Cabernet Franc

Tasting With the Franschhoek Vignerons – An Exploration into the Valley’s Premium Quality Winemaking and Its Unique Terroirs…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 3 Comments

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.)

Winshaw Vineyards’ New Releases Tasted and Reviewed – A Trio of Impressive Stellenbosch Reds…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Located in the soon to be certified new Eerste River ward merely 5 kilometres from the False Bay ocean on the southern side of Stellenbosch along Baden Powell Drive in Lynedoch, Winshaw Vineyards has quietly built a reputation for red wines that capture the soul of this storied Cape wine region. Here, ancient Granite soils and cooling Atlantic breezes create the perfect tension between ripeness and restraint, allowing a cool climate balance and freshness that defines every bottle in their premium red wine collection.

The flagship reds draw on Stellenbosch’s classic varietals, namely bold, structured Cabernet Sauvignon with notes of blackcurrant and cedar; velvety plush Merlot layered with plum and dark chocolate; and elegantly red fruited Cabernet Franc, making expressive Bordeaux-style blends that marry power with elegance. Each vintage is shaped by their meticulous hand-harvesting, low-yielding vines, and extended barrel maturation in French oak, coaxing out an impressive level of complexity.

In the Winshaw vineyards with Pierre Winshaw.

What sets the Winshaw Vineyards premium range apart is a commitment to terroir-driven winemaking, selecting only the very best fruit from their circa 50 hectares of vines and minimal intervention winemaking in the cellar that lets the character of the land speak for itself. For those seeking a taste of Stellenbosch’s world-class red winemaking heritage, the Winshaw Vineyards premium reds offer both artisanal craftsmanship, quality and a genuine sense of place, vintage after vintage. 

Winshaw Vineyards Malbec 2025, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.

This must be one of the most consistently high quality Malbec wines produced in South Africa. Year after year the Winshaw brothers make a rich, purple coloured expression packed full of red and black berry fruits, delicate Christmas spices with the cultivar’s archetypal sweet sapidity tightly interwoven into the wine’s fabric. The 2025 shows massive concentration, a silky plush textural luxuriousness framed by fresh acids and a long, effortless black berry laden finish with a delicate kiss of vanilla oak spice. Simply delicious.

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

Winshaw Vineyards Bill Winshaw 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv.

A blend of 63% Cabernet Franc, 24% Merlot, and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, shows seductive perfumed notes of red currants and black cherry with an overlay of salty black liquorice, graphite and sweet salted caramel oak hints. This wine has the depth of a fine Bordeaux blend combined with the elegance of a premium Cabernet Franc. A beautifully classy expression. Drink now to 2036+.

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

Winshaw Vineyards Charles Winshaw 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv. 

A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 13% Cabernet Franc, this classically styled Cabernet Sauvignon led expression shows archetypal aromatics of violets, black cherry and black currant compote with hints of graphite, sweet cedar and wet loam nuances. The palate is decidedly denser and riper than the Bill Winshaw blend, showing notes of stewed black plum, light silky tannins, caramelised black berries, and a delicately mineral vein that continues with persistence to the finish. Plenty of substance or “gras” as the French would say, making this the stand out wine in the Winshaw range in 2023. Drink now to 2038+.

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

The Winshaw wines are imported exclusively into the UK by South African specialist merchant Museum Wines based in Salisbury.

The Iconic Kanonkop Estate Prepares for the Release of the New Paul Sauer 2023 Cape Bordeaux Blend…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Kanonkop Estate is widely regarded as the South African wine industry equivalent of a Bordeaux First Growth. Situated on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg mountain in Stellenbosch, this fourth-generation family-owned estate is famous for its single-minded focus on premium red wines, drawing from old, dry-land vines planted in decomposed granite soils.  While Kanonkop is globally legendary for its Pinotage, the undisputed crown jewel of the estate has to be their Paul Sauer Cape Bordeaux Blend. First released in 1981, it is still regarded as one of the Cape’s true pioneering Bordeaux-style blends along with Meerlust’s Rubicon red blend.

