Elgin

Elgin Valley’s Iona Vineyards Championing Cool Climate Elegance with their New 2024 Releases…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Few wine regions in the Cape Winelands are as climatically individual as the Elgin basin. Also home of the cash crop apples, the battle for economic supremacy is an on going battle for wine farmers. But there are producers that have doubled down and focused on producing high quality premium Grape cultivars.

Perched 420 meters above sea level on a mountain plateau that forms the coastal edge of the Elgin basin, sits the Iona winery, renowned as South Africa’s coolest vineyard site. Located in the Elgin Valley, this former apple farm benefits from a unique microclimate shaped by the icy Atlantic Ocean and frequent orographic cloud cover.  

These conditions ensure a long, slow ripening period, allowing grapes to achieve physiological ripeness at lower sugar levels. The result is a portfolio of elegant, terroir-driven wines, most notably Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, producing wines characterised by bright acidities, mineral purity, and restrained alcohol levels, often drawing comparisons to the fine European styles owner Andrew Gunn is so fond of.

I recently caught up in London with Andrew Gunn’s son-in-law Rob Macdonald, to taste through Iona’s exciting new releases. 

Iona Monopole Elgin Highlands Chardonnay 2024, WO Elgin, 13% Abv. 

This shows a cool, pithy elegance on the nose with pristine aromatics of lemon and lime cordial tightly interwoven with a pronounced stony minerality. The purity and crystallinity continue to a wonderfully bright palate that is fleshy, concentrated and fully charged showing an electric brightness, tangy green apple and lemon confit notes with a slightly phenolic, herby grapefruit-tinged finish. Surprisingly, this 2024 has wonderful flesh and midpalate stuffing, plenty of concentrated yellow citrus fruits and a delightfully long tangy acidity. A really impressive cool climate Chardonnay. Drink now to 2040+. 

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

Iona Monopole Elgin Highlands Wild Ferment Sauvignon Blanc 2024, WO Elgin, 13% Abv. 

A blend of 92% Sauvignon Blanc and 8% Semillon fermented and aged in older 300 and 500 litre French oak barrels. The first impression on nosing the wine is one of impressive complexity but also mouthwatering exoticism with the barrel ageing offering hints of quince and waxy orange peel, dried mango and subtle guava notes before a vein of more savoury, leesy white toast and biscuit kicks in. The palate is full and mouth filling, with the dried mango and papaya notes coming to the fore but certainly not in an obtrusive manner. The balance is simply spot on and the concentration and tangy acidity delicious, finishing with hints of dried herbs and lemon iced tea. This is serious Sauvignon Blanc kit for people who perhaps struggle with Sauvignon’s pungent character. Certainly, a benchmark style in the context of Elgin and the Cape. Drink now to 2038+.

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

Iona Monopole Monopole Elgin Highlands Sauvignon Blanc 2025, WO Elgin, 13% Abv.

This 2025 Sauvignon Blanc also features 8 to 10% Semillon which is all barrel fermented on top of around a 5% portion of the Sauvignon Blanc to add extra complexity and texture. This wine, from an admittedly superb Cape vintage, has intense, characterful aromatics of grassy gooseberry, yellow citrus and green apple pastille with delicate hints of guava and papaya. The palate is pitch perfect, striking a superb balance between tangy freshness, intense concentrated yellow and green citrus fruits and a subtle, slightly veiled minerality that lurks ever present. Harmonious, elegant and a true delight to drink without being too pungent or tropical. This is certainly a wine to go long on and enjoy over the next two to three summers! (Bottled under screwcap.)

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

Iona Monopole Elgin Highlands Pinot Noir 2024, WO Elgin, 13.5% Abv.

This is an enticing Pinot Noir offering from Iona displaying an impressively classical, Old World Burgundian elegance and focus, with delicious black berry and strawberry fruit notes, damson plum, black currant and a delightful Cotes de Nuits limestone mineral nuance underpinning the wine. The palate fruits are pithy and incredibly restrained and stony, adding handsomely to the feel of tension and linearity in the wine, before a finish of gravelly, powdery tannins, bramble berry spice and a smoky granitic austerity. Really quite superb. One for the Burgundy lovers out there! Drink now to 2034+.

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

Iona One Man Band Red Blend 2021, WO Elgin, 13.5% Abv.

An eclectic blend of Petit Verdot, Syrah, Nebbiolo, Mourvedre and Viognier. Normally led by Syrah at 35% to 45%, but in 2021, the Syrah from Rosie’s Elgin Brocha Farm performed so well that most of it went into the award-winning Solace Syrah 2021. Spicy and broody on initial sniff, the aromatics boast deep dark notes of dried violets, bramble berries, red currants and red plums. There is a hint of sapidity and stalky spice but also delicate herbal mineral nuances. The palate is a little more punchy and imposing, showing notable power and muscle, a dense core of damson plum, blue berries and bramble berry fruits, before a finish that is notably stony, mineral, and picante. Superbly dense, compact and tight knit with a harmonious mouthfeel, this is an accomplished red blend that shares many similarities with the finest reds of the Southern Rhone. Drinking on release but you can expect this to hit its straps at 8 to 10 years old and then go on further. 

