Every year, one can point to the annual release of the Vilafonte Series C and Series M reds as two of the most important and noteworthy new Cape Bordeaux blends to hit the market. These two wines have, since their maiden releases in 2003, cultivated a committed global following among fine wine connoisseurs and passionate collectors alike. With the focus firmly on premium quality, each subsequent vintage is highly anticipated both in the wine trade and among consumers. The 2023 vintage was obviously a much more complicated harvest for many than either 2022 or 2021 due to persistent rain across much of the Cape, necessitating further clarification of Vilafonte’s picking dates from winemaker Chris de Vries.
“The 2023 vintage reminded us how swiftly light can turn to shadow, and how timing alone can separate fortune from misfortune” Chris de Vries opined. “Outstanding early conditions carried us through harvest, our final lots secured only days before March 4th brought a week of rain that might have rewritten the story entirely.” Picking at Vilafonte began on February 2nd and continued until March 1st, a slightly extended window, shaped by a warm first half of February followed by a cooler close. This shift tempered ripening, allowing balance and freshness to define the fruit.
Berry weights reflected the season: Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc were modestly smaller than average, lending natural concentration, while Cabernet Sauvignon berries were slightly larger, contributing generosity and an approachable tannin profile. Although March delivered over 60 mm more rain than the norm, the Vilafonte harvest was safely picked before the downpours, leaving the Vilafonte team among the fortunate few who carried the season’s promise intact into the cellar. The resulting wines show a poised tension between ripe black fruit and lifted freshness, framed by fine tannins and a classical structure. “Opulence is tempered by clarity, and the 2023s stand as wines of both immediate allure and assured longevity” Chris de Vries concluded.
Vilafonte Series C 2023, WO Paarl. 14.5% Abv.
The 2023 Series C is a blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 12% Malbec and 7% Cabernet Franc and offers up classic Vilafonte aromatics of sweet black currants, saline crème de cassis, blueberry compote and wet tobacco leaves. Fabulously opulent and exotic on the nose, the wine has all the Series C hallmarks that has made this one of the most desirable Cabernet Sauvignon blends produced in the Cape, brimming with not only intense pure black berry fruits but also complex earthy layers of tilled loam over hints of graphite, dried herbs and warm buttered brown breakfast toast. The palate is sophisticated, silky, and lithe, neither weighty nor muscular, but rather sleek, picante, and spicy with cedar and vanilla pod notes, a dusting of cocoa powder, and a weightless black currant fruit concentration. There is a youthful, sinewy freshness and a tightly wound core of energy that should see this wine age gracefully for a decade or two.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Vilafonte Series M 2023, WO Paarl. 14% Abv.
The 2023 Series M is a blend of 41% Merlot, 38% Malbec, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc and displays a seriously opulent, showy Series M plushness and generosity combined with plenty of refinement and purity. The aromatics are vibrant and youthful revealing intense layers of blue and black berry fruits, bay leaf spice, damson plums and black cherry compote with a magical dusting of vanilla pod oak spice. In the mouth, the wine is marked with a fabulously creamy, silky texture, delicate notes of graphite and cocoa powder, saline crème de cassis and mulberry fruits with a pronounced mineral interplay on the complex finish. Once again, I’m super impressed at the intensity, power, and concentration Vilafonte achieves with their Series M cuvee – a wine that epitomises luxury, generosity, and sophistication. Drink on release until 2040+.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Vilafonte wines are imported to the UK and distributed to trade by agent John E. Fells.
It’s that time of year again! Tasting the unique micro expressions from some of South Africa’s top producers is no easy task. It used to be a real expose of some really unique wine styles of the ever evolving South African wine industry, but now, it feels like producers are evolving, maturing, and certainly playing it a little safer. Is that a bad thing? No, not at all!
Speaking to tasters, collectors (at the tasting) and producers, the feeling was very much that ALL wines were impressive and worthy of praise. But, many did feel that the innovation had been slightly dialled down in the name of premiumisation and in order to offer the wider global fine wine market a unique selection of wines that can be offered to incredibly fussy international merchants and collectors in a congested fine wine market place – wines that can’t be compared and contrasted to anything already available on the market.