Named after the current owners’ grandfather, a prominent statesman and viticultural pioneer, the Paul Sauer is simply a masterclass in elegance and power. The wine is typically a blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (traditionally around 70%), supported by Cabernet Franc and Merlot. True to its classic styling, it is aged for circa 24 months in 100% new French Nevers oak barriques.  

What truly sets the Paul Sauer apart is its incredible finesse, purity and power combined with a notable aging potential, easily rewarding cellaring for 20 to 25 years or more. Its iconic status was permanently cemented globally when the impressive 2015 vintage became the first South African wine to receive a perfect 100-point score from Master of Wine Tim Atkin (which was also rated 98+/100 on A Fine Wine Safari almost four months earlier). No doubt it’s a special wine every vintage, the Paul Sauer remains the archetypal complex, layered Bordeaux blend packed with cassis and cedar and always underpinned by incredibly fine-grained polished tannins. Regardless of which winemaker is at the helm, in true Bordelaise style, the Paul Sauer red remains an absolute benchmark for New World Bordeaux blends.

Kanonkop Estate Paul Sauer 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv. 

A blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, and 16% Merlot, the 2023 Paul Sauer shows a cool, tight, broody aromatics with intricate top notes of violets, black currant leaf, black cherry, blue berries, fynbos and subtle saline maritime notes with the oak still playing a background role even at this youthful stage. The palate is silky soft on entry, incredibly cool, strict, and focused with a fantastically fresh taut acid back bone together with a lovely ‘low pH’ feel, the fruits bristling with energy and a weightless, crystalline intensity. Very classical in the true sense of Paul Sauer vintages but undeniably elegant and incredibly polished. True die hard Kanonkop collectors are going to absolutely love this new release! Drink from 2026 to 2050+.

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

Kanonkop Estate Black Label Pinotage 2024, WO Stellenbosch, 14.4% Abv.

Made from the only north facing Pinotage block on the estate, all the others being southwest facing, and also their oldest vineyard planted in 1953, the wine is aged in 225 litre Burgundy coopered barrels from Francois Freres and Trumeau. The nose reveals dark alluring aromatics packed full of broody black berry fruits, crème de cassis, kirsch cherry liquor, mulberry compote and a smokey brûléed toasty exoticism. Framed by deliciously fresh but deeply embedded acids, the texture is majestically concentrated and pure silk in the mouth, almost akin to a turbo charged Grand Cru Burgundy. Such pristine harmony, beautifully bright acids and an effortless intensity on the finish. Wow! Another Pinotage block buster on the way! Drink from 2026 to 2045+.

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

The Kanonkop wines are imported into the UK by Seckford Wine Agencies. Contact:

Pippa@seckfordagencies.co.uk

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

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

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

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

Chris Groenewald from Pounding Grapes Winery.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Terracura 2025 Syrah, WO Swartland, 13.2% Abv. 

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

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

Contact Andrew@woodwinters.com for allocations and pricing. 

Bellevue Estate Continues Its Unstoppable Rise – Tasting Their Impressive New Releases…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The Bellevue Estate in Stellenbosch is the oldest commercial producer of Pinotage in South Africa, having produced both South Africa’s first bottled and award winning Pinotage. Bellevue’s story is one of bold decisions and forward thinking. When Pieter Krige (P.K.) Morkel couldn’t find Gamay vines in 1953, he embraced a pioneering South African cultivar: Pinotage. This decision not only shaped Bellevue’s identity but also contributed to the global recognition of Pinotage as a uniquely South African wine. “We currently work with the oldest average vine age in Stellenbosch with our youngest block 25 years old and our oldest being 73 years old” explains long time winemaker Wilhelm Kritzinger.