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

Iona Solace Syrah 2022, WO Elgin, 13.5% Abv.

Sourced purely from 100% Syrah fruit from Rosie Gunn’s Brocha farm, following on from the block buster, high scoring 2021, this 2022 is really quite a piece of work, with intensity, purity, and superb focus. The aromatics boast cool restrained black fruits, saline black currant, savoury bresaola cure meats, liquorice and a fresh pepper corn spice that follows on to the palate. Compact yet deliciously fresh, the palate displays a firm hand of structure and focus, supported by cool, sleek linear acids that are ever present yet notably integrated, balanced and subtle. This is another masterpiece for Syrah in the context of Elgin and the vintage, just perhaps a touch more restrained than the iconic 2021. Drink this on release to 2040+.

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

The Iona wines are imported into the UK by Alliance Wines.

Sutherland Winery Excels with Another Cool Climate Rhone White Blend 2023 Release…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Understandably, much of the international Cape white blend wine hype has justifiably been focused on Chenin Blanc based wines which often incorporate portions of Semillon, Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Semillon Gris, Palomino, Verdelho and even Chardonnay. These blends have created a unique white fine wine ‘space’ that few, if any, other wine producing nations can compete in. This category has been one of South Africa’s great wine success stories globally along with, arguably, pure varietal Old Vine Chenin Blanc.

The 2023 release was awarded 5 Stars in the Platter’s Wine Guide 2025.

But we should not forget that many producers have long been looking at alternative white varieties that have historically performed well in warmer European regions like the Rhone Valley and the Languedoc, which have far more in common with the Cape’s more Mediterranean climate than either Burgundy, Bordeaux or the Loire Valley’s more continental climates do. 

Sutherland Vineyards in Elgin is owned by Stellenbosch icon, Thelema Mountain Vineyards, being established in the early 2000s by owner Gyles Webb, to focus on small-scale, cool climate wine styles. With vineyards located just 9km from the cooling Atlantic Ocean at altitudes between 140m and 250m, the conditions are ideal for aromatic cultivars such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay and their new release Viognier Roussanne. (RRP R250 per bottle in SA.)

Sutherland Viognier Roussanne 2023, WO Elgin, 13% Abv.

Sutherland was always established to pursue cool climate expressions and this Rhone blend of Viognier and Roussanne is an aromatic white that was fermented in seasoned barrels for 10 months in order to add complexity, texture and mouthfeel. On the nose, the wine boasts aromatics of yellow stone fruits, pear, summer orchard fruits, white peaches and apricots over an intense and well-defined crushed gravel mineral dustiness with a sprinkling of white pepper and dried baking herbs. The creamy, gently glycerol palate is enlivened with a deliciously tangy fresh acidity with layers of white peach, lemon grass, marzipan, spicy herbs, and a pronounced nutty wet stone minerality, finishing with real drive and persistence. This is an impressive Rhone blend with the verve and vigour of the 2023 vintage and a delicious concentration to match. Drink this energetic beauty on release or age for 2 to 3 more years under screw cap to develop the peach and marzipan characters. 

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

Draaiboek Wines Reveal a Stunning New Pair of Chardonnays – Tasting the 2023 Onskuld and Kinkel Releases…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

Draaiboek wines may be a name new to many, but it shouldn’t be. Since its maiden release Chardonnay in 2019, this boutique brand created by five friends who met while studying at the University of Stellenbosch in the early 2000s, has grown to be one of the most respected non-brand brands flying under the radar in South Africa, known mostly to the fine wine cognoscenti, the SA wine trade, and fine wine buyers (who mostly buy it for themselves!)

Draaiboek means script in Afrikaans, and as Pieter Lemmer, one of the London based partners tells me, “…we believe every wine has a story to tell. We released our first wine in September 2020, a 2019 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge Chardonnay. We chose the name Onskuld (meaning innocence) for our first wine, to represent our innocent naivety in starting this journey (and many lessons have been learnt in the process!) We operate essentially as a negociant, buying in fruit, and so far for the Onskuld cuvée, we’ve sourced all our grapes from two single blocks of 10-year-old north-east facing Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge vines at 300 metres altitude planted on Bokkeveld shale with a high clay content. However, in 2023, the Onskuld fruit comes from just one single block of around 14 years old” according to Pieter Lemmer.

Tasting with Stephanie Wiid in London recently.