Some will reflect on these wines and feel that they are not sufficiently “different” from the regular cuvées offered on the commercial market, but one has to bare in mind that many of the buyers engaging in the CWG auction are not in a viable position to access workable / commercial quantities of wines from these top producers now that European allocations have become so tightly controlled and limited. The CWG breaks that mould and expands the market for South African fine wine, bringing some incredibly high quality wines to a wider, new generation of collectors and connoisseurs. That alone should surely be celebrated. I for one remain a MASSIVE fan of the CWG concept and auction process and encourage enthusiasts to buy with confidence whether bidding directly or buying through a merchant channel like Bordeaux Index.
Scores at the doors…
AA Badenhorst Family Wines ‘Out Of The Strong Comes Forth Freshness’ Carignan 2024 – 93+/100
The Saldanha Wine & Spirit Co. Saldanha Pale Dry SEA, SALT, SAND AND WIND N.V. – 95/100
Ataraxia ‘Sympathy For The Pinot’ Pinot Noir 2024 – 94/100
Martin Smith originally made a name for himself producing some of the early vintages at the Vilafonte Winery in Paarl before starting his own winery project under the Paserene label. After taking on an investor, a new winery and tasting room were completed in Franschhoek in late 2017.
Known for his skill in crafting impressive Cabernet Sauvignon based reds, Martin has also latterly cultivated a top reputation for some very accomplished Chardonnays. The 2022 vintage in South Africa produced a smaller grape crop than the previous year, but the quality of the wines, particularly reds, is considered to be high quality. The cool weather during the growing season led to slower ripening and striking flavour and colour development. While Stellenbosch generally had a larger crop, other regions experienced challenges like disease pressure and sunburn. The harvest started later than usual due to the cooler season yet the results are vastly different to the taut, crisp, fresh linear styles of 2021. But 2022 offers ripeness, elegance, fleshy and an accessible concentration much like the 2020 vintage.
Paserene Midnight Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, WO Western Cape, 13% Abv.
This is an impressive Cabernet Sauvignon from this fleshy, ripe vintage. With an invitingly deep ruby red colour in the glass, the aromatics are packed full of perfumed violets, black raspberry jam on warm brown toast, salty black currants, and red cherries over notes of black berry herbal tea, granitic and graphite minerality. Medium bodied, the palate shows a classical 2022 styling with fine grained silky tannins, a weightless red and black berry fruit concentration but also a lovely fleshy depth and purity in the mouth. This is a beautifully polished, soft, supple accessible Cabernet Sauvignon that is perfect for drinking on release but will reward a further 5 to 8 years of ageing.
Regardless of who you speak to, the general consensus is that the 2022 vintage conditions in the Cape reverted back to more “normal” conditions after the unusually cool and extended harvest of 2021. But like many good vintages that follow great vintages, the resulting wines have to work that much harder to capture the imagination of fine wine consumers. At Vilafonte, the team have delivered another exceptionally fine trio of wines that has something for everyone.
A cool wet October and November 2021 saw above average rainfall leading to vigorous growth in the vineyards which required extra work to manage canopies. January and February 2022 saw multiple heat spikes in keeping with more ‘normal’ vintage conditions in the Cape. There was some variable ripening across cultivars and plots ultimately leading to a fairly late, drawn-out harvest season which began nine days later than predicted and which lasted for over four weeks from February 19th until March 17th. The resulting wines show density and concentration rather than heaviness with well integrated harmonious acids.
The approachability of the Seriously Old Dirt blend makes this wine a perennial favourite with fine wine lovers looking for exceptional quality and value without compromising fruit, structure or power. The Series C is also another stand out Cape Bordeaux Blend that celebrates the incredible quality of Cape Cabernet Sauvignon. But if it’s sheer hedonism you are after, the Series M is once again a dead ringer for an opulent, showy, Right Bank Merlot dominated Bordeaux blend. With a 1st of November release date for all three wines, these are definitely wines you’re going to want to make space for in your cellar.
Seriously Old Dirt by Vilafonte 2022, WO Western Cape, 13.5% Abv.