Among the Bellevue Estate red range is a very special wine with a profound sense of place from one of the oldest commercial Pinotage vineyards in the world, planted in 1953. When the maiden 1959 vintage won trophies galore, Pieter Krige Morkel was crowned South Africa’s new ‘king of wine’. His hands-off approach then is replicated today by winemaker Wilhelm to let the grace and wisdom of the old vine vineyards shine through.

Beyond their historic Pinotage, the estate also possesses one of the five oldest Cinsault vineyards in South Africa, planted in 1952, which now forms part of their illustrious Heritage range. But in 2026, the Heritage range will be joined by their newly branded 1976 Old Vine Chenin Blanc that used to go into their Eselsgraf Reserve Chenin Blanc. Another sublime highlight is undoubtedly their phenomenal Cabernet Franc, a wine that won the Red Wine Trophy at the Michelangelo Awards with the 2022 vintage, and again last year, with the 2023. In this tasting, I review the new release 2024, and predictably, it’s business as usual. Finally, there is a reason Stellenbosch is known as the “Kingdom of Cabernet” producing some of the most exciting examples of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Cape winelands.

Bellevue Estate Eselgraf Chenin Blanc Reserve 2024, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 13% Abv. (1976)

Bright, juicy floral aromatics with green apple, green melon, rock candy and dried hay. Piercing concentration leads the charge on the palate, tangy, fleshy and delicious mouthfeel and weight supported by green apple pastille, pear and white peach. Beautiful typicity with punchy intensity.

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

Tasting with Bellevue Sales Manager Luan Aucamp.

Bellevue Estate Chenin Blanc Reserve 2025, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 13% Abv. 

Not since the release of the 2021s has there been a South African harvest that has created as much excitement among producers and consumers alike as the 2025 vintage. When you taste this stunning hand harvested bush vine Chenin Blanc you really see the vintage in all its glory, the aromatics deliciously pure, vibrant and lifted, bursting with complex layers of green apples, white peach rock candy, talcum powder, and a delicately sweet fynbos spice after its rained. The palate is pure, intense, and concentrated with a chiselled, tangy fresh acidity that coats the mouth, preparing your taste buds for bursts of Granny Smith green apple fruits with a splash of tart yellow grapefruit citrus. Crisp and pure yet crystalline and textural, this wine is like a very well-tuned orchestra with every instrument playing in perfect harmony. Drink this stunner before it sells out. 

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

Bellevue Estate Heritage Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.

This delightful new 2025 Chenin Blanc definitely sings the praises of this exceptional vintage in the Cape, boasting exotic aromatics of Muscat grape jelly, green honeydew melon, white peaches, and honeysuckle over complexing hints of wet straw and savoury leesy nuances. With such a ripe concentrated vintage such as 2025, you get to experience the full breadth and depth of this Old Vine Chenin Blanc that’s expertly balanced with tangy fresh acids, a delicate sweet and sour vibrancy together with a gently Granitic mineral salinity. Supremely harmonious and balanced with a majestic textural elegance, this youthful wine should develop a real personality with a few more years in bottle. This is another superb embryonic blockbuster from Bellevue. Drink from 2027 to 2040+.

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

Bellevue Estate Pinotage 2020, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

Classical aromatics of savoury earthy black berries, cured meats, tilled earth and sweet Christmas spices. Acids are bright and the red and black fruits crunchy and intense, the mid-palate sleek and savoury. Punchy, approachable, and easy drinking.

(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Bellevue Estate Malbec 2022, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.

An exotic terroir driven aromatics laced with Buchu, fynbos and Eucalyptus complexity with black sappy berry fruits, chocolate peppermint crisp and dried herb spice. The acids are crisp and fresh, the black sappy berry fruits minty and attractive with brightness, a lifted black fruit energy and a sleek, mineral-tinged powdery tannin finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Bellevue Estate Atticus 2023 Cape Blend, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

33/33/33 – new, second, 3rd fill oak barrels used for ageing the 40% Pinotage, blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. The aromatics show an attractive melange of creamy sappy black berry fruits, packed with earthy dried herbs, granitic minerality and savoury meaty hints.  The acids are tangy and energetic, the red and black bramble berry fruits creamy, extracted and fine grained, finishing with serious power, minerality and length. Classy wine that punches above its weight.