The Draaiboek wines are made by another good friend of theirs, Stephanie Wiid, from the well know Thistle and Weed winery, who they have also known for many years. Stephanie, along with viticulturalist Etienne Terblanche, have sourced and selected the fruit from La Vierge in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge to create one of the most impressive Chardonnays produced in the Cape. The 2023 expressions are simply astounding and well worth tracking down.

Draaiboek Wines Kinkel Chardonnay 2023, WO Elgin

A bright brilliant crystalline pale gold in the glass, this is another tantalising expression of cool climate Elgin Chardonnay. The aromatics are wonderfully subtle yet sophisticated, just that little bit more ‘grown up’ than most other regional Chardonnays from the wider Cape, displaying seductive notes of wet stone minerality, waxy lemon peel, yellow grapefruit, fennel root, dried baking herbs, lemon biscuits and enticing savoury, leesy nuances. The palate resonates with the same purity and clarity as the nose, showing a bright, energetic crystallinity with impressive linearity and focus on the palate and a precise, polished, fine-tuned texture that is primarily shaped by fresh, cooling acids and a fine array of concentrated pithy white citrus and green apple fruit notes. This Chardonnay represents a masterclass in classical elegance, focus and precision. Another stunner to drink on release and over the next 8 to 10 years.

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

Draaiboek Wines Onskuld Chardonnay 2023, WO Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge

The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley has been a market leader for premium Chardonnay in South Africa for over two decades, with Elgin slowly starting to muscle in on this dominance in the last 8 to 10 years. The Onskuld Chardonnay, sourced from two single vineyard blocks in the higher altitude Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge ward, combines the magical mix of power, purity, and intensity to deliver a wine that has all the crystalline purity of cool climate Elgin but with a greater fruit concentration, mineral focus, and tangy fresh piercing acid intensity. A fabulously complex wine on the nose with notes of fennel root, bay leaf, honeydew melon and green citrus, following on to a resonating palate with deliciously tangy acids that are resplendently sleek and glassy, supporting crystalline yellow citrus pastille fruits. This is a rare example of a cool climate South African wine with effortless class and precision, pinpoint focus, but also a bold, racy finish. If this wine was attempting to seduce me, I admit, I am well smitten. A true beauty to drink on release and over the next 10 to 12+ years. 

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

Draaiboek Wines are imported into the UK by specialist South African merchant Museum Wines.

Jean Smit’s Boutique Wine Expressions Championing The Cape’s Finest Terroirs – Tasting The Damascene 2023 New Releases…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

Damascene is a partnership between winemaker Jean Smit and David Curl, the former owner of Bordeaux’s Chateau Gaby. I first met Jean Smit back in his Boekenhoutskloof winemaking days when it became immediately apparent that he was going to be a winemaking talent of note. When he asked if he could send me his first official releases to review, I felt very honoured indeed. After sharing the opened samples subsequently with a fellow wine trade colleague, the stars aligned and the company we suggested as a possible UK importer, Lea & Sandeman, signed him up in a flash, and the rest as they say, is history.

I caught up with Jean in London in early November 2024 to taste his impressive new 2023 releases which will arrive in the UK in early 2025.

Damascene New 2023 Releases:

Damascene Swartland Chenin Blanc 2023, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.

Made from Chenin Blanc grown on the Paardeberg by Adi Badenhorst and from two vineyards next to Eben Sadie, planted 1971 and 1979. Vinified with whole clusters separately, followed by oxidative must handling. Fermented warm at 20-22c in 1000 litre foudre with malo prevented by chilling. Aged on its gross lees with no racking and without stirring at 6c for 10 to 11 months before going into concrete prior to bottling. 

It shows lifted aromatics of wet hay, orange peel, peach and apricot, notes of melon and bruised yellow orchard fruits with hints of tropicality under a veil of granitic minerality. The palate shows punchy concentration and a fleshy intensity, a fine savoury depth together with a glycerol mouthfeel and a classic, flinty wet stone minerality on the finish.

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

Damascene Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.

Made from a 1981 vineyard planted on decomposed granite soils on the Mooiplaas farm as well as another block on the neighbouring farm grown on Greywacke soils planted in 1972. Lastly, some fruit from a plot on the Sonop farm grown on pure shale, facing towards Jonkershoek and the Swartland in direction. 

Reveals quite a taut, steely, crystalline style with white citrus, stone fruits, lemon and lime peel with green melon, musk, and a pineapple bon bon lift. The palate is fleshy and rounded with beautiful depth and opulence interwoven with granitic wet stone notes, hints of crushed gravel, and a bright crystalline succulence. Impressive concentration, a wonderfully creamy, harmonious mouthfeel and a long, yellow and green fruited length. So pure and pristine. This is a masterclass in finessed winemaking.

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

Damascene Semillon 2023, WO Franschhoek, 13% Abv.

