The unique mesoclimate at Stony Brook Vineyards seems naturally suited to growing red Bordeaux varieties. There is plenty of sunshine to allow the grapes ample ripeness, while the cool night-time temperatures seal in the acidity and increase the potential for hangtime on the vine. With each vintage of The Max red blend, the aim is to craft a wine that has good ageing potential as well as rich, harmonious flavours that allow the wine to be enjoyed in its youth.
The two blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon grown on Stony Brook used for the Ghost Gum red make up the complementary components for this exceptional wine. Extremely well-drained soils ensure maximum concentration and intensity with the bunches harvested by hand at full ripeness, before being hand-sorted and undergoing a cold macerated for 4 days prior to fermentation. The 2021 vintage also produced some of the finest fruit quality that Stony Brook have seen from their Cabernet vineyards.
I visited Craig McNaught at the Stony Brook farm in March 2024 and had an opportunity to taste a selection of their excellent wines. Franschhoek Valley is undoubtedly riding high on a new era of premium quality as producers focus on the best grapes the valley can produce rather than trying to buy in grapes from neighbouring Paarl and Stellenbosch for their top cuvees. Indeed, the days of Franschhoek Valley looking to join the Paarl region seem well and truly a thing of the past as producers like Stony Brook and others push the quality of WO Franschhoek origin grapes ever higher.
Stony Brook Vineyards Camissa 2020, WO Franschhoek, 14.5% Abv.
2.0g/l RS | 6.0g/l TA | 3.48pH
Camissa means ‘sweet water for all’ in Kora, the Khoi language of the Cape, and is only produced every few years when the blend changes with each release. The 2020 edition is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot made from fruit all sourced in the Franschhoek Valley, which is then matured in 30% new French oak barriques for 24 months before bottling. The 2020 offers up soft toned fragrant aromatics of violets and dried herbs, sweet cedar, red currants and cranberry fruits alongside generous notes of chocolate praline, tannery leather, graphite and freshly brewed breakfast tea. The palate is fleshy and creamy textured, medium bodied with a plush harmonious mouthfeel with supple soft tannins and delicately fresh, integrated acids. Plenty of accomplished winemaking on display here for a wine that definitely over delivers at its price point. Enjoy this delicious red blend on release and over the next 5 to 8+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Stony Brook Vineyards The Max 2019, WO Franschhoek, 14% Abv.
2.1g/l RS | 5.9g/l TA | 3.48pH
The Max 2019 is an illustrious Cape Bordeaux Blend featuring 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot and 14% Petit Verdot in a classical ‘left bank’ expression that was matured in 50% new French oak barriques for 26 months before blending and bottling. From a powerful vintage, this blend is a wonderfully soft fulsome wine with alluring aromatics of ripe black plum, black chai tea, dried tobacco leaf, sweet herbs, gun smoke, salty black currant, and hints of sweet blueberry rock candy. The palate displays a textural depth and generosity that is incredibly seductive and inviting. The acids are taut, bright, and steely but are embraced by moreish sweet and sour black cherry and black plum fruits, with subtle hints of graphite and blue berries in the background. An intricate wine with a serious stature but an amiable finish. Enjoy now and over the next 3 to 8+ years. The perfect alternative to your ‘mid-week’ Claret.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Stony Brook Ghost Gum Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, WO Franschhoek, 14.5% Abv.
2.2g/l RS | 6.0g/l TA | 3.48pH
The 2021 Ghost Gum Cabernet Sauvignon is yet another stunning expression from one of the best red wine vintages the Cape winelands have seen since 2017, 2015 and 2009. The aromatics are delightfully vibrant and fragrant revealing notes of violets, sage, potpourri, sweet black currant, black cherries, and subtle notes of cedar spice, tilled earth and a dusty granitic minerality. In the mouth, the wine is luxuriously rich, fleshy, and textural, coating the palate with creamy crème de cassis, stewed black plum fruits and sweet, dense, silky tannins all underpinned by sumptuously soft integrated acids. An incredibly harmonious wine with a finessed balance and a pristine black fruited concentration kissed with a hint of chocolate praline and spearmint on the finish. A triumphant wine for the Franschhoek fine wine scene. Drink on release and over the next 10 to 15+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines of Stony Brook Vineyards are exclusively imported into the UK by specialist merchant Museum Wines.