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

Bellevue Estate Tumara 2023 Cape Bordeaux Blend, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

The only thing possibly more exciting than a top Cabernet Sauvignon from Stellenbosch is a full throttle, five cultivar Cape Bordeaux Blend, and this 2023 is an assemblage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The aromatics have many of the earthy, loamy, freshly tilled earth notes of the pure Cabernet Sauvignon but then reveals multiple extra layers of sweet violets, white blossoms, sweet black currants, black cherry and a delicate graphite minerality. The palate is plush, polished, and focused with a textural generosity consistent with the 2023 vintage, with all fruit brought in before the late season harvest rains. Once again, the mouthfeel is creamy, supple, and fine grained with sweet pliable tannins, soft well integrated tangy acids and a long, delicately toasty, brûléed finish. The oaking is expertly managed, marrying pure, plush fleshy fruits, leaving a sensation of hedonistic harmony and balance on the finish. A supremely well-constructed wine that also has legs for further beneficial ageing. Drink now and over the next 10 to 12+ years. Such a delight to drink.

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

Bellevue Estate Reserve Collection Pinotage 2021, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv. 

Aged in 50/50 new and second fill French oak barrels for 22 to 24 months. The aromatics are deep and broody with layers of black berry, creme de cassis, damson plum, mulberry, tilled earth, vanilla pod and sweet Christmas spices. The palate breadth and balance is impressive, dense, tight grained, harmonious and intense without losing balance and elegance. This wine ticks a lot of boxes and shows a lot of commercial appeal.

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

Long time Bellevue winemaker Wilhelm Kritzinger.

Bellevue Estate Reserve Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

Aged in 60% new and 40% second fill French oak barrels, the aromatics are pure and regal, a Cabernet Sauvignon expression that shows why Stellenbosch is truly world class. Deep, dark black fruited aromatics with creme de cassis, black cherry, and spicy mulberry with Christmas spices, hints of tannery leather, black chai tea and cigar box. The acids are fresh and crystalline but tightly interwoven with structured black fruits, subtle hints of leafy, earthy dried herb spices, finishing with length and intensity and a subtle mineral undertone. Very classy indeed with plenty of stuffing for a cooler, fresher vintage.

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

Bellevue Estate Reserve Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

The Bottelary ward of Stellenbosch is prime Cabernet Sauvignon country and this delightful 2023 is a very classy expression, the aromatics deep, sumptuous and complex. There is an extra dimension of ripeness and density on the 2023 nose with deep, savoury tilled earth aromatics that melt into notes of wet tobacco leaf, earthy black currant and damson plum fruits with just a hint of pressed violet perfume. In the mouth, this wine is broad and creamy with the texture of velvet that is caressed by soft silky tannins, sweet fleshy black and blue berry fruits before a dusty, wet stone graphite-laden minerality on the finish. The extraction is expertly handled offering a plush, luxurious, fleshy depth of fruit with a genuinely accessible, generous opulence. So delicious already, why keep this too long in the cellar when you can enjoy its tangy, vibrant, fleshy opulence now. Drink now to 2036+.

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

Bellevue Estate Reserve Collection Cabernet Franc 2023, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

Aged in 100% New French oak for 20-21 months. Shows classic Cabernet Franc notes with great varietal typicity – cedar, spice, tree bark, dried herbs and perfumed black berry fruits. The palate is cool, crisp and distinguished with sweet baking herbs, earthy leafy spice, tea leaf, lead pencil and tangy fresh black berry fruits on the finish. Tight knit, grippy, densely fruited and quite complete for the vintage. Undoubtedly among the top expressions of Cabernet Franc in SA!

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

Bellevue Estate Reserve Collection Cabernet Franc 2024, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv. 