Fruit from the Goederust farm from a plot planted in 1962 and from a second plot planted in 1942 from a nearby farm on decomposed granite and sandstone soils. 100% Austrian foudre of 1000 litres used with both blocks containing some Semillon Gris. Same production method as the Chenin Blanc, with 11 months on its lees being careful to avoid too much reduction. “Getting the picking window right is crucial based more on the pH than acidity” according to Jean.

The aromatics are dusty and floral with white blossom, lemon peel, lemon grass, hints of dried herbs, buttered white toast, delicate wood spice and a cashew nut complexity. Supremely cool, creamy and seamless, with lemon butter, a soft fleshy mouthfeel, tangerine peel, honied peaches, and a crystalline purity on the finish with a tangy kiss of citrus. Really excellent as always.

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

Moya Meaker Riesling 2023, WO Elgin, 12% Abv.

Planted in 2006 on Bokkeveld shale soils, estate fruit that was previously used by Fledge and Co, but utilised by Jean since 2021. Working carefully with canopies to avoid Kerosene flavours, being fermented and matured in concrete conical styled containers, normally aiming for a 7 g/l RS and a 7g/l TA. Destemmed with 6 hours skin contact in a sealed off press before going into concrete for 11 months, then bottled in September.

The purity and crystalline characters are clear, beautifully fresh, vibrant and expressive boasting notes of green apple, green pear, citrus blossom, and tangy yellow grapefruit and white peach notes. Texturally, this is a masterful wine with a fleshy harmony, balance and seamlessly integrated acids, finishing with a delicately pithy, lime peel and elderflower cordial note on the finish.

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

Moya Meaker Pinot Noir 2023, WO Elgin, 13.5% Abv.

The farm boasts 110 hectares of apples and pears and 8 hectares of grapes. Currently planting some Chardonnay alongside the Riesling and Pinot Noir already established on mostly Glenrosa soils that are less ideal for apples. Pinot Noir 667 and 777 Burgundian clones utilised. All fruit destalked and destemmed with no carbonic maceration. 20% new Burgundian 300 litre French oak used.

The wine offers a very pure and elegant expression with a delicate tune of minerality and orange rind, pomegranate, pink grapefruit and a subtle dusty minerality. The tannins are incredible fine, the texture fresh and vibrant with rose petal perfume, blood orange and a tangy ruby grapefruit finish. Amazing subtlety, class and clarity.

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

Damascene Syrah (Polkadraai Hills) Stellenbosch 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.

Taut, broody and spicy, the peppery red savoury nature of the fruit speaks of Karibib’s class and stature. 75% whole cluster, with the rest whole berry. Kept on the stems for 3 weeks max before being pressed into 2000 litre Stockinger foudre vats for 10 to 11 months. Planted 300m above sea level in 1996, 14kms from the False Bay.

A complex melange of sultry red peppercorns, Asian five spice, star anis, and sweet savoury potpourri notes. The palate is pure, taut, and tightly wound with the most incredibly fine grained tannins, silky mouthfeel and savoury, mineral weightless fruit concentration on the finish. Intensity over concentration of weight. Really very classy and grown up.

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

Damascene Swartland Syrah 2023, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.

Dry land farmed from an east facing plot next to Goldmine and Roundstone with soils that are a mixture of brown shale and schist. Another 20% of fruit added from a granitic site on the Jakkalsfontein farm with a 75% whole cluster portion.

The aromatics show a lofty, piercing perfume, intensity and florality with violets, rose petals, waxy crayons, incense, potpourri, and vibrant red berries, cranberry, wild strawberry and pithy red currant fruits. The minerality is beautifully chalky with a graphite vein and a pithy, wet river pebble complexity. Seamless balance, harmonious and incredibly well made, finishing with a seductive black olive and red bramble berry intensity. Superb!

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

Damascene Ceres Plateau Syrah, WO Ceres Plateau, 13% Abv.

Vines planted on Bokkeveld shale at 1,050 metres altitude. 60% whole bunch with full submerged cap for 10 days. 2000 litre conical vats for 10 to 11 months ageing.

The aromatics are earthy and brambly, full of wild flowers, lilac, red apple, wet loam, and damson plum with delicate sweet orange peel and black cherry nuances. The palate is sleek and silky, beautifully polished and fine with intense fine grained tannins, weightless zero gravity fruit concentration and a chalky, gravelly, dusty, minerality on the finish. A unique expression of Syrah.

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

Damascene Cabernet Franc 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv. 

From a plot sourced from the Mooiplaas Farm. Shows complex aromatics of mint leaf, sweet leaf spice and a delicate herbaceousness, with an underlying tilled earth note, earthy red currant fruit, dusty minerality and subtle minty chocolate peppermint crisp nuances. The palate is cool and sleek, intense yet beautifully seductive and elegant, with velvety creamy tannins and a tangy, delicately fresh acidity. An atypical Cabernet Franc but utterly delicious!

