Vignerons de Franschhoek is the producer association of South Africa’s historic “French Corner,” founded in 1984 as part of the Franschhoek Wine Route and is credited with helping revive grape growing after many farmers started to move more towards growing orchards fruits. The Valley’s wine heritage dates back to the French Huguenot refugees who arrived in the Cape in the late 1680s, bringing their vine-growing expertise with them. Today the grouping represents the estates behind Franschhoek’s reputation as one of the Cape’s leading wine and food tourist destinations. As I discovered earlier this year, its members work with remarkably varied soils, slopes and microclimates, producing a diverse range of styles that reflect the Valley’s terroir diversity while actively promoting its quality both locally and internationally. For many consumers, the premium wines of the Franschhoek Valley ward remain a bit of an unknown entity. Follow my new 15 part series covering some of the most exciting wineries in the Valley.
Where better to kick things off than with bubbles!? Le Lude is now one of the most famous Cap Classique sparkling wine focused producers in South Africa, helping to make the Franschhoek Valley a real mecca for top quality Method Cap Classique bottle fermented fizz. They use their own Franschhoek grapes with a small amount of bought in fruit from Franschhoek itself as well as Stellenbosch, Elgin and Robertson. They only use their own Pinot Meunier grapes from a block planted in 2009.
Normally moderately low sulphur Cap Classique with 50 to 70 ppm totals in the finished wines, the full range currently sits at 12 wines with around 90,000 bottles released per year. (Current retail prices for the Reserve is circa R420 per bottle or about €34 / £29, R650 for the Brut Vintage Rose 2019, R895 per bottle for the 2016 Vintage Brut and circa R1,195 for the Vintage Cuvee 2016.)
Le Lude Cap Classique Brut Reserve NV, 12% Abv.
(Based on the 2020 vintage) this is a blend of 69% Chardonnay and 31% Pinot Noir aged for at least 3 years on its lees. Disgorged with a low 1 to 2 g/l dosage, the final RS stands at 5.7g/l RS. Made in a consistent style using no oak and no malo, the aromatics show lifted fresh citrus fruits, glazed lemons and salted pistachios. The palate is fine grained, incredibly creamy with focus, freshness, tangy acids and a driving purity. A very impressive Cap Classique. (Circa 60,000 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Le Lude Cap Classique Brut Reserve Rose NV, 12% Abv.
(Based on the 2023 vintage) A blend of 31% Chardonnay, 63% Pinot Noir and 6% Pinot Meunier with a 6.6g/l RS. Normally use a 1-to-2-day cold maceration on the Pinot Noir skins but in future will blend red base wines for the Rosé colour. A delightfully floral, lifted nose with attractive wild strawberries, earthy red cherries and macerated cranberries. The palate shows real intensity and concentration, bright tart acids buffered by fine grained creamy tannins and a tangy acidity. The mousse if fine and creamy, very refined and classy with impressive underlying precision, finishing with a pronounced salty tang. Top notch Cap Classique. (Circa 40,000 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Le Lude Cap Classique Brut Vintage 2016 Limited Release, 12% Abv.
A blend of 72% Chardonnay, 24% Pinot Noir and 4% Pinot Meunier aged for just under 9 years and disgorged in June 2026 with zero dosage with a final 3.4g/l RS. Aromatics show an intense salted brioche character with glaces Lemons, dried herbs, lemon peel and honeycomb. I the mouth the wine is expansive, plush and concentrated with linear acids, a very fine-grained creamy mousse and a long, bright, citrus laden finish but with the extra vintage character and power evident. (1,550 bottles produced with only 330 disgorged and released so far.)
The 2026 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction returns to Brickfield Canvas in Cape Town on Friday, 2nd October and Saturday, 3rd October 2026, offering rare, small-batch wines crafted exclusively for the sale by South Africa’s most respected, peer-nominated winemakers. For over four decades, this auction has been the premier showcase of the country’s finest cellars, drawing serious collectors seeking exceptional, hard-to-find bottles.
JD Pretorius (Warwick Estate) and David Sadie (David & Nadia), Guild members.
