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:
Evert-Gerard Rautenbach has a successful day job at the Paserene / Atlas Swift Winery in Franschhoek in the Western Cape. As a side hobby project, Evert makes a small amount of experimental single cultivar Marsanne sourced from a vineyard in Wellington. On a recent visit to Franschhoek, Evert gave me a bottle of the 2025 Marsanne to try, noting that while this vintage is almost sold out, he is even more excited by the quality and styling of the 2026 vintage. As always, I love to champion new wines and young talented winemakers, and Evert is certainly a name to keep an eye on.
The Last Arrow Marsanne 2025, WO Wellington, 13.5% Abv.
This pure 100% Marsanne was whole bunch pressed and then barrel fermented with natural yeasts, being kept on its gross lees for the entire maturation time of 9 months in all neutral oak barrels, before being fined, filtered and bottled, then aged for an additional 3 months before release. The wine possesses a dark golden yellow bonze colour and exotic aromatics of ripe peach stone fruits, hints of quince, yellow apple, bees wax, honeycomb and savoury leesy biscuit nuances. In the mouth the texture is glycerol and fleshy, marked with a pithy, picante spiciness that adds an attractive gentle herbal bitterness, the grape’s naturally lower acidity lending further notions of palate breadth and depth. Overall, a very harmonious, well-constructed wine that would make for a perfect food pairing menu, perhaps matched with a lightly curried Cape Malay fish dish or even more traditional freshly dived scallops. Drink now. (Only 500 bottles produced and released at R180 per bottle in SA.)
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Currently, no UK or European representation that I know of.
Franschhoek is of course better known as the “French Corner” of the Cape winelands, and as such, has built up an internationally respected reputation for boutique wine quality to accompany its world-famous culinary tourism and boutique hotel and spa scene. Working in co-ordination with the Franschhoek Vignerons’ membership, and in particular Gerard Holden of Holden Manz winery fame, I was able to put together an incredible in-depth, deep-dive line-up of wine tastings, vineyard walks and winery visits over a three-day visit to the Franschhoek Valley in August 2026.
The mountains of the Franschhoek Valley
The Franschhoek Valley and its vignerons are certainly not short on brand strengths and general unique selling points when it comes to promoting their wider reputation. They already possess a brand equity built on quality and heritage, with their unique Huguenot founding story and French lineage intertwined with a well-established food-and-wine tourism identity helping to set them apart from other nearby regions such as Paarl, Wellington, and indeed Stellenbosch.
Vines on the Holden Manz Estate
This distinct narrative advantage over other generic “South African wines” has given the Valley a valuable differentiated positioning in the UK market where South Africa is already a familiar, trusted Wine of Origin for international consumers. Crucially for the Franschhoek Valley, South African wine exports have been shifting from bulk to value added, an export strategy that has been prioritised by multiple wine industry trade bodies for some years now, where market diversification and strategic positioning have become all important.
As global wine consumption continues to soften, the data reveals that volumes shipped to the UK declined by 7% in the most recent reporting period, while export value rose by 4%, underscoring the growing competitiveness of South African wine in retail and on-trade channels. For Franschhoek’s largely premium wine producers, this “value over volume” trend plays directly to their strengths as they are not competing on bulk pricing but on quality, story and provenance, which the market is rewarding even as overall demand contracts.
As someone who has bought, sold and drunk the best wines of Franschhoek for many decades, after three deep dive days tasting and travelling around the Valley’s various terroirs, I’m very pleased to report that the Franschhoek’s winemakers, often led by a new generation of young ambitious vignerons, is focusing on quality and precision like never before. Franschhoek is a small Ward, and production is largely boutique within the context of the Western Cape wine industry, with 71% of producers considered small-scale, crushing between 1 and 500 tons of grapes annually.
The luxury Spa at Terre Paisible winery.
Another overlooked benefit of decades of luxury tourism to the Valley is how this now plays directly into the fast growing Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) sales trend, with these channels now emerging as very lucrative alternative revenue streams for wineries at higher-than-normal retail margins. Despite sales volume pressures, the UK remains the anchor market in which South Africa cannot afford to lose momentum, and to my mind, there is still plenty of room for Franschhoek’s producers to leverage market share more aggressively through premiumisation, positioning single-estate, terroir-driven wines above the generic South African category, in specialist independents, fine-dining lists, and DTC subscription models.
The lawns at Lynx Winery.