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

Damascene Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

Made from 75% of Vlottenburg fruit on the edge of the Polkadraai Hills, grown on granite over koffieklip, and the remainder from a plot in the Helderberg on decomposed granite, only 5 Kms from the ocean facing north east. One year in barrique, this is the only wine they rack into 2000 litre conical vats for a second year so as not to dry out the wines. Beautifully silky and fresh in the mouth, weightless, vibrant and intense with blue and purple fruits, a delicate salinity, and lifted violet notes. The tannins are dreamy, the mouthfeel silky, intense but so controlled, tempered and considered. Such class and pedigree on display with this youthful wine.

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

The Damascene wines are imported exclusively into the UK by Lea & Sandeman wines.

Exploring the Exciting New Elgin Releases from Iona Vineyards with Rob Macdonald…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Andrew Gunn’s middle daughter has been living with her partner Rob Macdonald in Brixton for the past 9 years, but they are both heading back to the Cape to take up positions within the family business. Rob looks set to take care of a portion of sales and marketing duties in the Cape, but before he headed off down south, I caught up with him in London to take a look at some of their new 2024 releases. 

The 2022 vintage experienced a typical cold Elgin winter, with snow on the high mountain peaks and above average rainfall, which enabled good vine dormancy. Spring was characterised by cold and wet conditions, resulting in later bud break. The cold, wet and windy conditions continued into October and November causing uneven flowering resulting in smaller berries that have good concentrated flavours. From January to April Elgin experienced exceptional weather for the ripening of quality grapes.

Iona Monopole Pinot Noir 2022, WO Elgin Highlands, 13.8% Abv.

An incredibly pure and perfumed aromatics greet you with a fragrant embrace, showing lifted notes of cranberry and bramble berries, cracked red peppercorns, wild strawberry and red currant fruits. Wonderfully delicate and intricate on the palate, the purity and precision of fruit is once again front and foremost in the mind with a pithy bramble berry spice, silky black raspberry and cherry fruits before stony, mineral, fine-grained tannins coat the palate. The mouthfeel and textural harmony on the wine are next level, enlivened by bright tangy acids and a long, mouthwatering, juicy fruited finish with just the faintest of savoury, earthy nuances. A wine that tastes slightly riper than previous vintages but also more complete in many ways. Very classy indeed. Drink now to 2030+. 

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

Iona Monopole Fynbos Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2022, WO Elgin Highlands, 12.5% Abv.

A blend of CY95 and CY 96 clones planted in 2003 on gravel beds with underlying clay. One sniff of this wine reveals something quite distinguished and complex indeed, with teasing aromatics that carry off a showy interplay between bright yellow citrus, lemon lime notes and a vibrant stone fruit complexity that hides intricate Burgundian nutty, vanilla pod and cinnamon wood spice hints. Indeed, the nose is so seductive its hard to move past it to the palate! The first sip is fresh and vibrant, deeply seeded with a stony limestone’esque minerality and a bright grapefruit and lemon citrus fruit intensity. Texturally near perfect in the mouth, the balance and harmony simply exquisite. An incredibly fresh, complex, and seductive Chardonnay with fruit purity that trumpets the very finest terroir notes of Elgin. Drink now and over the next 8 to 10+ years. 

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

Iona Monopole Chardonnay 2022, WO Elgin Highlands, 12.9% Abv.

A blend of the four single Chardonnay vineyards on the estate including large portions of Kloof, Kraal, F4 and Fynbos, from vines planted in 2003 and 2009. On the nose, the aromatics are seductively picante and spicy, dusty, and mineral, laden with top notes of crushed gravel, subtle struck flint reduction, lemon cordial, grated limes, and subtle white pear pastille nuances. The palate shows a deliciously tangy acidity over a subtle savoury, leesy, phenolic lemon peel pithiness. This is a very grown up, mineral driven Chardonnay that trades on a nutty, stony, pithy citrus intensity rather than overt fruit and oak spice notes. Tense, lean and linear in frame, this is a very sophisticated offering that Old World Burgundian Chardonnay lovers will savour. Drink on release an over 4 to 5+ years.

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

Iona Monopole Wild Ferment Sauvignon Blanc 2022, WO Elgin Highlands, 13.1% Abv.