To bid, register a Bidder’s Account with Strauss & Co before Thursday, 1 October — one registration covers both sessions, with online, telephonic, and commission bidding available worldwide. Whether you attend in person or bid remotely, this is your chance to secure some exceptional South African wine history.
Gary Jordan, long time Guild member.
Auction Wines’ Critic Scores:
CE = Christian Eedes, Editor, Winemag.co.za (Tasted and Rated Sighted)
MF = Michael Fridjhon, Trophy Wine Show & Business Day (Tasted and Rated Blind)
GSMW = Greg Sherwood MW, A Fine Wine Safari (Tasted and Rated Sighted)
AA Badenhorst Akkerbos Grenache Blanc 2025, WO Swartland, 12.86% Abv.
94 CE | 87 MF | 94 GSMW
Ataraxia Echo of Earth Pinot Noir 2025, WO Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, 13.27% Abv.
93 CE | 91 MF | 93+ GSMW
Ataraxia Under The Gavel Chardonnay 2025, WO Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, 12.98% Abv.
93 CE | 93 MF | 93 GSMW
Bartho Eksteen Vloekskoot Sauvignon Blanc – Op Hout 2025, WO Cape South Coast, 13.78% Abv.
94 CE | 94 MF | 94+ GSMW
Beaumont Family Wines GG’s Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Bot River, 12.33% Abv.
96 CE | 96 MF | 96 GSMW
Beaumont Family Wines Hope Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Bot River, 12.07% Abv.
95 CE | 92 MF | 94+ GSMW
Gary Jordan tasting Abrie Beeslaar’s CWG wine.
Beeslaar CWG Pinotage 2024. WO Stellenbosch, 14.25% Abv.
96 CE | 92 MF | 96 GSMW
Boschkloof CWG Auction Epilogue Syrah 2024, WO Stellenbosch, 13.66% Abv.
98 CE | 94 MF | 97+ GSMW
Cederberg Black Slate Shiraz 2024, WO Cederberg, 13.66% Abv.
92 CE | 95 MF | 95 GSMW
David & Nadia Veiling Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Paardeberg, 11.85% Abv.
96 CE | 94 MF | 95 GSMW
David Finlayson Wines Sleepless Nights Grenache Noir 2024, WO Stellenbosch, 13.6% Abv.
91 CE | 89 MF | 92 GSMW
De Grendel Rietfontein Syrah 2023, WO Ceres Plateau, 13.74% Abv.
93 CE | 94 MF | 93+ GSMW
De Grendel West Side Merlot 2024, WO Cape Town, 14.58% Abv.
92 CE | 94 MF | 93 GSMW
De Trafford Cabernet Sauvignon 2024, WO Stellenbosch, 15.04% Abv.
91 CE | 93 MF | 93+ GSMW
De Trafford Chenin Blanc L17 2025, WO Stellenbosch
94 CE | 95 MF | 95 GSMW
Delaire Graff Estate Banghoek Cabernet Franc – Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, WO Banghoek, Stellenbosch, 14.71% Abv.
95 CE | 97 MF | 94 GSMW
Dewaldt Heyns Family Wines Saailand Shiraz 2024, 14.11% Abv.
Van Loggerenberg CWG Auction Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Piekenierskloof, 13.24% Abv.
97 CE | 90 MF | 96+ GSMW
Van Loggerenberg CWG Auction Syrah 2025, WO Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch, 13.61% Abv.
96 CE | 96 MF | 97 GSMW
Warwick Auction Cabernet Franc – Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, WO Simonsberg, Stellenbosch, 14/5% Abv.
94 CE | 93 MF | 95 GSMW
Auction Registration Details:
The auction takes place on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd of October at Strauss & Co, Brickfield Canvas, Cape Town, with online bidding also available. For tickets, bidding registration and more information, see:
Cap Classique has emerged as one of the sparkling wine world’s most compelling success stories. Produced using the same traditional method as Champagne – secondary fermentation in the bottle, or “méthode cap classique” – these wines undergo extended lees ageing of minimum 12 months that develops the complex, toasty, brioche-like character prized by connoisseurs worldwide. South Africa’s diverse terroirs, from the cool coastal vineyards of Robertson, Walker Bay and Elgin to the historic slopes of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, provide the ideal conditions for growing the classic varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, that form the backbone of exceptional Cap Classique wines.
