The Cape Bordeaux red blend category is one of South Africa’s strongest aces in its vinous deck of cards and in recent years has been responsible for earning the broader South African fine wine category a lot of new international fine wine followers. Few regions outside of Bordeaux and California can conjure up the blended red wine magic of a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend – But South Africa is definitely part of this exclusive club!
While Thelema has been making excellent age worthy Cabernet Sauvignon since the mid 1990s, it was only really from around the 2013 or 2014 vintage that their Rabelais red blend hit a new quality zenith to join the likes of MR de Compostella, Kanonkop Paul Sauer, Stark Conde Oude Nektar and Meerlust Rubicon as one of South Africa’s best performing red blends annually.
With Thomas Webb from Thelema in London recently for the first London based tasting organised by Wines of South Africa since 2019, it was the ideal moment to catch up over a glass or two and post my final review of the current Thelema wine releases.
Thelema Mountain Vineyards Rabelais 2020, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv.
2.0g/l RS | 6.5g/l TA | 3.50 pH
The 2020 Rabelais is another impressive Cape Bordeaux blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot. This is a striking wine with wafting aromatics of dried violets, iodine, graphite, kelp and sea breeze salinity and underlying notes of crème de cassis, red berries, dried mint leaf, milk chocolate, fresh pencil shavings and savoury tilled earth nuances. On the palate there is the most incredible briney salinity that resonates across the palate, combining with a fresh lemony acidity to invigorate layers of tart black cherry, red currants and pithy black berries supported by silky soft powdery tannins and an ample mid-palate weight of fruit extract. This is a very classy and dynamic wine that already shows impressive integration for a young wine but also a delightful harmony and core of fruit. It has all the attractive plushness with a gentle seductive power that many of the very best examples of the 2020 vintage exhibit and will undoubtedly feature as one of the top Cape Bordeaux blends of the vintage. Drink now and over the next 15+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines are distributed to trade in the UK by Enotria Wines and retail for circa £50 per bottle.