After the rich, fresh, characterful wine of 2021, the Seriously Old Dirt 2022 blend has certainly turned out to be another impressive creation from the dedicated Vilafonte team. A dark opaque purple black plum colour in the glass, the wine offers up bold notes of mint leaf, violets, crème de cassis, black cherries, dried thyme herbs, cigar wrapper, and hints of chocolate peppermint crisp. Medium bodied with a rich, spicy, fleshy palate, this wine has certainly carved out a name for itself based not so much on branding but more on innate quality and true value for money. The mouthfeel is delicately spicy, alluring, and supple with notes of dark blackberries, fresh peppermint tea, vanilla pod, and sweet Christmas spices that linger long on the palate, framed by picante, mineral spicy graphite tannins. This is undoubtedly an impressive second wine fashioned after the famous left bank Bordeaux expressions, and also shares the similar trait of often putting bigger Grand Vin expressions to shame. Always seamless, and nearly always the complete deal, this is THE go to wine for so many Bordeaux lovers around the world! Drink on release and over 8 to 10 years.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Vilafonte Series C 2022, WO Paarl, 14.5% Abv.
Vintage variation at wineries like Vilafonte often means little, but for the market, 2021 was the vintage of the decade to buy and covet. Like 1996 followed and surpassed 1995 in Bordeaux, could this plush and opulent 2022 excel in the shadow of the iconic 2021 Series C cuvee? In the recent months, all the 2022s I have tasted are every bit the equal of many of the 2021 wines, showing concentration, balance and freshness. Always the benchmark cuvee of the Vilafonte winery, the Series C 2022, a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 10% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc, presents itself as a rich, opulent expression packed full of salted black liquorice, sweet black berries, warm blueberry crumble and subtle aromatics of vanilla pod and cedar wood spice. The initial approach on the palate is classical and restrained, showing drying tannins and classical granitic mineral undertones but the texture is like silk, seamless, sultry and beautifully balanced with a big punchy concentration on the finish.This is high pedigree Cabernet Sauvignon done extremely well in a global context. Drink on release to 2040+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Vilafonte Series M 2022, WO Paarl, 14% Abv.
The Series M 2022 is a blend of 40% Merlot, 39% Malbec, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. Fabulously dark, rich, and opaque, this inky Merlot based blend once again boasts a sold Right Bank Bordeaux styling, with aromatics packed full of dried herbs, potpourri, spiced black plums, mulberries, and blueberry hints with a top note of graphite and gunpowder smoke. But it’s on the palate that the fireworks really light up the sky, with a cool, creamy, super fine-grained tannin texture, a picante spicy granitic minerality over plush black berry fruits and a pithy black cherry complexity. The top 2022 reds show softer, more integrated acids than the 2021 vintage but also a creamier, fleshier, more sumptuous mouthfeel with impressive generosity and an accessibility. This is another beautiful Series M expression that bridges the stylistic paradigm of Right Bank Bordeaux and New World fruit-driven opulence. Drink on release until 2038+.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Vilafonte Wines are imported into the UK by wine merchant John E. Fells.
The unique mesoclimate at Stony Brook Vineyards seems naturally suited to growing red Bordeaux varieties. There is plenty of sunshine to allow the grapes ample ripeness, while the cool night-time temperatures seal in the acidity and increase the potential for hangtime on the vine. With each vintage of The Max red blend, the aim is to craft a wine that has good ageing potential as well as rich, harmonious flavours that allow the wine to be enjoyed in its youth.
The two blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon grown on Stony Brook used for the Ghost Gum red make up the complementary components for this exceptional wine. Extremely well-drained soils ensure maximum concentration and intensity with the bunches harvested by hand at full ripeness, before being hand-sorted and undergoing a cold macerated for 4 days prior to fermentation. The 2021 vintage also produced some of the finest fruit quality that Stony Brook have seen from their Cabernet vineyards.
I visited Craig McNaught at the Stony Brook farm in March 2024 and had an opportunity to taste a selection of their excellent wines. Franschhoek Valley is undoubtedly riding high on a new era of premium quality as producers focus on the best grapes the valley can produce rather than trying to buy in grapes from neighbouring Paarl and Stellenbosch for their top cuvees. Indeed, the days of Franschhoek Valley looking to join the Paarl region seem well and truly a thing of the past as producers like Stony Brook and others push the quality of WO Franschhoek origin grapes ever higher.
Stony Brook Vineyards Camissa 2020, WO Franschhoek, 14.5% Abv.