Wine tourism – while not a be-all and end-all opportunity in itself – remains an underused lever for converting cellar-door visitors into meaningful customers, and a realistic path to continued success for Franschhoek’s wineries will be value-led, premiumising the Franschhoek Valley name, expanding direct-to-consumer and hospitality channels, and better exploiting the very well establish fine dining and culinary USP of the Franschhoek Valley, tying the boutique wines of the Valley more closely into a premium virtuous food and wine circle.
Finally, on a more practical winery level, there are still many basic winemaking levers available to producers to further develop niche wine sales categories.
Some of these categories that can and should be championed more confidently include:
* The White Blend category, specifically as it relates to Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon “White Bordeaux Blends”.
* Continuing to champion the old vine heritage of the Valley, in particular the famous old vine Semillon wines that are becoming more and more sought-after globally.
* Being more confident in promoting the excellent quality of the Valley’s Cabernet Sauvignon and red Bordeaux Blends, as has been championed by producers such as Boekenhoutskloof in the past with their famous Franschhoek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
* The continued development of Cabernet Franc single cultivar wines as the category continues to gain popularity worldwide.
* Making more of the exceptional potential of the Valley’s Syrah vineyards, some examples perhaps needing to be reined in a little with regards to ripeness levels, picking dates and alcohol levels, but the fruit quality is undoubtedly clearly evident.
* For single cultivar white wines, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc continue to offer excellent potential, and producers would be wise to continue building on the quality reputation that already exists globally for these cultivars. While there isn’t a lot of Chenin Blanc planted in the Valley, the quality potential is also excellent.
* Finally, Franschhoek Valley has become very well known for its excellent Cap Classique traditional method sparkling wines and this represents a lucrative ongoing, scalable opportunity for producers.
Franschhoek Vignerons Tasting:
(Winemakers were invited to present several of their top wines to the other attending Franschhoek Valley winemakers with constructive open discussion being welcomed.)
Cap Classique:
Wildeberg Cap Classique Météorique Blanc de Blancs 2023, WO Franschhoek
Harvested from 5-year-old vines, super rocky soils, fermented in older 6th fill French oak barrels, kept on lees for 24 months, zero dosage. Creamy biscuit, salted brioche, (8-9,000 bottles) brine and maritime salty kelp hints. Creamy, plush and broad in the mouth, vibrant, steely, linear, with a delicious white citrus finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Haute Cabrière Cap Classique Pierre Jourdan Blanc de Blancs 2021, WO Franschhoek
100% Chardonnay, 4.5 years on lees, with 1 g/l dosage, leaving a 3g/l RS. Apple pastille, lemon cordial, creamy mousse, lemon peel, baking spices and a creamy textural finish with a kiss of rock salt salinity.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Terre Paisible Cap Classique Vivre Blanc de Blancs 2019, WO Franschhoek
Aged 36 months on its lees, zero dosage, an opulent rich style made from pure Chardonnay off the property. Earthy nuances, savoury root veg, citrus and explosive mousse on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
L’Ormarins Cap Classique Private Cuvée 2017, WO Western Cape
First vintage 2012. A regional blend of fruit including Robertson and Darling shows steely white citrus, chalk and talc notes. Energetic, vibrant grippy mousse, lovely saline edge with a punchy persistent finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Le Lude Cap Classique Madáme Millésime Blanc de Blancs 2017, WO Western Cape
Pure Chardonnay aged 8.5 years on its lees with zero dosage. Intense, leesy, sourdough and brioche character with a hint of brine and lemon cordial. Energetic mousse, fine grained, creamy and chalky with a delicately savoury finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Le Lude Cap Classique Vintage Cuvée 2016, WO Western Cape
Aged 8 years and 8 months on its lees. Only the third release after 2012 and 2013, this is 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir, lovely depth and breadth, the mousse very fine grained and creamy, the purity and sublte richness lingering on the long persistent finish. Characterful, hints of truffle and lovely length. Classy.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Le Lude Cap Classique Rosé 2019, WO Western Cape
57% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and 3% Pinot Meunier aged 6.5 years on its lees, disgorged in March 2026 with a 3.3 g/l RS. Delicate copper pink the aromatics are very red fruited, rose petals, cranberry, and more creamy mousse. Savoury but subtle and perfumed, a lovely benchmark Rose Cap Classique.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
White Wines:
Terre Paisible Les Dames de 1987 Sauvignon Blanc 2023, WO Franschhoek
Intense aromatics, powerful, lifted and quite profound. Grapefruit, gooseberry, green apple and limestone minerality. Textural, complex, multi-layered with a lovely long finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Rickety Bridge Regna Loca Semillon 2025, WO Franschhoek
A new wine range. Franschhoek 1905 old vine Semillon grown on sandy well-draining soils. Low vigour vines yield a steely, mineral, cool classical aromatics from the Landau Vineyard that was so famous. Tightly wound, mineral and white citrus. Very serious expression. Love it.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Old Road Wine Co. La Colline Single Vineyard Grand Mere Semillon 2024, WO Franschhoek
7,000 vines per Ha planted in 1936. Whole bunch pressed into 500 litre oak barrels and clay amphora aged for 9 months, sometimes with partial malo. Beautifully waxy, yellow orchard fruits and hints of peach. Honied, textural and delicately mealy and savoury with a touch of lanolin and butter on the finish. Superb.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Holden Manz Semillon Reserve 2023, WO Franschhoek
25- to 30-year-old vineyard with a good vigour. Complex nose of green apple, white citrus and delicate sapidity. Cool, stony and rich, beautifully textured, creamy and tangy with a fine vein of stony minerality. Impressive.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Chamonix Old Vine Steen Chenin Blanc 2024, WO Franschhoek
Decomposed Granite and Greywacke soils with clay. Planted in 1965 on the coolest pocket on the farm, packed full of peach and quince with dried herbs, hay, thyme and mint leaf. Rich, textured and glycerol with impressive concentration, orange peel, tangerine, and sweet honeycomb and peaches.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Old Road Wine Co. Single Vineyard Stone Trail Chenin Blanc 2024, WO Franschhoek
Planted in 1982, 400 metres above sea level on Table Mountain sandstone, unirrigated. A more dusty, spicy, dried straw and herbal expression. A more mineral, flinty, linear style with circa 2g/l RS. Steely, lean and delicately savoury with a peachy, stony finish. Serious class.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Lynx Winery Viognier 2021, WO Franschhoek
Graves and pebbles on old alluvial soils. Rich and honied, showing plenty of peachy stone fruits, mealy savoury notes, wet straw, honey, bees wax and delicate wood spice notes. Plush and textured, with bright acids, a creamy, glycerol, honied palate texture. A very classy example aging well for a 2021.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wildeberg White Blend 2023, WO Franschhoek
Started in 2018 with first vintage. 100% Semillon from the Landau Vineyard. Semillon and 5% Semillon Gris harvested and vinified together. Fermernted and aged in 600 litre Stockinger barrels, 20% new. Steely, ripe, tangy with a dusty Granitic minerality, tangy bright acids and a cut apple, peachy concentration on the finish. Very classy and sophisticated.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Haute Collection Amphora Chardonnay 2024, WO Franschhoek
Creamy, talc, lemon curd, dusty, from a 1983 vineyard on alluvial valley floor soils. Early picked, then fermented in Amphora. Stony pithy aromatics, flinty reductive hints, pure lime and citrus, light, finessed elegance in a very pure, hands-off expression. Delicately leesy, steely acidity and vibrantly fresh.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
La Bri Barrel Select Chardonnay 2024, WO Franschhoek
Young vine 8-year-old Chardonnay with three specific clones. (548, 277 and CY95). Delicately malty, mealy, biscuity top notes before savoury spicy lemon peel, a bright tangy sweet – sour acidity with a delicate vanilla pod kiss on the finish. Very expressive, complex and delightfully fleshy and long. Impressive.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
La Motte Reserve Chardonnay 2024, WO Franschhoek
Cool, smoky and classical with a pronounced struck flint reductive character. Fermentation started in stainless steel before being transferred to barrel. Intense, vibrant and very gastronomic. Steely, lemon and lime focus.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Chamonix Reserve Chardonnay 2023, WO Elgin
