Gyles Webb

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Reveal Two Exciting New Releases – Tasting their Sophisticated Reserve Merlot 2022 and Chardonnay 2023…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

In an age before the Young Guns and Swartland Rhone Rangers, the region of Stellenbosch was king apparent. Seen as the most premium of wine regions close to Cape Town, Stellenbosch was also the historical home of some of the earliest land grants and established wine estates once you moved beyond the limits of the Constantia Valley. While the fortunes of the Stellenbosch region and its top producers may have ebbed and flowed over the decades, the mid to late 1990’s definitely marked the last high-water mark for many of the region’s top producers. One name that was and still remains synonymous with top quality wine production is Thelema Mountain Vineyards, located next to Tokara Estate and just on the other side of the valley from Delaire-Graff.

The famed Thelema Merlot Reserve.

The past successes and established fame of Thelema might have been slightly overshadowed by the advent of the new wave of Young Gun producers, but looking at the estate today, the Thelema Estate is once again producing some of the best quality wines in Stellenbosch. With the global spotlight well and truly back on Stellenbosch internationally, now is the time for its producers to reassert the premium winemaking proposition the region is so blessed to possess.

The Thelema Chardonnay 2023 is one of the top Stellenbosch expressions on the market.

Many producers have put up their hand to lead the charge and Thelema is most definitely one of them. With several new red and white Thelema releases about to hit the market, I took a look at two of their true classics… their Chardonnay 2023 and their Merlot Reserve 2022. Reviews on the Rabelais 2022 and The Mint Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 to follow soon.

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Chardonnay 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.

Made from vines planted in 1989, 2000 and 2009 on decomposed granitic Hutton soils using clones CY3 and CY5, the wine was fermented and matured in 228 litre French oak barrels for 10 months, around 35% new oak with the balance all in multiple passage barrels. This crystalline 2023 Thelema Chardonnay simply shimmers in the glass with a canary yellow pale gold and just the faintest of green tinges on the rim. The aromatics are delightfully enticing, offering a deliciously complex bouquet of lemon blossom, lime peel, tangerine, pithy white citrus, green apple rock candy and delicately savoury biscuit notes that combine seamlessly with a stony granitic hint of reduction. On the palate, the incredibly pithy, mineral, bitter lemon and lime cordial character is seriously mouthwatering with an underlying wet stone minerality, a classically taut steely mouthfeel and a long, bracingly fresh drying finish. This is a seriously grown-up Burgundian-styled expression of Chardonnay showing pinpoint purity combined with a pronounced saline, mouth-watering persistence. I simply love it! Drink on release and over the next 5 to 8+ years.

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

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Merlot Reserve 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.

5.1 g/l TA | 3.5pH

The Thelema Reserve Merlot is aged for 18 months in 55% new French oak barrels and always offers up that extra bit of complexity and depth that is so often lacking on Merlots in the Cape. The vines, planted in 1988 and 2000 are in the prime of their life and confidently offer up a perfumed aromatics of oregano and thyme herbs, potpourri, and mint leaf before richer, more opulent notes of freshly baked cherry crumble, caramelized red plums and earthy black currant emerge from the glass. Plenty of youthful energy abounds, with the sweet sappy cedar and delicately toasted vanilla pod oak spices leading your palate down a path of seduction, where fruit purity is paramount and the soft, silky, fine-grained mineral tannins are neatly hemmed in by bright, integrated, refined acids and tangy red cherry and macerated strawberry pastille fruits. This is a wine of balance and elegance with its own unique sense of supple, understated intensity and textural harmony. This is already an absolute joy to drink now but hold on to your hat as this ‘Reserve’ beauty will shift gears in 3 to 5 years’ time and offer up an altogether more succulent, complex expression. 

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

The Thelema wines are available to the trade in the UK from Enotria & Coe.

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

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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)

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Release a Tantalising Selection of New Stellenbosch Wines from 2021 and 2022…

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Thelema is one of the most famous estates in the Stellenbosch region and since 2015 has firmly returned to the top of their game. In many ways, the answers to rediscovering their newly energised glory have all been found by returning to the original terroir based principles which made this estate one of the most sought after brands back in the 1990s under the leadership of Gyles Webb.

Of course, while Thelema is proud of its acclaimed Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot legacy, they are not resting on their laurels, but instead are also championing one of South Africa’s new darling grapes – Grenache. The 2022 vintage is an exciting interpretation made from Stellenbosch fruit that looks set to rival some of the finest local expressions from the Swartland and Piekenierskloof regions.

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Merlot 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

An incredibly sleek, soft textured Merlot red that’s beautifully supple, delicate and generous with classical aromatics of red currants, liquorice stick, chocolate peppermint crisp, black berries, sweet cedar spice and stony graphite nuances. The palate texture is delicate yet precise, seductively light footed and sleek with silky red berry fruits, creamy powdery tannins, and a mouth filling breadth that’s weightless yet at the same time substantial. While this wine doesn’t possess the added structure of the Merlot Reserve cuvée, it’s still very suave, accessible and delightfully pure fruited. Drink from 2026 to 2034+. 

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

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.