2.0g/l RS | 6.0g/l TA | 3.48pH
Camissa means ‘sweet water for all’ in Kora, the Khoi language of the Cape, and is only produced every few years when the blend changes with each release. The 2020 edition is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot made from fruit all sourced in the Franschhoek Valley, which is then matured in 30% new French oak barriques for 24 months before bottling. The 2020 offers up soft toned fragrant aromatics of violets and dried herbs, sweet cedar, red currants and cranberry fruits alongside generous notes of chocolate praline, tannery leather, graphite and freshly brewed breakfast tea. The palate is fleshy and creamy textured, medium bodied with a plush harmonious mouthfeel with supple soft tannins and delicately fresh, integrated acids. Plenty of accomplished winemaking on display here for a wine that definitely over delivers at its price point. Enjoy this delicious red blend on release and over the next 5 to 8+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Stony Brook Vineyards The Max 2019, WO Franschhoek, 14% Abv.
2.1g/l RS | 5.9g/l TA | 3.48pH
The Max 2019 is an illustrious Cape Bordeaux Blend featuring 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot and 14% Petit Verdot in a classical ‘left bank’ expression that was matured in 50% new French oak barriques for 26 months before blending and bottling. From a powerful vintage, this blend is a wonderfully soft fulsome wine with alluring aromatics of ripe black plum, black chai tea, dried tobacco leaf, sweet herbs, gun smoke, salty black currant, and hints of sweet blueberry rock candy. The palate displays a textural depth and generosity that is incredibly seductive and inviting. The acids are taut, bright, and steely but are embraced by moreish sweet and sour black cherry and black plum fruits, with subtle hints of graphite and blue berries in the background. An intricate wine with a serious stature but an amiable finish. Enjoy now and over the next 3 to 8+ years. The perfect alternative to your ‘mid-week’ Claret.
The 2021 Ghost Gum Cabernet Sauvignon is yet another stunning expression from one of the best red wine vintages the Cape winelands have seen since 2017, 2015 and 2009. The aromatics are delightfully vibrant and fragrant revealing notes of violets, sage, potpourri, sweet black currant, black cherries, and subtle notes of cedar spice, tilled earth and a dusty granitic minerality. In the mouth, the wine is luxuriously rich, fleshy, and textural, coating the palate with creamy crème de cassis, stewed black plum fruits and sweet, dense, silky tannins all underpinned by sumptuously soft integrated acids. An incredibly harmonious wine with a finessed balance and a pristine black fruited concentration kissed with a hint of chocolate praline and spearmint on the finish. A triumphant wine for the Franschhoek fine wine scene. Drink on release and over the next 10 to 15+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines of Stony Brook Vineyards are exclusively imported into the UK by specialist merchant Museum Wines.
Established in 1982, the Cape Winemakers Guild is a collective of some of South Africa’s greatest winemakers. These 41 winemakers have been recognised as excelling at their craft by their peers within the Guild. Membership of the Guild is by invitation only and is extended to winemakers who have been responsible for the production of wines of excellence for a minimum of five years and who show promise of not only consistently exceeding industry standards, but also promoting the values of the Guild.
Over the last 42 years, the Guild’s winemakers have demonstrated a commitment to developing the local wine industry, through innovative practices and the sharing of knowledge. The Guild and its members are investing in the future of winemaking by nurturing young winemaking talent through the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust and the CWG Protégé Programme.
JD Pretorius, Gary Jordan and Samantha O’Keefe at the London CWG presentation.
The CWG meets regularly as a technical tasting group, providing its members with an opportunity to evaluate wines from around the world and to share their knowledge and ideas – ensuring that CWG members remain leaders in the art and science of winemaking.
Graham Beck CWG Extra Brut 2019 Chardonnay Pinot Noir Cap Classique (Pieter Ferreira)
Beautiful tension, precision and aromatic complexity with a very smart underlying structure, purity and freshness. Top drawer Cap Classique.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Silverthorn Big Dog Ten Cap Classique 2019 (John Loubser)
Sweet apple blossom, lemon cordial and delicate savoury red fruit aromatics. Beautiful creamy mousse, pin point structure and a dreamy finessed length. Stunning! Chapeaux John!!
Pungent gooseberry, vibrant green fruits, hints of leafy green herbs, fennel, green peas and capsicum hints. Rich, savoury style full of texture and fleshy yellow and green fruits.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Saskia-Jo White Blend 2022 (Miles Mossop)
An 85% Chenin Blanc / 15% Clairette Blanche blend, the nose is packed with bruised yellow orchard fruits, honey suckle and savoury oatmeal biscuit nuances. Full yet fresh, fleshy yet deliciously tangy, with a leesy oak spice complexity.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Beaumont Family Wines GG’s Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc 2023 (Sebastian Beaumont)
A fine stony mineral expression of Chenin Blanc with a dusty gravel minerality, fynbos, white peach and dried herbs. Lovely precision and tension harmonising with a seductive taut line of acidity. Super classy and classical.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Wines Swartland “The Gris” Old Vines Semillon 2023 (Andrea Mullineux)
Pink musk, dusty talc, sherbet Bon Bons, crunchy white peaches and green apple hints. Fabulous balance and depth with freshness, purity and pristine precision. A truly impressive fine wine with a seductively complex finish. Wow!