A complex mineral, lemon and lime complexity, layered with herbs, stony minerality and a hint of orange blossom. Lovely lift of lime citrus, salted caramel, zippy intensity and a really delicious energy. Superb.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Great Heart Chardonnay 2022, WO Stellenbosch
Classic Stellenbosch Chardonnay with depth, earthy nuances and mineral spice. Quite a pronounced vein of leesy mealy biscuit notes from 7 months ageing on its lees. Classic peaches in honey, lemon cordial and a cool, creamy finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Paserene Chardonnay 2019, WO Elgin
A touch reductive still with a hint of honey, chamomile and kerosene, with a delicate oak footprint from 30% new French oak. Rich and green fruited, toasty, mealy with complex savoury wood spice nuances. Ageing well, this has plenty of legs to go further. No rush.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Terre Paisible Vigne d’Or Chardonnay 2022, WO Franschhoek
UC Davis 1 clone with thick skins, whole bunch pressed, racked into barrel for an inoculated Champagne yeast fermentation with circa 10 months ageing. Delicate reduction shows struck flint, lime peel, smoky nuances. Steely, mineral chalky and wet stone minerality and a lovely classical old-world finish. Classy.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Stony Brook Ghost Gum Chardonnay 2025, WO Franschhoek
548 clone shows bright and zesty with a hint of pyrazine leafy spice, wet chalk, grey slate and subtle white citrus. Palate is steely, bright and nervy, full of tension, linearity and coolness, displaying hints of pear drops, lemon citrus and delicate vanilla notes. 50% new French oak, 11 months in barrel. Lovely.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Red Wines:
Rickety Bridge Regna Loca Cinsault 2025, WO Paarl
1954 Old Vine Cinsault, incredibly lifted and perfumed, Granitic soils, this has lift, concentration and intensity. Violets, rose petals, Turkish delight, dried cherries. Taut, vibrant and fresh, nervy, intense and superb complexity.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Great Heart Pinot Noir 2022, WO Elgin
Dusty aromatic lift, touch of whole bunch spice, savoury, smoky brambly and delicately Granitic and earthy. Paul Cluver fruit, the red and black fruits are brambly and pithy, spicy and supple with good length.
(Wine Safari Score: 90+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Haute Collection Pinot Noir 2023, WO Franschhoek
Circa 4 to 5 tons per hectare, 4-day cold soak, 11 months in barrel. Minty choc spice lift with eucalypt, peppermint crisp, and wild strawberry spice. Intense concentration, piercing, tangy and focused. Impressive.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Chamonix Reserve Pinot Noir 2024, WO Franschhoek
14 months in French oak blond toast barrels, 50% new. Bright and pure, crystalline, sour cherry, lovely purity, elegance and precision with just a delicate hint of mint and eucalypt on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Lynx Winery Grenache 2023, WO Franschhoek
Vines are 25 years old with a regrafting from Cabernet Sauvignon in 2009. There is a broody black cherry, Granitic, wet slate complexity. Wild and candied on the palate, exotic, spicy and red fruited with a cherry cola kiss on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
La Bri Syrah 2023, WO Franschhoek
Planted on alluvial sands with the use of circa 5% Viognier co-fermented with the Syrah, all picked together in mid-March. A very harmonious style, in barrel for two years, 18% new, yielding balance, black berry fruits, pepper, spicy charcuterie and juicy, tangy fruit length. A very accessible wine with lovely approachability. Delicious.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Old Road Wine Co. Single Vineyard Pepper Wind Syrah 2024, WO Franschhoek
Fermented in small 1-ton fermenters, then basket pressed, with a portion in 600 litre ceramic pots. Delicate tarry notes, black currant, blue berry and black cherry. Picante, fresh and focused. Impressive and enticing.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
La Motte Reserve Syrah 2024, WO Cape South Coast
A vineyard lost in a flood so incorporates circa 30% Elim with the 60% Franschhoek Syrah and a splash of Stellenbosch Cabernet. Very cool and kelpy, liquorice, with a long linear, polished finish. Yum.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wildeberg Red Blend 2023, WO Franschhoek
100% Syrah from Bo-Hoek in Franschhoek. 30% Whole bunch fermented is older 600 litre old barrels with ageing for 9 months. Dried herbs, thyme, garrigue, savoury black berry fruits. Creamy, polished and very attractive with wet slate, black cherry and creamy tannins. Truly classy!