Made from Sauvignon Blanc fermented with indigenous wild yeasts in large oak barrels results in an incredibly complex expression of this cultivar. Cool climate Elgin is indeed a true home for this variety and this 2022 expression is a rich, bold interpretation with aromatics packed with ripe heady, savoury aromatics of lemon biscuits and savoury lees, delicate black currant leaf, mint leaf and mojito syrup before rock salt, fresh fennel root and bruised green mango nuances. The palate is intense, focused, and incredibly vibrant, simply brimming with a delicious sweet and sour acidity, sweet gooseberry, stem ginger and finishing with a delicately grassy, fig preserve complexity. The richness and glycerol, textured mouthfeel is to die for and the finish, so long you lose sight of it crossing the finishing line. Savoury and slightly wild, this wine opens up a proverbial pandora’s box of exoticism, intrigue and excitement for the Sauvignon Blanc cultivar. Drink now on release and over the next 5 to 8+ years.

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

Iona Solace Syrah 2021, WO Elgin, 13.6% Abv.

Sourced from Syrah vineyards planted in 2003 on Rosie Gunn’s Brocha farm just down the road from the main Iona winery, this 2.5-hectare site planted on fertile Tukulu soils with a rich vein of gravel, clay and sand, make for a wine with power and depth but also elegance, freshness and pure varietal character. True to form, the aromatics on this fabulous 2021 red are vibrant and pure, with pristine notes of black raspberries, black currants and bramble berries that gently melt into more spicy, peppery, red berry hints showing strawberry compote, melted tar, and salty red liquorice. The 2021 vintage was an exceptional year and the fresh, energetic palate on this wine personifies the tension, pristine purity, and intensity a winemaker simply dreams about achieving in a truly great Cape vintage. Drink on release to enjoy this wine’s youthful Syrah electricity, or cellar for 10 to 15 years.

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

The wines of Iona are imported into the UK by Alliance Wines.

Draaiboek Wines Continue to Excel with Their Cool Climate Chardonnays – Tasting the New Release Onskuld and Kinkel 2022s…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

There are many new small boutique wineries in South Africa, most of them run by young winemakers who have a full time day job somewhere big and then produce micro quantities of more interesting fine wines or quirky wines on the side in their own time, normally to exercise their creative cravings. But few of these new ventures take on main stream varieties like Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay as the market is fairly saturated already with countless big name brands.

But of course, that is exactly what Draaiboek Wines set out to do when they released their first Onskuld Chardonnay 2019 on to the market made by Thistle & Weed winemaker Stephanie Wiid. Focusing only on prime cool climate Chardonnay fruit, the Onskuld label was sourced exclusively from several contracted plots in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge ward of the Walker Bay region. Four vintages in and Draaiboek Wines has already garnered multiple awards and high critical praise from local and international commentators.

With the 2022 vintage, Draaiboek Wines releases an exciting new Chardonnay cuvee made from Elgin fruit. I visited Draaiboek Wines and Stephanie Wiid in October 2022 and had the opportunity to taste all the component building blocks of both the Kinkel and the Onskuld 2022 vintage, and from the outset, I knew these were both going to be very impressive wines. The new pair were also both recently awarded 5 Stars in the Platter South African Wine Guide, which considering the competition in this category, stands testament to the focus and attention to detail afforded to both of these wines by the Draaiboek team. If you have not tasted Draaiboek Wines yet, and you are an avid Chardonnay aficionado, you must seek them out.

Draaiboek Wines Onskuld Chardonnay 2022, WO Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, 13.5% Abv.

1.8g/l RS | 6.6g/l TA | 3.31pH

Draaiboek Wines is producing some of the most exciting Chardonnay coming out of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and this fourth release of the Onskuld Chardonnay is yet another highly accomplished wine. Spending 10 months in 45% new oak barrels on its fine lees, the minimal intervention winemaking definitely allows this cool climate terroir to shine, with aromatics full of earthy lemon peel, leesy biscuit, oatmeal, white citrus blossom and pronounced wet stone, petrichor mineral nuances. In the mouth, the Onskuld is bold and confident with plenty of cool climate acid tension over tangy lemon pastille and tangerine fruit notes. The balance on the wine is very impressive, as the fruit extract melts seamlessly into a harmonious salty crème brûlée and vanilla pod lime peel spice on the finish. There is really a lot to love about this wine which will undoubtedly appeal to connoisseurs of fine white Burgundy. Drink now and over the next 8 to 10+ years. (4,800 bottles produced.)

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

Draaiboek Wines Kinkel Chardonnay 2022, WO Elgin, 13.6% Abv.

1.8g/l RS | 6.7g/l TA | 3.32pH

This fantastic maiden release wine from Draaiboek Wines draws on the very finest elements of the cool climate terroir of Elgin to create a wine from a dry-farmed eight-year-old single vineyard situated on south westerly facing slopes, 255 metres above the coast. Fermented in French oak using 25% new barrels, the wine was aged for 10 months on its fine lees before being bottled unfiltered and unfined. The Kinkel shows a slightly tighter, more restrained aromatic profile on the nose, with subtle hints of lime blossom, lemon peel, Granny Smith apples, dusty limestone, lemon grass and white stone fruits. For all its reserve and wound spring tension, you can sense the electricity pulsing below the surface, waiting to explode on the racy, energetic, saline palate that shows subtle hints of flinty reduction. Once again, like its sibling Onskuld, the oaking is extremely elegant, pinpoint and precise, in no way obscuring the beautiful white citrus zest and liquid minerality that bristles on the taut palate. Seamless, crystalline and delightfully focused, this is a thoroughly exhilarating expression of cool climate Chardonnay and definitely a new release not to be missed! Drink from 2024 to 2034+.

