Sauvignon backbone. It offers a sophisticated profile of dark fruit, etched graphite tannins, and a fresh mineral core, ensuring remarkable aging potential. Only released in South Africa in May 2026, it seems almost implausible that I tasted and reviewed this wine for a Winemag.co.za article way back in June 2024! But as luck would have it, I retasted the wine again in mid-May 2026 at the Cabernet Collective 2021 Tasting in London, and all the joyful memories of tasting it the first time two years ago came rushing back! 

Dirk van Zyl in London recently presenting a masterclass at 67 Pall Mall.

Glenelly Estate Lady May 2021, WO Stellenbosch ,14.5% Abv.

A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot aged for 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Dense dark and opaque in the glass with incredibly potent and pure fruited aromatics of creme de cassis, saline black currant, cherry tobacco, grilled herbs, and subtle vanilla pod spice nuances. The palate embraces power and density showing fine chalky tannins, a real black and blue fruited intensity with just the most classically restrained, harmonious elegant finish. This is a phenomenal red wine that registers quality wise in the highest of echelons of what is possible for Cape Bordeaux Blends in South Africa. Drink from 2026 to 2046+.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Glenelly wines are imported into the UK by Seckford Wine Agencies.

The Multi-Talented Chris Groenewald Hits London to Launch the New Releases of His Exciting Pounding Grapes Wine Range… 

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Chris Groenewald is a polymath of the South African wine scene, weaving together his background in theology, a deep expertise in blind wine tasting, and a “New Wave” approach to winemaking. Based in the Western Cape, Chris’s personal project, Pounding Grapes, reflects his philosophy of “naked, raw, and natural” wines that emphasize joyful character over any kind of technical rigidity.

As the captain of the South African World Blind Wine Tasting team, Groenewald possesses a world-class palate in anyone’s language, yet his own wines are anything but academic. His portfolio, which includes vibrant releases like the Bringing Back The Joy Skin-Contact Sauvignon Blanc and the Heart Candy Pinotage, focuses on minimal intervention. These wines typically undergo natural fermentation, often utilizing concrete eggs or old oak barrels to maintain fruit purity and texture without the mask of heavy wood.

Chris Groenewald from Pounding Grapes Winery.

Sourcing grapes from premium cool-climate sites like Durbanville, Pounding Grapes celebrates the “natty” wine culture – sometimes cloudy, often pithy, grippy and alive, while maintaining a high level of purity, cleanliness and technical precision. Whether he is reviving boutique labels like Terracura or crushing small batches for his own label, Groenewald’s work remains at the forefront of the Cape’s artisanal revolution, proving that serious wine doesn’t always have to take itself seriously.

Chris was recently in London and hosted an enlightening and informative tasting lunch at Noble Rot Mayfair, where we got to enjoy his new releases which are coming to the UK very soon through his importer, Wood Winters. 

Bringing Back the Joy Skin Contact Sauvignon Blanc 2025, WO Durbanville, 12.5% Abv. 

Malmesbury Shale soils facing table mountain. 7 days skin fermented, basket pressed into 1 x 500 litre Egg and 1 x 300 litre old oak barrel. Naturally fermented with malo fully completed. The aromatics are dusty and pithy, delicately grassy and herby with crushed Granite, lemon grass, pear and yellow orchard stone fruits. Delightfully fresh and tangy with an excellent fleshy mid-palate core of fruit, finishing with a zesty, intense salinity. Quite superb.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Terracura Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Swartland, 13% Abv. 

Chenin Blanc from vines planted in 1998. Basket pressed into one 525 litre egg. Lovely complex bruised yellow orchard fruit aromatics with hints of wet straw, waxy peaches, orange peel and savoury fynbos notes. Delicious weight, fleshy but beautifully characterful with excellent persistence on the finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Unicorns in the Sky Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Swartland, 13% Abv. 

Sourced from the ‘Sky’ Vineyard 75% Chenin Blanc planted 1998 and 25% from Kweperfontein Farm Chenin Blanc planted in 1964. Skin Fermented for 6 days, the Sky portion as per Terracura. Classical, waxy, savoury bruised yellow orchard fruit notes of the Paardeberg but this also has an intense Granitic hit of dusty, stony minerality, dried herbs and peach stone fruits with wet straw and fynbos hints. Incredible balance and restraint, with lovely orange blossom, and tangerine peel complexity.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Fairies in the Garden Semillon Gris 2025, WO Swartland, 12% Abv. 

Semillon Gris from the Kweperfontein Farm in the Paardeberg, with 7 days on skins, the big grapes packed with plenty of juice, open fermented and then into an egg and a 225 litre old oak barrel. A more natural leaning expression with delicious savoury notes, sapidity, orange peel, quince jelly and hints of yellow orchard fruits. So effortlessly juicy, tangy and bright, incredibly zippy, energetic and inviting. What an umami tinged complex stunner of a wine!

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine writer Dr Jamie Goode merched up with his Pounding Grape cap.

Just Leave Me Flowers on My Grave Blend Chenin Blanc, 15% Abv.

65% left 3 years under flor (2023), 35% from fresh 2026 fruit. Blended a month ago and due to be bottled end May 2026. Saline and niche, nutty, tangy and umami salty without the cutting intensity of Sherry but with a salty, savoury complexity. The finish lingers – powerful and imposing with a pleasing walnut skin bitterness on the loooong finish. Idiosyncratic but also very delicious.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Heart Candy Pinotage 2024, WO Durbanville, 13% Abv. 