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Stony Brook The Max Red Blend 2022, WO Franschhoek
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Pithy, black berry fruited expression with graphite, creating an opulent, ripe, picante, accessible fleshy texture with delicately spicy, kelpy, sappy, tobacco leaf notes. Cool, mineral and restrained layered with saline black current with a maritime finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Antonij Rupert Optima Red Blend 2022, WO Coastal Region
38% Cabernet Sauvignon, then Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Cool, savoury and elegant, the 30% new oak is well integrated, showing black currant, black plum and an earthy note. Sleek, vibrant creamy palate, lovely balance, that’s compact and fine grained. Wow, really delicious.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Paserene The Union Red Blend 2016, WO Tulbagh
Shiraz, Carignan and Mourvedre. All from Tulbagh fruit, the aromatics a broody medley of red and black fruits, savoury, earthy and delicate charcuterie notes with a hint of salinity.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Lynx Winery Spirit of Lynx Red Blend 2019, WO Franschhoek
Bordeaux blend led by Cabernet Sauvignon, savoury, toasty, tilled earth aromatics, leafy, mulberry fruits. Full, textural and plush, silky, velvety, tannins with a lovely long creamy finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Paserene The Marathon Red 2019, WO Tulbagh
100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Tulbagh, 30% new oak, aged for 24 to 30 months ageing with another year in barrel. Plush, creamy, powerful blue – black fruits, a touch lactic with a full, velvety finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Rickety Bridge Regna Loca Cabernet Sauvignon 2024, WO Franschhoek
Pretty, blue black fruits, tart, steely, saline and bright, delightfully cool, creamy and bright, fresh and crystalline with a black berry finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
La Motte Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, WO Stellenbosch
From Helderberg fruit, only 7km to the sea on decomposed Granite soils. Show classic cool, kelpy, saline, black currant and black cherry with oyster shell. Fresh acids, a harmonious 13.85% Abv. with 40% new oak used, makes for a serious wine.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
La Bri Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, WO Franschhoek
Gunpowder, spice, graphite, salty black currant with white flower hints. Plush, attractive and deliciously accessible, bright acids, glassy texture and a pure, linear finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Stony Brook Ghost Gum Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, WO Franschhoek
Earthy, black currant, touch of tertiary, diesel rag, mulberry, plush sweet fruited and complex with a maritime hint. Super expressive.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Holden Manz Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, WO Franschhoek
A deep earthy tilled earth note, plush earthy Cabernet, black currant, black chai tea with a hint of tobacco leaf. Plush and full in the mouth, expansive, accessible with a kiss of coffee bean brûléed oak complexity.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Great Heart Cabernet Franc 2021, WO Franschhoek
Spicy and saline, this shows graphite, black cherry and salty liquorice, coffee bean spice and a picante finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Holden Manz Cabernet Franc Reserve 2022, WO Franschhoek
Picked mid-April, this shows cool, creamy black berry layers and a nose with hits of cedar, graphite spice and picante lead pencil. Plush, velvety, full and harmonious, this has breadth and depth, plushness and subtle, understated power. Very classy, powerful with a tight grained tannin expression. Superb.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Antonij Rupert Cabernet Franc 2020, WO Franschhoek
Sweet red fruits, perfume, red currant, sappy sweet cedar, fleshy red currant melange. Super creamy, lactic and elegant, silky, supple, soft and accessible. A very classy expression.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
(On my recent trip, I want to thank all the Vignerons who generously gave me their time to taste and chat about the current state of play in the beautiful Franschhoek Valley: Anthonij Rupert Wines, Babylonstoren, Chamonix, Great Heart, Haute Cabrière, Holden Manz, La Bri, La Motte, Le Lude, Lynx, Old Road Wine Co., Paserene, Rickety Bridge, Stony Brook, Terre Paisible, and Wildeberg.)
Located in the Franschhoek Valley in the Western Cape winelands, the Holden Manz Wine Estate has built a reputation for wines of precision, elegance, opulence as well as quiet ambition. Founded with a passion for craftsmanship, the estate blends old-world winemaking sensibility under winemaker Thierry Haberer, with a distinctly modern spirit, evident not only in the wines themselves but in the striking art and architecture that define this Franschhoek property.
Among the estate’s most celebrated whites is their Reserve Chardonnay, sourced from carefully selected sites across the Franschhoek Valley and the Banhoek Valley in Stellenbosch. Extended lees contact and regular batonnage give the wine remarkable texture and depth, while notes of citrus, grapefruit, and white flowers unfold against a backdrop of balanced, integrated oak use. It is a chardonnay that manages to be both generous and refined, full-bodied, yet fresh and deliciously vibrant.
At the estate’s pinnacle sits Elysium, its flagship red blend. Born from a rare occurrence, Merlot and Syrah ripening simultaneously on the farm, Elysium is hand-picked, hand-sorted, and co-fermented in new French oak, resulting in a wine of striking concentration and harmony. Produced only in select vintages and in very limited quantities, it stands as the estate’s most ambitious expression of place and craft. Together, these wines capture the essence of Holden Manz: bold, meticulous, and deeply rooted in their Franschhoek terroir.
Holden Manz Chardonnay Reserve 2023, WO Western Cape, 13% Abv.