What sets this category apart is its remarkable combination of Old World craftsmanship and New World vibrancy and precision. Winemakers here have spent decades researching and refining their techniques, and the results speak for themselves: bright steely acidities, fine persistent mousse, and layered autolytic complexity that rivals wines costing a great deal more.
International recognition has followed accordingly and Cap Classique producers now regularly claim top honours at global sparkling wine competitions, while exports continue to climb as sommeliers and consumers discover the category’s exceptional value proposition. With over 100 producers now crafting these wines and quality standards continuing to rise, the Cap Classique category represents not just a regional specialty, but a genuine contender on the world sparkling wine stage.
Pieter “Bubbles” Ferreira
As a long time lover and aficionado of both top Champagne and Cap Classique sparkling wines having done my Master of Wine dissertation on Cap Classique production in Constantia Valley, I relish every opportunity to taste new releases as the wines seem to simply get better and better. Hot on the heels of Pieter “Bubbles” Ferreira retiring from Graham Beck as head winemaker and cellar master to focus on his own eponymous Cap Classique venture, Pieter and his wife Anne were in London recently firstly for Pieter to receive the International Wine Challenge (IWC) Lifetime Achievement Award and secondly to present, on behalf of the Cap Classique Association, an impressive line up of current release Cap Classique sparkling wines over a stunning breakfast.
Springfield Estate Garuzis Brut NV Cap Classique
Zippy and zesty aromatics, crisp, saline and incredibly elegant with an understated intensity.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel Brut 2024 Cap Classique
Rich bold toasty aromatics with honeycomb, brioche and leesy biscuit length. A classic.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Babylonstoren Sprankel Brut 2019Cap Classique
Fulsome and creamy in the mouth, expansive mousse, very fine bubbles with a saline, oyster shell finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
L’Ormarins Brut Classique Rose 2022Cap Classique
Delicate rose petals and cherry blossom perfume with hints of ginger and cranberry, finishing with a nutty, creamy length. Very impressive.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Paul Rene Wines Pinot Noir / Chardonnay Brut Rose 2022Cap Classique
Strawberries and cream top notes with pink musk and delicately savoury nuances. Fulsome palate with zesty fresh medley of red fruits. Very classy, accomplished Cap Classique.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine des Dieux Rose of Sharon Rose 2016Cap Classique
Orange copper colour, aromatics show tertiary depth, brioche, macerated strawberries, blood orange and a delicately savoury saline finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Krone Twee Jonge Gezellen Blanc de Blancs 2021 Cap Classique
Chalky, stony, lemon sherbet bon bons notes, the palate taut and nervy, crisp, steely and focused with a salted brioche length.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Pieter Ferreira Blanc de Blancs Brut 2020 Cap Classique
Sleek, spicy lemon grass and grapefruit citrus, super fresh after 5 years on lees, tight knit, saline with a steely focus. Such incredible precision.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Jacques Bruere Bon Courage Blanc de Blancs Brut 2015 Cap Classique
100% Chardonnay, shows rich, leesy, smoky aromatics, with apple strudel, brioche and sourdough complexity. Tart tangy acids rest comfortably alongside, lemony, leesy tertiary hints.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Steenberg Lady R 2019 Cap Classique
Delicate, subtle aromatics of lemon peel, limestone and dried herbs follow to a leesy, biscuity palate with salted pistachios and kelpy, saline apple strudel nuances.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Graham Beck Cuvee Clive 2019 Cap Classique
Deep complex aromatics show salted brioche, leesy biscuit and delicate kelpy oyster shell nuances. Pinpoint and precise, incredibly focused and fine, a dreamy creamy mousse with such elegance, tension and finesse.