North facing vineyard, aged in two 225 litre oak barrels, the wine shows a lifted perfume intricacy and an exotic pink musk complexity, violets and red cherry rock candy notes. Super pure, bright and crystalline, this is delightfully translucent, energetic and vibrant with a smashable drinkability, tangy tart acids and a fabulous juicy length. Superb.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Where the Lines Bend 2025, WO Stellenbosch, 10.8% Abv. 

100% Cabernet Franc from the Bottelary Hills, 10 days cold soaked and fermented before being basket pressed into a concrete egg. The aromatics highlight the perfume and crunchy red fruit intensity, sweet cedar, crunchy red cherry and red currants. The delicate cedar spice sapidity follows to the palate with real energy and tension, tart linear acids and a cool, steely, taut focus with a hint of bay leaf spice on the finish. (1,300 bottles produced.)

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Terracura 2025 Syrah, WO Swartland, 13.2% Abv. 

100% wholebunch Syrah, then basket pressed into eggs and 300 litre barrels. Incredibly stalky, smoky, sappy and peppery over a dark fruited black berry, brambly fruit core. This is incredibly Oldy Worldy Rhone style Syrah with a super sleek creamy texture, incredibly finessed tannins with an attention to detail second to none. Wow!

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Contact Andrew@woodwinters.com for allocations and pricing. 

Alkina Winery in the Barossa Valley Creating Micro-Terroir Grenache Treasures – Tasting the New Polygon 3 2023 Cuvee from Greenock…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Tucked in the western ranges of the Barossa Valley near Greenock, the Alkina winery represents a radical shift in Australian viticulture. Established in 2015 by Alejandro Bulgheroni and Amelia Nolan, the estate, whose name means “Moonlight” in a local Indigenous language, is a “new story in an old place,” centered around a core of heritage vines planted in the 1950s.

What sets Alkina apart is its obsessive focus on micro-terroir. Working with world-renowned terroir expert Dr. Pedro Parra, the team conducted an exhaustive geological study, digging over 160 pits to map the complex interplay of 700-million-year-old schist, limestone, and ironstone soils. This led to the creation of “Polygons” – micro-parcels often smaller than 0.3 hectares, each harvested and fermented separately to express its specific geological fingerprint.

Certified organic and biodynamic, Alkina champions regenerative farming and minimal intervention. In the cellar, winemaking is transparent: wild yeasts, whole-bunch fermentation, and the use of concrete tulips, eggs, and amphorae prioritize texture and site-expression over oak influence. The resulting wines, primarily from Grenache, Shiraz, and Mataro, are a revelation, offering a vibrant, ethereal, and structural elegance that redefines the modern Barossa Valley identity. I recently tasted the new release Polygon 3 cuvee in the UK and was suitably impressed. I look forward to tasting their Polygon 5 cuvee as well in due course.

Alkina Polygon No.3 Grenache 2023, Barossa Valley, 14% Abv.

The clarity and crystallinity of the colour is only equalled by the cool purity of the wine’s aromatics that are initially quite restrained and reserved, elegant yet classically restrained, but slowly offering up notes of perfumed violets, fresh orange peel and crushed cranberries over a definite dusty, granitic mineral limestone undertone. Cool, bright and texturally super precise in the mouth, the acids are delicately pithy and slightly rasping without being too tart, merely helping to accentuate the chalky minerality of the limestone tannins. Fabulously tightknit, seamless, and expertly polished, this is one of the prettiest Grenaches I have tasted in a long time. Drink 2026 to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Age of Bourgogne Aligote: Part 11 – Domaine Leflaive’s Bourgogne Aligote 2016…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

In the prestigious landscape of Puligny-Montrachet, Domaine Leflaive stands as the definitive titan of Chardonnay. However, their Bourgogne Aligoté represents a fascinating, ultra-rare departure from the estate’s golden standard. While most of the world’s Aligoté is relegated to high-yield production for casual consumption (famously as the base for Kir), Leflaive treats this “other” white grape of Burgundy with the same biodynamic rigor and artisanal precision as their Grand Cru Batard-Montrachet.

The rarity of this wine is two-fold: geography and philosophy. Domaine Leflaive produces a remarkably small volume compared to their village and premier cru labels. The fruit is sourced from ancient vines, some over 80 years old, planted in tiny, prized parcels that escaped the 19th-century trend of uprooting Aligoté in favour of the more profitable Chardonnay.

Because the estate focuses almost exclusively on its 22 hectares of noble terroir, the Aligoté is often a “hidden” allocation, rarely appearing on retail shelves and typically vanishing into the private cellars of the world’s top collectors. To find a bottle is to experience a masterclass in tension; it is a high-acid, mineral-driven unicorn that proves even Burgundy’s “lesser” grape can achieve transcendence in the right hands.

Domaine Leflaive Aligote 2016, Bourgogne, 12.5% Abv. 

Delicious stony, flinty reduction on the nose with aromatic layers of pithy white citrus, bergamot, lemon peel, sweet dried herbs and delicate limestone nuances. The texture is full in the mouth, the acids soft and beautifully integrated, deliciously harmonious and elegant, melting into waxy yellow stone fruits that coat the palate. There’s a weightless concentration, a delicate pithiness and a creamy, tangy vibrancy on the fresh finish. Super youthful at 10 years old, this wine is invitingly drinkable and an incredibly charming expression of Aligote. My first time trying it as well! 

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)