This Reserve Chardonnay from Holden Manz opens with an enthralling aromatics that’s bright, fragrant and deliciously complex, packed full of crystallised lemon slices, candied green melon and green apples dipped in salted caramel. In the mouth, there is real precision and balance, the mouthfeel harmonious, textural and fleshy with a glycerol concentration, picante phenolics of lemon peel, citrus bon bons, and a hint of spicy green apple on the finish. Bright, fruity and succulent while remaining spicy, minerally charged and decidedly sophisticated, this is another superb effort from Holden Manz. Drink now to 2032+.
Of all the wines in the Holden Manz range, the super premium Elysium is undoubtedly the most ambitious, opulent and hedonistic expression. Super ripe, full bodied and certainly no wilting daisy when it comes to concentration, this co-fermented Merlot – Syrah, only produced in years when these two grapes ripen at the same time, manages to elicit the best qualities from both cultivars, with the Merlot offering up plush, creamy, dense blueberry and black berry fruit nuances with the Syrah adding a savoury complexity, sweet Christmas spices and an enticing bramble berry wildness. Full throttle, seamlessly textured, dense and fleshy, the tannins are incredibly finessed and sweet, the acids well integrated beneath lashings of ripe black fruits. A powerful creation that retains a suave textural elegance with only a slight alcohol warmth accompanying the long, sweet fruited finish. Enjoy now and over the next 6 to 8+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Holden Manz wines are imported into the UK by Vindependents and sold retail by specialist South African merchants like Museum Wines and Woodwinters in Scotland.
Holden Manz is often described as “the hedonistic heart of Franschhoek.” Lying in the top corner of the Franschhoek Valley, Holden Manz Wine Estate continues to establish itself as a benchmark producer of unashamedly plush, opulent, hedonistic wines. Embraced by dramatic mountain peaks and nurtured by the valley’s rich loam soils, this unique microclimate yields fruit of notable depth, ripeness and structural refinement.
While the estate is justly famous for its muscular Bordeaux blends, it is perhaps their Syrah and Semillon that truly showcase the diverse capabilities of this multi-layered terroir. Their Syrah, in particular, is always opulent, ripe and highly expressive, with multiple releases showing plush layers of sweet violet perfume, black plum compote, roasted coffee beans and brûléed oak spice characteristics. But in a very much juxtaposing, slightly atypical Holden Manz style, their Semillon delivers a wonderfully cool, fresh, and crystalline personality loaded with pithy lemon peel, white blossoms, and a vibrant, tangy mouthwatering acidity that keeps the palate energetically alive. Two diametrically opposing styles showing that this estate should not be pigeon holed.
Holden Manz Semillon 2023, WO Franschhoek, 12.5% Abv.
This 2023 is a fabulously bright, crystalline pale gold yellow that simply bristles with energy. Coming from the Franschhoek Valley, one of the Cape’s true Semillon homelands, this wine shines with taut, mineral aromatics showing delicate tart white citrus, honeysuckle, fresh lawn cuttings, saline briney notes together with crushed oystershell and delicately herbal green leaf nuances. The delicately prickly aromatics follow to a cool, steely, intense palate with a pronounced wet stone minerality, tart yellow plums, green apple skins, and a lovely pronounced line of acidity on the linear finish. This is a top drawer Semillon expression that can confidently stand tall amongst the finest examples in the Valley. Drink now and over the next 10+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW
Holden Manz Reserve Syrah 2020, WO Franschhoek, 15% Abv.
While the aromatics and ripeness on this opulent Reserve Syrah suggest a warmer vintage, on the contrary, 2020 in Franschhoek was not considered a warm dry harvest with the growing season widely celebrated as a cooler, wetter, and highly favourable vintage that marked a welcome relief from the severe, multi-year drought that plagued the Western Cape between 2015 and 2018. On this impressive reserve wine we see lush, plush, bold aromatics of savoury black plum, blueberry compote, salty black liquorice and delicate burnt sugar and molasses nuances. The palate deceptively screams Southern Rhone, showing a creamy blue and black berry fruit concentration, savoury hints of cured deli meats, chargrilled charcuterie and a creamy lactic oak kissed concentration on the bold, hedonistic finish. The earthy Chateauneuf-du-Pape’esque character will certainly appeal to many connoisseurs who like their Syrahs with a little more ‘meat on the bone’. Drink now to 2034+.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Holden Manz wines are imported into the UK by Vindependents and are widely available retail from South African specialist merchant Museum Wines and Wood Winters in Scotland.