A steely, saline, oyster shell aromatics with briney, kelpy nuances. Palate is plush and broad, creamy and intense with salted brioche, apple strudel pastries and a long, leesy nutty finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Krone Twee Jonge Gezellen Borealis Vintage Cuvee Brut 2024 Cap Classique
Lemon and herbs, spicy brioche and lemon peel notes, salted pistachios with a picante fine mousse and a persistent salinity.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Neetlingshof Brut NV Cap Classique
Bready, biscuity doughy aromatics, with hints of wild strawberry and peach skins before a creamy, zesty explosive saline finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Domaine Des Dieux Claudia Brut 2021Cap Classique
Delicately earthy and savoury with macerated red berries, brioche and stewed strawberries. Complex autolytic notes with a crisp, energetic mousse, finishing with a tangy vibrant finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Krone Twee Jonge Gezellen Rose Cuvee Brut 2024Cap Classique
Dense and complex, this shows real depth and precision, macerated strawberry, savoury hints, ginger and potpourri spice. Tangy, intense and impressive.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Villiera Tradition Brut Rose NVCap Classique
Complex nose of wet tobacco leaf, cranberry and rose petal hints with limestone mineral nuances. Full in the mouth, plush and creamy with an enticing candied red cherry fruit length.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Graham Beck Pinot Noir Rose 2019Cap Classique
Macerated strawberries and red berry fruits, with hints of musk and limestone. Cool, linear and precise, an explosive mousse and real energy and precision.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Steenberg 1682 Chardonnay Brut Cap Classique
Lemon and lime peel zest, pure fresh and taut, the mousse delicately sappy and smoky with a savoury, creamy finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Paul Rene Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut NVCap Classique
Complex oyster shell notes with limestone, kelpy nuances, lemon and lime characters coming through on the savoury finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
L’Ormarins Blanc de Blancs Vintage 2022Cap Classique
Wonderfully fresh and zesty, sleek and precise with lime peel, waxy lemons, chalky minerality and a compact, energetic mousse. Youthful but impressive pedigree.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Many thanks to Clare Malec at Island Media and the Cap Classique Association for organising this excellent event. For more information, contact:
Pieter “Bubbles” Ferreira – South Africa’s most celebrated Cap Classique winemaker – retired from Graham Beck in January 2026 after 37 years at the helm, having joined in 1990 and crafted the estate’s traditional-method sparkling wines from its maiden vintage. Alongside his career at Graham Beck, he and his wife Ann quietly built their own eponymous project, Pieter Ferreira Cap Classique, releasing their first wines from the 2012 vintage, with Ann formally owning the brand while Pieter acted as winemaker.
Now fully retired from Graham Beck, Pieter continues this new chapter with Ann focusing solely on their own brand that will soon become five cuvées with the release of a Blanc de Noirs – a fitting next act for the man synonymous with South African Cap Classique bubbles.
Pieter “Bubbles” Ferreira
Pieter Ferreira Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs Brut 2012, WO Westetn Cape, 12% Abv.
Having recently tasted my last bottle of Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs 2012 made by Pieter Ferreira, I was desperate to taste his own label, maiden release equivalent. So I cracked a bottle with a friend who I had shared the Graham Beck 2012 with, and we were not disappointed. My friends first comment on nosing his glass, even before tasting, was WOW! This smashes most Champagnes! Firstly, the colour is much lighter and brighter with a lemon peel gold yellow colour and pristine aromatics of glazed salted brioche, waxy apple skins and yellow grapefruit pith. The palate is beautifully composed – compact, fresh and incredibly youthful and vibrant showing a twang of saline briney sourdough complexity with hints of apple strudel, chamomile tea, lime cordial and tart toffee apples on the finish. So intense, creamy, vibrant and complex. A stunning wine by any international yardstick! Drink now to 2034.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Pieter Ferreira wines are imported into the UK by RAKQ Wines.
This impressive Black Series Cap Classique uses Pinot Noir grapes harvested from the Elgin region and Chardonnay from the cool Agulhas region. Elgin has a wonderfully cool climate where the vines grow in sandstone soils laced with silica quartz fragments and acidic Bokkeveld shales rich in iron.
The Chardonnay is grown on Quoin Rock’s Boskloof farm on Koffieklip and gravel soils where the vines are also exposed to the cooling influences of the Atlantic Ocean air ensuring that the berries ripen evenly while retaining a vibrant natural acidity. The grapes were harvested from different sections of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blocks at different times before being transported to the vinification cellar located in Stellenbosch.