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

Draaiboek Wines are imported into the UK by specialist SA merchant Museum Wines and are offered for retail at circa £36.99 per bottle.

Sam Lambson and Minimalist Wines Releases a New Single Site Elgin Syrah – Tasting the No Place Like Home Syrah 2021…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

Sam Lambson is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s rising star producers and after only four vintages (2018 to 2021), has introduced another exciting single site Syrah to his growing range. The 2020 Minimalist Wines ‘Experimental’ Syrah was produced from this same Elgin vineyard but was made differently, showing a more accessible, crunchy, fresh, herbal fruity expression compared to this very fine, focused, cool fruited 2021 bottling that is greatly elevated in stature, joining Sam Lambson’s Stars In the Dark Syrah among his more premium range of wines.

The grapes all come from Niemandsrivier, a beautiful 3 hectare vineyard in Elgin that are leased from Johan and Milanie Vosloo and farmed by the Minimalist team themselves. Planted in 2006, the vineyard features three Syrah clones on a geographically complex mix of Sandstone and Shale soils and is the perfect canvas to produce fine premium Syrah wines. Vines located in the same block can react to their environment in unique ways, says Sam Lambson, and No Place Like Home is an exploration of the variation that exists within a single vineyard. Using a mix of drone technology (with a Near Infrared Camera flying 80m above the vineyard) and good, old-fashioned soil analysis, Sam and his team identified four distinct pockets across the 3 hectare parcel, then harvested and fermented them separately before marrying them together for this unique wine.

I met up with Sam in the UK in the Autumn of 2022 and was thrilled to taste this new, premium expression of Elgin Syrah. I was one of the first wine trade professionals to taste a barrel sample of his 2018 Stars in the Dark way back in late 2018 and knew from that moment that this was the beginning of a new exciting wine. When I tasted the maiden No Place Like Home 2021 Elgin Syrah with him in September 2022, I experienced a similar feeling and felt confident that this was also the beginning of something special. Track down an allocation now before the hype goes mainstream!

Minimalist Wines No Place Like Home Syrah 2021, WO Elgin, 13.5% Abv.

An alluring and instantly impressive classically styled wine aged in neutral 228 litre French oak barrels for 16 months, reveals complex aromatics of ripe black plum, boysenberry, potpourri, sweet black peppercorns with a hint of sweet grilled herbs and black berry reduction. The intensity and precision of this 2021 are notable and follow to an elegant, medium-bodied palate that coats the mouth with sumptuous, saline cassis fruit layers, sweet smoky black currant and subtle hints of kelp and oyster shell minerality. This is another delightfully vibrant expression that will seduce many Syrah obsessives, with its 20% whole bunch portion adding an extra little complexing sapidity on the long finish. Undoubtedly a wine that is going to cause a stir… but that is exactly what Sam Lambson has become famous for! Start chasing an allocation now and drink this beauty on release and over the next 6 to 10+ years.

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

Wines available in the UK from Museum Wines from February 2023. http://www.museumwines.co.uk or email sales@museumwines.co.uk to secure an allocation. Retail price is circa £32.99 inc per bottle.

Jessica Saurwein Stakes Her Claim to Best Riesling in South Africa – Tasting the Saurwein Chi Riesling 2022…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

The maiden vintage of the Chi Riesling from Jessica Saurwein was the 2018 made from one Elgin vineyard at Casey’s Ridge on the Vrede en Lust Elgin property. From 2020, a second vineyard from the De Rust farm owned by Paul Cluver Wines, joined the blend to form 40% of the new Cuvee with approximately five tons of fruit.

From 2023 Jessica plans to up the production further taking additional tonnage from Casey’s Ridge. I recently caught up with Jessica in Cape Town to taste her new releases including the impressive 2022 Chi Riesling.

Saurwein Chi Riesling 2022, WO Elgin, 11.5% Abv.