The Bellevue Estate’s Cabernet Franc quality is synonymous with premium quality winning multiple awards year after year. This 2024 is another outstanding example that combines the vintage condition’s translucent fruit purity and freshness with the winemaker’s pinpoint precision to yield a wine of outstanding beauty. The aromatics are stand out, supremely plush, perfumed and layered with sweet violets, sappy cedar, and cinnamon spices over hints of tea leaf, red currants and blue berries. Cool, precise, and attractively chiselled, there is a real elegant classicism to the texture, with satin soft tannins, bright lemon-like tangy acids and a long, piercing red fruited persistence on the finish. What a truly magnificent wine. Get your hands on a bottle at all costs! Drink now to 2036+.

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

Bellevue Estate Heritage Range Cinsault 2024, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 13% Abv. 

Undoubtedly, one of the most famous premium Cinsault reds produced in South Africa, this 2024 shows intricate, complex aromatics laced with rose petal, potpourri, raspberry herbal tea, red cherries, fynbos, dried herbs, dusty stony minerals and intricate Turkish delight nuances. The palate is tight knit, compact and intense, deliciously sweet fruited, incredibly concentrated and intense with a sleek, harmonious mineral texture. A phenomenal expression of old vine Cinsault that combines power, intensity, precision and purity. Simply breathtaking. Drink now to 2050+.

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

Bellevue Wine Estate Heritage Pinotage 2021, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

Few Pinotage wines are as evocative as the Old Vine wines from Bellevue Estate. Incredibly deep, dense, dark black fruited aromatics reveal notes of violets, black berries, chocolate peppermint crisp, sweet raspberries, berry herbal tea and white pepper notes. On the palate there’s a pronounced menthol brightness and tart berry freshness together with delicious, sweet Christmas spices, delicate fynbos hints and exotic Asian spices. Beautifully powerful with immense drinkability and accessibility with an underlying seriousness. This is premium Pinotage… but not as you know it. Drink now to 2041+.

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

Bellevue Wine Estate Reserve Pinotage 2023, WO Bottelary, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

The 2023 Reserve Pinotage is an impressively complex expression of this grape from one of South Africa’s finest proponents. The aromatics are deep and broody, revealing layers of polished mahogany, bay leaf spice, vivid black and blue berry fruits, mulberries, and subtle caramelized vanilla oak spice nuances. The palate is full, fleshy, and noticeably broad and glycerol with a vivid acid frame that balances the sweet black fruit concentration with a beautiful freshness and supple, delicately creamy tannins. A bold, fleshy, opulent style of Pinotage with plenty of character and seductive charm. Drink now to 2036+.

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

The wines of Bellevue Estate will be available in the UK soon from South African specialist merchant Museum Wines.

Bordeaux En-primeur 2025 – Part 2: The Wines of Martin Krajewski – Chateau Clos Cantenac and Chateau Seraphine…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The 2025 Bordeaux vintage is defined by a paradox of extreme heat yet produced many wines with surprising elegance. After a mild winter, an exceptionally early and uniform flowering in mid-May set the stage for an accelerated growing season. However, the defining characteristic was a series of intense heatwaves in June and August, with temperatures peaking near 42°C.

The result was a year of remarkably low yields but also intense, pure concentration. Small, thick-skinned berries – particularly in the Merlot – produced wines with deep colour and rich phenolic structure. While the heat initially threatened to block ongoing ripening, critical rains in late August combined with cooler night temperatures preserved a “crystalline” acidity that distinguishes 2025 from the more opulent and hedonistic 2022 vintage.

Key Highlights:

• Quality vs. Quantity: Exceptional aromatic intensity and ripe tannins, though volumes are down roughly -15% due to heat-induced berry shrivelling.  

• Terroir Success: Clay and limestone soils (notably in Saint-Émilion and Pomerol) thrived by regulating water stress.  