(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Warwick Auction Chardonnay 2022 (JD Pretorius)
Honeysuckle, lemon cordial, savoury lees and lemon biscuits. Plush, fleshy and round with a deliciously tangy acidity and a long green apple creamy finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Ataraxia Under the Gavel Chardonnay 2023 (Kevin Grant)
Aromatics of salted butter on warm popcorn with hints of lemon biscuit. Full, cool, fleshy and pure with a seductively premium kiss of oak, delicate toffee apple hints and a cool, restrained white citrus and herbal spice finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Gottfried Mocke Wine Projects Chardonnay 2023 (Gottfried Mocke)
Dusty and mineral with pithy lemon and herbs, dry bush veld and fynbos hints. Cool, spicy and picante with a delicately savoury lemon & herb butter finish.
Wild brambly, earthy, wild strawberry, red berry fruits nuances on a savoury nose. Beautifully elegant texture, fine boned and sleek with very impressive attention to detail, silky sappy tannins and an earthy focused finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Lismore The Sheltering Sky Syrah 2022 (Samantha O’Keefe)
Sweet savoury black berry fruits loaded with perfume, musk and violets. Very detailed and seductive with a meaty red berry fruited finish. Super impressive texture and focus.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Savage Wines Auction Syrah 2022 (Duncan Savage)
Deep, seductive and alluring aromatics packed full of red and black berry fruits, red currant confit, and a wonderfully perfumed creamy depth. Silky tannins, incredibly fine grained texture with a fabulous balance and length. Wow!
A fleshy, perfumed, lifted expression with red and black fruits, fleshy savoury meaty notes, sweet cherry confit and a strawberry compote finish. Silky tannins and weightless concentration combine with beautiful purity. An accomplished wine by anyones standards!
Savoury, dark fruited and alluring with exotic Christmas spices, incense and potpourri notes. Dreamy, seductive and elegantly textured with an understated power and intensity.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Luddite Tonto 2012 (Neil’s Verburg)
Sweet and spicy with savoury black berries, wild garrigue and fynbos hints. Powerful and assertive but also shows a tender, elegant textural underbelly with a weightless concentration.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Raats Family Wines Stella Noval Cabernet Franc 2020 (Bruwer Raats)
Intensely perfumed and lifted with capsicum, sweet cedar, shaved pencil spice, with a crushed grey slate dusty lift. Fabulously sweet fruited, sappy and intense revealing a creamy, alluring textural harmony. Top effort.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Strydom Family Wines The Game Changer Cabernet Franc – Merlot 2020
A plush dark fruited palate with blue and black berry fruits, sweet cherry tobacco and hints of graphite and tannery leather. A super elegant expression.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Jordan Wine Estate CWG Sophia 2022 Red Blend
Sweet blackberry and herbs, fynbos and spice. A textural masterclass. Really seductive with an enticing cool leafy complexity and a long finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Le Riche CWG Auction Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 (Christo le Riche)
Made from a 26 year old vineyard which shows a deep, dark and broody aromatics packed with sweet plum and cassis, perfumed violets, cinnamon stick and vanilla pod spice with a kiss of dried mint leaf. The palate is plush and creamy, weightlessly concentrated yet vibrant, tangy and deliciously fresh. Class act! Stunning!
(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Rock of Eye CWG Auction Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (Coenie Snyman)
Sweet Red and black berry fruits, brown toast and a stewed black tea complexity. An incredibly fine textured creamy elegance, with chalky silky tannins and a weightless concentration on the finish. A textural dream wine!
A complex aromatics of roasted coffee beans, brûléed oak, brown toast with black currant confit. The acids are fresh, the fruit intensity tangy and bright, with an underlying salinity, a sweet and sour acidity and the most silky, seductive tannin texture with a minty, herby, chocolatey kiss of oak.