Made from a final blend of 54% Chardonnay and 46% Pinot Noir that was all harvested in February 2017, vinified and then aged on its lees for 5 years. The wine was bottled on the 23rd of September 2022, and while the 2018 release is also currently on sale, this pretty 2017 MCC is still available cellar door for R900 per bottle (£38pb).
Quoin Rock Black Series Cap Classique 2017, WO Western Cape, 12.91% Abv.
8.7g/l RS | 8.0g/l TA | 3.05pH
A bright shimmering bronze gold, the aromatics are striking, packed full of lemon and lime peel, salty brine, salted pistachios, honey brittle candy before savoury, leesy, brioche nuances develop in the glass. The palate steals the show with a density, intensity, and superb freshness combined with a harmonious balancing pear and white citrus length, carried with purity and precision on a piercing, creamy moussed finish. This really is a classy Cap Classique wine that can challenge some of the best premium Champagne cuvées out there. Drink now and over the next 5 to 8+ years.
I was recently introduced to the wines of Karoo Hoogland Winery by wine consultant extraordinaire Adam Mason. I had never heard of the winery before so was intrigued to taste these unique expressions from the Hendrikse family. The Karoo Hoogland wines come from an impressive high-altitude terrain located at 1,100 meters above see level in a semi-desert region.
Here, the Hendrikse family have gone from humble beginnings as fifth generation sheep farmers to vignerons growing vines on incredibly ancient alluvial soils, laden with lime. Each wine in the Karoo Hoogland range represents a zodiac sign of a Hendrikse family member and I recently sampled two vintages of their exciting Shiraz as well as their incredibly accomplished Cap Classique.
Karoo Hoogland Capricorn Brut Cap Classique
This is a truly impressive Cap Classique from Karoo Hoogland. Never an easy style of wine to truly master, the unique terroir of this winery lends itself to cool elegance, minerality and classical restraint. On the nose, the aromatics are impressively delicate and pure with plenty of dusty minerality, dried herb intricacy, pithy white citrus, crystallized lemon slices, crushed gravel, and a white citrus blossom complexity … all very compact and tightly wound into an incredibly attractive sparkling wine. The clarity, purity and precision continue onto the palate which shows an accomplished level of winemaking, a notable degree of terroir expression and plenty more pithy citrus, grilled nuts, and crunchy green apple nuances cloaked in a leesy, stony liquid minerality. The acids are sleek, pinpoint, and well-integrated and the mousse sufficiently vibrant, creamy and fine. Ultimately, this is a sparkling wine where less is definitely more, where elegance, minerality and fruit restraint play a winning hand. A really impressive Cap Classique that in my mind rubs shoulders with some of the top producers’ premium South African MCCs being produced in South Africa. Drink now and over the next 5 to 8 years.
A 100% Shiraz wine made from a single vineyard and matured in French oak for 6 months. The 2021 Hoogland Scorpio Shiraz boasts and attractively lifted, perfumed aromatics with genteel notes of spicy red apples, incense, pressed violets, lavender, lipstick, red currant and sweet and sour plum with just the faintest earthy forest floor note. Complex and compelling, the palate of the 2021 is equally seductive with silky soft fine svelte tannins, an ethereal weightless mouthfeel, soft delicate layers of red berry fruits, black olive, tart black cherry and a creamy mineral laden length. This is an attractive, cool fruited Shiraz (despite its 14% alcohol), that is tender, texturally very polished and delicately seductive. Drink now and over the next 3 to 5 years. (746 bottles produced.)
The new release 2022 Scorpio Shiraz shows a tangible increase in outright quality, focus and precision, with aromatics lead by sweet lavender, pure red and black berry fruits, Parma violets, sun dried cranberries, red cherry, and raspberry nuances. The fruit purity is next level and the perfumed complexity seductive and utterly hedonistic. As pretty as the nose is, the palate excels in equal measure with beautifully seamless sweet, silky, elegant tannins, weightless red berry fruit concentration, and a texture so fine your senses lose their bearings trying to navigate the start and finish of the wine. Simply packed with pristinely pure fruit, intelligently handled oak, allowing the beguiling dusty, stony, cool slatey minerality to shine through. This is really very classy indeed with a finish simply gob-smackingly delicious! Drink on release or savour over 5 to 8+ years.