11.5 g/l RS | 7.5 g/l TA | 3.04 pH

This is certainly a wine that has grown in stature year after year to now feature as probably South Africa’s most premium quality Riesling produced. You wouldn’t expect anything less considering Jessica’s German heritage. The aromatics are very Mosel in style with opulent layers of crystalline white peach, talc, yellow citrus rock candy, Granny Smith green apples and just the most delicate waxy mineral hint. In the mouth the wine really comes alive with explosive tart juicy mouth-watering fruits of white citrus, lime cordial, green apple pastille and white crunchy peach all assembled with impressive textural precision, focus and purity. The acidity is wonderfully bright and electric but expertly balanced by a perfect residual sugar component helping to create a very fine textural equilibrium with fabulous persistence and zippy length. Quite simply the best expression of Riesling produced in South Africa. Jessica’s hard work and extreme attention to detail should be celebrated. Drink now and over the next 10+ years.

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

The wines are available in the UK from Swig Wines at approximately £24.99pb. http://www.swig.co.uk

Lismore’s Samantha O’Keefe Comes to London to Launch Her Phenomenal New Releases – Part 2: Reviewing her Lismore Age of Grace Viognier 2020…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

In a second instalment to my new release tasting with Samantha O’Keefe, the owner of Lismore Winery in Greyton, who was recently in London for the first time in over two years, I tasted the highly acclaimed 2020 edition of her ‘Age of Grace’ Viognier.

The grapes for this release were sourced in the Bot River, Elgin and Stellenbosch. The wine was matured in a combination of concrete eggs and used oak barrels of which 10% were new for the 2020 cuvee. The Age of Grace is a wine that actually helped establish the Lismore brand globally in the mid to late 2000s. With so little top quality Viognier being grown and produced in the Western Cape, what Sam has achieved with both this wine and previous vintages of her Viognier Reserve is truly remarkable.

Viognier Age of Grace Viognier 2020, WO South Coast, 14.5% Abv.

Rich, soft and fleshy, this unique, aromatically expressive Viognier is packed full of struck flint, white peaches, tart yellow plums, yellow apple purée and delicate musky, lychee nuances with a hint of buttered white toast. Beautifully textured, fleshy and glycerol, this wine is so expressive, individual and complex with sufficient pithy phenolics, bright peach stone fruits and a luxuriously long, persistent finish in a most mouth watering way. Whether produced from the Northern Rhone or the Cape, it is not easy to make Viognier this attractive and refreshing. Bravo Sam! Drink now to 2028+.

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

Samantha Suddons Hits the Big Time with Her New VineVenom Cap Classique Thriller…

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The world of wine, like life itself, can be a topsy turvy world of highs and lows. Perhaps it’s simply the yin and yang of life? So, after a few tumultuous years of change, Samantha Suddons, the once partner and shareholder in the now temporarily mothballed Terracura Wines project, has finally released her very own labour of love – a Method Cap Classique sparkling wine aged for over 5 years on its lees before disgorgement.

I met up with Samantha in London recently to unpick the mystery behind her new VineVenom label that was launched recently in South Africa. Her first wine under the brand is a killer Cap Classique sparkler from the 2015 vintage that she has labelled Serenade. 2015 you may ask? Well, if you know anything about Sam, you will know she is a Champagne and sparkling wine obsessive and while some have questioned how she managed to suddenly release a six year old MCC, the answer is simply that this was a passion project that was never really meant for commercial day of light, producing a wine made from the 2015 vintage which was originally intended for home consumption and sharing with friends.

But having recently disinvested from the Terracura Wines business, and looking for a new project, the VineVenom brand seemed the obvious next step. The maiden wine, a MCC blend of 68% Chardonnay, 18% Pinot Noir and 14% Pinot Meunier from grapes bought in cool climate Elgin, the wine spent five years on its lees and received zero dosage. The wine was disgorged in November 2020, saw no malolactic fermentation and no oak treatment and was bottled with a 2.5 g/l RS.

VineVenom Serenade 2015 Cap Classique, WO Elgin, 12.3% Abv.

The wine shows a lovely creamy explosive mousse with a fine bubble, lovely bright tangy acids and a complex bouquet of green apple skins, grilled almonds, cardamom and spicy white citrus. The palate is full and expansive, tangy and fresh with sweet and sour acids, layers of citrus, yellow grapefruit, lemon cream biscuits, crunchy green apples and a long, dry, saline picante finish. Very impressive depth of fruit but also beautiful complexity, electric vibrancy and a stony cool climate minerality on the finish. A thoroughly accomplished wine that will titillate fellow Champagne and sparking wine devotees. (1,600 bottles produced.)

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

Sadly, as yet, there is no follow up Cap Classique to the 2015 maiden vintage. But fear not! Samantha has been busy at work producing an impressive dry Carignan / Touriga Nacional 2020 Rose, a rather premium tasting Swartland Flor Contact Chenin Blanc 2020 as well as a delicious, Vin de Soif styled Swartland 60% Syrah / 40% Touriga Nacional Rosado 2021. I tasted newly bottled samples of all of the above and they were seriously impressive. I look forward to reviewing them properly in due course closer to release. The empire building has begun in earnest.