The annual Cape Winemakers Guild auction takes place on the 4th and 5th of October with the Protégé Programme Auction also officially underway, with bidding taking place virtually from 6pm the 7th Oct on the @StraussFineWine website. Coveted auction lots include unique collections, rare verticals & tasting experiences with Guild members.
Please contact: kate@capewinemakersguild.com for more details on how to obtain some of these world-class, ultra rare wines!
Exceptional vintages have the ability to yield exceptional wines. Just think of 2000, 2005, 2009 and especially 2010 in Bordeaux, and perhaps 2004, 2009, 2015, and 2017 in the Cape. Without doubt, 2021 was another extraordinary vintage with ample winter rains followed by an unusually cold and wet spring and early summer. In an era of global warming and extreme weather events, getting a vintage like 2021 in the Cape must surely be a winemaker’s dream. So many I have talked to have described making wines that they feel they may never get the opportunity to make again due to the unusually cool, slow ripening conditions.
At Vilafonte in Paarl, flowering was largely even with good fruit-set, boding well for not only a healthy crop but also an ample crop. Early season growing temperatures were cool to moderate, warming gradually towards ripening, with a lack of February / March heatwaves a very noteworthy feature of the vintage. Berries were supple-skinned, bursting with flavour, showing a vibrant freshness and bold tannin structures. Harvest began on February 11th under mild weather conditions that continued for the remainder of the season. The resulting wines show a piercingly perfumed intensity, deep inky colours, sophistication and poise.
Vilafonte Series M 2021, WO Paarl, 14% Abv.
The 2021 Series M is a blend of 41% Merlot, 35% Malbec, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc that spent 22 months in French oak barrels with a 26% new oak portion. The aromatics are enticing and alluring, offering up notes of dark berries, exotic Asian spices, plum compote, black liquorice, graphite and wood smoke with subtle dried bay leaf nuances. Despite being dominated by Merlot and Malbec, the Series M often boasts a structure more in common with Cabernet Sauvignon blends, but in the cooler 2021 vintage, this wine remains very much in a Bordeaux right bank leaning style boasting precociously sumptuous notes of supple black currant fruits, mulberries, black plum with hints of cocoa powder, chargrilled charcuterie and pithy blood orange peel. Beautifully plump and opulent in the mouth, the tannins are velvety, supple and sweet, enveloping the palate and finishing with incisive saline acids and complex notions of baked blackberries, preserved plums and star anise. A wonderfully complete wine that already offers abundant pleasure in its youth. Drink on release and over the next 10 to 15+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Vilafonte wines are imported into the UK and are available to trade on allocation from importer John E Fells, and are available retail from specialist South African merchant Museum Wines.
We all know that exceptional vintages have the ability to yield exceptional wines. Just think of 2000, 2005, 2009 and especially 2010 in Bordeaux, and perhaps 2004, 2009, 2015, and 2017 in the Cape. Without doubt, 2021 was another extraordinary vintage with ample winter rains followed by an unusually cold and wet spring and early summer. In an era of global warming and extreme weather events, getting a vintage like 2021 in the Cape must surely be a winemaker’s dream. So many I have talked to have described making wines that they feel they may never get the opportunity to make again due to the unusually cool, slow ripening conditions.
At Vilafonte in Paarl, flowering was largely even with good fruit-set, boding well for not only a healthy crop but also an ample crop. Early season growing temperatures were cool to moderate, warming gradually towards ripening, with a lack of February / March heatwaves a very noteworthy feature of the vintage. Berries were supple-skinned, bursting with flavour, showing a vibrant freshness and bold tannin structures. Harvest began on February 11th under mild weather conditions that continued for the remainder of the season. The resulting wines show a piercingly perfumed intensity, deep inky colours, sophistication and poise. The Series C is scheduled for a 1st November 2023 global release.
Vilfonte Series C 2021, WO Paarl, 14.5% Abv.