The world of wine, like life itself, can be a topsy turvy world of highs and lows. Perhaps it’s simply the yin and yang of life? So, after a few tumultuous years of change, Samantha Suddons, the once partner and shareholder in the now temporarily mothballed Terracura Wines project, has finally released her very own labour of love – a Method Cap Classique sparkling wine aged for over 5 years on its lees before disgorgement.
I met up with Samantha in London recently to unpick the mystery behind her new VineVenom label that was launched recently in South Africa. Her first wine under the brand is a killer Cap Classique sparkler from the 2015 vintage that she has labelled Serenade. 2015 you may ask? Well, if you know anything about Sam, you will know she is a Champagne and sparkling wine obsessive and while some have questioned how she managed to suddenly release a six year old MCC, the answer is simply that this was a passion project that was never really meant for commercial day of light, producing a wine made from the 2015 vintage which was originally intended for home consumption and sharing with friends.
But having recently disinvested from the Terracura Wines business, and looking for a new project, the VineVenom brand seemed the obvious next step. The maiden wine, a MCC blend of 68% Chardonnay, 18% Pinot Noir and 14% Pinot Meunier from grapes bought in cool climate Elgin, the wine spent five years on its lees and received zero dosage. The wine was disgorged in November 2020, saw no malolactic fermentation and no oak treatment and was bottled with a 2.5 g/l RS.
VineVenom Serenade 2015 Cap Classique, WO Elgin, 12.3% Abv.
The wine shows a lovely creamy explosive mousse with a fine bubble, lovely bright tangy acids and a complex bouquet of green apple skins, grilled almonds, cardamom and spicy white citrus. The palate is full and expansive, tangy and fresh with sweet and sour acids, layers of citrus, yellow grapefruit, lemon cream biscuits, crunchy green apples and a long, dry, saline picante finish. Very impressive depth of fruit but also beautiful complexity, electric vibrancy and a stony cool climate minerality on the finish. A thoroughly accomplished wine that will titillate fellow Champagne and sparking wine devotees. (1,600 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Sadly, as yet, there is no follow up Cap Classique to the 2015 maiden vintage. But fear not! Samantha has been busy at work producing an impressive dry Carignan / Touriga Nacional 2020 Rose, a rather premium tasting Swartland Flor Contact Chenin Blanc 2020 as well as a delicious, Vin de Soif styled Swartland 60% Syrah / 40% Touriga Nacional Rosado 2021. I tasted newly bottled samples of all of the above and they were seriously impressive. I look forward to reviewing them properly in due course closer to release. The empire building has begun in earnest.
Ever since bubble wizard Paul Gerber moved over from Le Lude to Colmant, everyone knew there would be fizzy fireworks to follow with some exceptional Method Cap Classique wines planned. While the standard estate Blue Label Colmant MCC remains one of my go to sparkling wines along with Graham Beck’s Blanc de Blancs, the release of the new Colmant Absolut has certainly raised some eyebrows.
The Absolu Zero Dosage NV is made from 100% Chardonnay fruit coming from Franschhoek (65%) and Robertson (35%). A portion of the base wine (15%) is fermented in French oak barrels while a further 15% of reserve wine from previous vintages is also blended in. These techniques certainly contribute to the complexity and elegance of the finished product – as does the extended time on lees, 85 months minimum – or seven years in layman’s terms.
Colmant Absolu Cap Classique Zero Dosage NV, WO Western Cape, 12% Abv.
This is a fascinating wine with all the complexity, richness and texture you’d expect from a wine aged for a phenomenal 85 months on its lees. The nose has a wonderful briney, saline lemon brioche character supported by creamy, savoury freshly baked croissants nuances together with a dusty, leesy nutty character. The palate is wonderfully detailed, fresh and pin point with a lively creamy mousse, plenty of maritime saline zip and a lovely long, lingering toasty, leesy, broche finish with a kiss of lemon pastille. This is pure class as it takes very skilful winemaking to make a MCC base wine that can age and improve over 85 months and still show incredible energy, opulence, verve and vigour when bottled. Drink now and over the next 3 to 5+ years.