• Style: Early tastings suggest a “modern classic” – combining the power of solar vintages with a refined, fresh finish and moderate alcohol levels (averaging 13.5–14%).  

For collectors, 2025 stands as a “vigneron’s year,” where precise harvest timing was essential to balance its natural fruit density with graceful acids.

Petit Cantenac 2025, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, 13% Abv.

The 2025 Petit Cantenac stays true to the vintage and displays an incredibly intense, lifted, “crystalline” purity and perfume with piercing notes of violets, crushed red cherries, black currants and red currants with a delicate dusting of leafy spice, freshly cut cedar, and subtle notes of Asian five spice. The palate shows a mouthwatering crunchy structure, tightly delineated acids and a steely tension that envelops the bright red and black berry fruit concentration. The tannins are tense and sinewy rather than muscular, holding the ripe fruits in perfect balance. This is essentially a “modern classic” with a cool demeanour, crunchy bright acids together with a potent, focused depth of fruit. Forward and elegantly accessible in style but simultaneously quite a serious expression. Drink from 2028 to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 92-94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Clos Cantenac 2025, Saint Emilion Grand Cru. 13.25% Abv.

Once again, the 2025 Clos Cantenac Saint Emilion Grand Vin is a 100% Merlot offering that will be aged for 12 months in 40% new oak barriques and 60% in second and third passage barrels. While this wine’s aromatics share an exotic, lifted exuberance with its junior sibling, Petit Cantenac, the perfume and fragrance is that much more intricate, broader, and more intense, showing sweet violets, rich ripe black berry fruits, crème de cassis, blue berries, black cherries and pronounced Christmas gateau nuances. There is a lingering hint of spicy new oak in the background, but this wine is decidedly plush and hedonistic with an impressive classical elegance. The palate is tight knit, cool and incredibly focused revealing a tight grained, stony minerality, hints of cigar box, tobacco leaf, black cherry compote and tart cassis on the finish. This wine possesses all the composure, freshness and seduction of a truly great Bordeaux vintage. Dink from 2028 to 2045+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94-96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

L’Innocence de Seraphine 2025, Pomerol, 13.5% Abv.

Many drinkers imagine Pomerol wines being 100% Merlot, but this example is a 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc assemblage. The aromatics are true to form – lush, plush, exotic and hedonistic with fragrant notes of sweet violets, red currants, black cherries and frais de bois wild strawberries. Complexing veins of black chocolate run deep into the wine, complimented by notes of wet tobacco and dried baking spices. The mouthfeel is full, glycerol and textural revealing hints of vanilla pod spice, picante black berries, creamy tannins and a savoury black liquorice finish. This wine has all the power of Pomerol fruit but with a slightly softer, more integrated, harmonious finish. This wine offers great value for Pomerol lovers. Drink from 2028 to 2040.

(Wine Safari Score: 92-93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Chateau Seraphine 2025, Pomerol, 13.5% Abv.

We often like to compare second wines to their Grand Vins but this Seraphine is in a completely different league. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the wine will be aged in a selection of 300 litre new French oak barrels and amphorae. Thereafter, the wine is racked off into French oak barrels (45% new and 55% second and third fill) where it will be matured for 12-14 months to harmonise further. On the nose, this is pure hedonistic joy – vibrant, lifted and enticingly fresh and perfumed showing bay leaf and thyme spice. Notes of fresh violets, savoury black cherries, earthy loam, and damsons plum nuances melt into earthy black currants and a sappy wood spice persistence. The concentration is notable, the acid freshness and creamy fruit concentration simply breathtaking, buffered by incredibly supple, creamy fine grained tannins. An intricate, powerful, complex expression that is sure to impress Bordeaux lovers! Drink from 2028 to 2040.

(Wine Safari Score: 96-97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

EP and back vintages of Clos Cantenac and Chateau Seraphine are available from specialist UK merchant Museum Wines.

Vilafonte Releases Their New 2023 Vintage Series C and Series M to a Chorus of High International Praise…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

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.