The Series C 2021 is another sumptuous Cape Bordeaux Blend made up of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 10% Malbec and 7% Cabernet Franc that was aged for 22 months in 81% new French oak 225 litre barriques, with the balance aged in used French oak barrels. Winemaker Chris de Vries was very excited by the berry flavour complexity at harvest time and when you pull the cork on this wine, the 2021 vintage displays an incredibly vivid, overt, beautifully lifted, piercing array of perfumed sweet violets, iris, cherry blossom, potpourri and incense with a delicate dusting of cocoa powder and vanilla pod spice. With the cool fruited aromatic ebb and flow, delicious notes of saline black currant, black cherry, crème de cassis, sandalwood, cigar wrapper, and cinnamon spice slowly develop, all pristinely pure and fabulously intense. Medium bodied, tightly wound and layered, the sleek supple mouthfeel truly typifies the very finest premium reds produced in this classically cooler vintage. Indeed, I cannot quite recall another vintage in the past two decades quite like it, with such sweet well-rounded tannins, fresh piercing acidities and magnificently weightless, crystalline tart red and black berry fruits on the velvety, seamless palate. The jury is out on whether this is the greatest Series C produced by Vilafonte to date simply because the astounding 2016 was such a uniquely brilliant creation. Needless to say, a wine of this beauty and precision will undoubtedly be counted as one of the finest reds of the vintage. Drink on release and enjoy over the next 20+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Vilafonte wines are imported into the UK by John E Fells and are available retail from South African specialist merchant Museum Wines.
They often say the true measure of the greatness of any winery is made by assessing how good their entry level wines are every year. The Brookdale Estate in Paarl is undoubtedly a grand venture and already owner Tim Rudd has spared no expense trying to elevate the estate’s wines to the highest level possible in the shortest amount of time possible. Ambitious indeed. However, with most of the original estate’s vines having been grubbed up after purchase out of necessity, the time scale for producing the full envisaged Brookdale Estate flagship wine range has inevitably been lengthened considerably.
But every cloud has a silver lining and in the case of all the younger vine fruit coming from the new plantings, Brookdale Estate have established a very impressive entry level range… (if you can call £15 – £16 wines entry level?). But with other similarly ambitious larger scale South African wine brands like Adi Badenhorst’s Secateurs range now hitting the shelves at a similar price level, the Mason Road range from Brookdale can only be viewed as well priced considering the plaudits the whites and reds have already garnered over the past 2 years. I recently tasted through the Mason Road 2022 new releases and was suitably impressed.
The 2022 vintage will be remembered as a cool season before harvest, followed by a sudden temperature spike from January. Good vineyard practices were followed, and canopies were managed well, which delivered exceptional grape analyses and wine quality. Temperatures rose sharply during early January and accelerated the early cultivars’ ripening dates, although Brookdale harvested more than a week later than in 2021. Frequent high temperatures during February further contributed to harvest dates shifting sooner and harvesting returned to normal timing by the end of February. Brookdale were fortunate not to experience any crop losses or mildew infections leading into harvest.
From a 30-year-old Chenin Blanc vineyard planted in 1993 that was picked in four separate batches at differing degrees of ripeness, has allowed winemaker Kiara Scott to create a wine with incredible depth and presence for the price. We can all name a few budget Chenin Blanc brands in South Africa, but the Mason Road has continued to impress from day one making it an incredibly savvy purchase. The 2022 shows complex aromatics of dusty dry stable hay, fynbos, pineapple pastille, lemon cordial, white citrus and a stony granitic crushed rock minerality. Classic old vine Paarl Chenin Blanc traditionally boasts rich exotic layers of peach and pineapple fruit on the palate and this vintage is positively brimming with a tangy sweet and sour concentration, bright mouth-watering acids and a long, intense, crystalline limey finish that is both salty and tart with a pleasing glycerol gloss. Simply put, this wine performs in a manner more akin to super premium expressions of Chenin Blanc from the Cape making it something very special indeed. Drink on release and over the 5 to 8+ years.
This is a delightful coppery salmon pink Provencal-styled Rosé made from Cinsault, Grenache and Syrah with exotic and enticing aromatics of fraise de bois wild strawberries, dried apricots, hibiscus and subtle watermelon nuances over dried herbs, fynbos and a delicate granitic minerality. The palate is cool, crisp and classical but fabulously intense and evocative with a vibrant tangy sweet-sour acidity of blood oranges, raspberries, lime cordial and sour cherries before an energetic but incredibly precise, pristine crystalline finish. An instantly attractive Rosé that looks set to continue building its growing cult following internationally. Drink on release and over 2 to 3 years.
(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Brookdale Estate Mason Road Syrah 2022, WO Paarl, 14.56% Abv.
2.6g/l RS | 5.1g/l TA | 3.66pH
This is another impressive Mason Road Syrah release that aims for the stars and comes pretty close to hitting the bullseye! With a small percentage of the Syrah grapes fermented whole bunch without destalking, the nose reveals a complex array of aromatics led by sweet cherry kirsch liquor notes, hints of sweet coriander laced with red peppercorns, cured meats, bresaola, sappy vanilla wood spice and an undertone of salty crème de cassis. The palate is delightfully supple and fleshy showing an impressive density and textural breadth, while always remaining incredibly harmonious and balanced. The juicy acids add a fine tangy, mouthwatering frame from which delicious layers of black berry, bramble berry and spicy plum fruits are proffered for your palate pleasure, before the savoury finishing finale. A simply wonderful expression of Syrah offering sophistication, value for money and incredible drinkability.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Brookdale Estate Mason Road GSM 2022, WO Paarl, 14.68% Abv.
2.4g/l RS | 5.0g/l TA | 3.60pH
Despite the cooler vintage conditions running into the pre-harvest period in January 2022, warmer temperatures from February onwards have ensured a deliciously ripe and opulent red boasting exotic aromatics of crushed sour cherries, Parma violets, burnt bushveld, ripe cranberries, salty red liquorice and a broader inviting melange of summer berries. This really is a fabulously complex maiden release focusing on Grenache and Syrah grapes that were separately whole bunch fermented before a short maceration and then further ageing in 500 and 300 litre barrels. The energy and vibrancy revealed on the nose follow succinctly to the palate that’s packed full of spicy, peppery black currant fruit, tart bright tangy acids and a silky soft fine-grained finish showing a subtle kiss of salted caramel. I’m not sure how much more wine drinking enjoyment you can pack into a bottle!? Drink on release and over the next 3 to 5+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Brookdale Estate and Mason Road ranges are imported exclusively into the UK by South African fine wine specialist merchant Museum Wines.
After a highly successful 2020 Series C launch earlier this year, April sees this premium boutique winery release their latest right bank’esque expression in the form of the Series M 2020, a wine that is always built around dominant components of Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, although not necessarily in that order. Tasting the new releases from Vilafonte every year is probably the event most akin to tasting in Napa Valley itself, as the wines possess an underlying aesthetic that is very similar to the greatest estates of California. Of course, that phenomenon has not occurred by luck or chance as the foundations of the whole Vilafonte project were fashioned by owner Mike Ratcliffe along with the expert guidance of American viticulturalist Dr Phil Freese and his eminent wife Zelma Long, both long time Napa Valley industry power players.
But where this new release departs from previous expressions, though not necessarily in terms of scoring, is how the styling has seen a subtle but noticeable shift towards a more Bordeaux’esque vision of power with overt classicism and restrained potency. There is definitely something very St Emilion Grand Cru about this wine which I could not get out of my mind when tasting and reviewing this new release. Whether based on winemaking, a changing winery aesthetic or purely vintage variation, I couldn’t tell you. But all I know is that what winemaker Chris de Vries has managed to put in bottle is very, very smart indeed. Trust Mike Ratcliffe to keep consumers on their toes!
The 2019/2020 growing season brought fair and favourable conditions with a return to a more traditional cold and wet winter int the Cape. With Spring came warm, fair-weather conditions resulting in an even, two-week early bud-break. As is often the case in the Cape vineyards, windy conditions during flowering resulted in a variable berry set and looser clusters with small intense berries. Thankfully, temperatures during ripening remained modest without any heatwaves, leading to an even, measured pace of ripening and picking. By the time the national Covid-19 lockdown was announced by the national government on the 26th March 2020, Vilafonte had already processed all wines safely to barrel.
Vilafonte Series M 2020, WO Paarl, 14% Abv.
The 2020 Series M from Vilafonte reverts back to a right bank Merlot dominated blend with a 43% Merlot, 37% Malbec, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc assemblage and stands out as being particularly old world and classical in style showing pronounced notes of dusty limestone, sweet violets, lilac, dried herbs, sweet cedar, piquant black currants, black cherry and an intense black chocolate cocoa spice. But it’s the palate structure that departs from many more recent vintage releases of Series M revealing a notable St Emilion / Pomerol style elegance, richly illustrated by a fine-grained mineral restraint and a classically pithy black berry complexity that delivers a compelling tension combined with subtle hedonistic nuances. This Series M seems so very grown up, multi-dimensional and mineral-laden, finishing with mouth coating powdery tannins and a soft, plush, understated mocha-laden persistence. Another wonderful expression with incredible energy, intricate earthy accents and a seamless mineral patina. Drink from 2024 to 2040+.