The 2021 Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon represents another highly anticipated release from one of Stellenbosch’s preeminent producers. Four years from vintage, the 2021 is evolving beautifully, displaying aromatics that veer more towards the black fruit spectrum as well as a cool, sleek, disarming purity of black currant and damson plum fruits with floral layers of violets, sweet cedar spice and black berry herbal tea nuances. The palate shows a tightly wound weightless fruit concentration together with an edgy, tensile tannin structure intelligently framed by fresh, crisp acids that lend a real vitality and energy to the wine. A truly commendable vintage that offers a majestic sense of finely honed power and composure with a black tea and dried kelp infused finish. This is yet another cellar worthy classic. Drink on release to 2040+.

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

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Grenache 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv.

This Thelema expression of Grenache is fabulously sleek and charming, impressively polished and pinpoint with perfumed aromatics of violets, red bramble berries, raspberries, bay leaf herbs and minty milk chocolate. The texture is cool and polished, the palate weight light to medium bodied, showing impressive clarity and purity, spicy red berry fruits, hints of cherry cola, a deliciously tangy fresh acidity, and a spicy, silky tannin finish. A wonderfully vibrant Grenache full of panache. Drink now to 2032+. 

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

Thelema Chardonnay 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv. 

Always daunting following a vintage like the blockbuster Thelema Chardonnay 2021, but with the 2022 release, we have another substantial white wine that was aged for 10 months in 228-litre barrels of which 35% was new French oak. The aromatics are complex and utterly enticing, balancing notes of wet granite, pithy lemon peel, yellow grapefruit, freshly baked pastries and dried herbs before subtle struck flint reductive hints. The palate is crystalline, bright and fresh with a creamy vanillary oak spice that melts away gently into yellow citrus, candied green apples and tart white pear. This is a wine that will please a lot of Chardonnay drinkers with its classy oaking, crisp vibrant acids and its long, concentrated fleshy finish. Classic Stellenbosch Chardonnay done well! Drink on release until 2032+.

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

The Thelema Wines are imported into the UK by Enotria Wines.

Reviewing The New Release Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon 2018…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Always one of the more notable single varietal Cabernet Sauvignon releases of the year, this 2018 vintage from Thelema Mountain Vineyards is certainly a wine that is going to appeal to collectors of premium Stellenbosch Cabernet. With some of the most exceptional terroir in the Western Cape, Thelema have rightly resurrected and restored their premier league standing as one of the most sought after and age worthy wine producers in the Cape, a position they held throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is produced from three clones of Cabernet, namely 46c, 169A and 338c which were planted at 2,000 to 2,300 vines per hectare in 2002, 2003 and 2008 on decomposed granitic Hutton soils. 2018 was a warm dry vintage with a late start resulting in a smaller crop yield of well structured, intense grapes. All fruit was destemmed, crushed and pumped into stainless steel tanks and saw two aerated pump-overs per day during fermentation before being racked into barrels for malolactic fermentation and an additional 18 months of ageing in French oak barrels, 40% of which were new.

A lot of consumers have stocked up their cellars with a good proportion of wines from the 2015 and 2017 vintages and quite rightfully so. These were probably the two greatest vintages modern-era winemaking has ever seen in South Africa. But I would caution consumers on tucking into these two great vintages too early in the same way many European consumers did with the opulent and seductive 2009 and 2010 Bordeaux reds. Indeed, they were very hard to resist such was their immediate overt appeal. My advice would be to buy into the 2018s and 2019s that are being released in South Africa at the moment to allow the more coveted 2015s and 2017s to be savoured on more special occasions in the future.

Thelema Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, WO Stellenbosch, 13.83% Abv.

2.1g/l RS | 3.48pH | 5.7g/l TA

On opening the 2018 Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon, it is clear to see that this is a cooler, leaner vintage style. The aromatics are about as classic as you’ll find for premium Stellenbosch Cabernet with an initially high toned exuberance of pressed violets, tilled earth, iodine, kelp, black currant together with very well integrated notes of sweet sandal wood, cedar spice with the obligatory broody baritone graphite nuances never far away. On the palate the wine begins with a steely textural sternness with plenty of tightly wound spring tension, saline cassis, black berry and bright crunchy acids. Allowed to breath for 5 to 6 hours, this serious wine starts to shed some of its linearity to gain extra palate layers of sweet fleshy black berry fruits, complex spicy tannins and a long dark chocolate and black currant finish. Cellar this classic vintage for ideally 2-3+ years more before revisiting and drink comfortably over the next 10-15 years.

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

Thelema Estate Making the Most of Merlot – Tasting the Merlot Reserve 2017…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

There is no doubt what so ever that when you taste a new vintage of Thelema, whatever the cuvee, you just know that the estate is on the ascendancy again with wine quality rising to match its historical reputation as one of South Africa’s most famous and revered producers. This wine certainly is a real surprise for a South African Merlot and exhibits a taut, fresh palate texture and classism that has more in common with the great old Thelema Merlots from 1994 and 1995 than with more recent expressions from the early 2000s.

 

When I speak of Thelema on the ascendancy, I speak purely from a UK centric stand point as I am confident to say that in the home market, the Thelema brand has never been more revered or admired. This Merlot is yet another step in the right direction for Thelema as they strive to cement their rightful place in the international world of fine wine.

 

Thelema Estate Merlot Reserve 2017, Stellenbosch, 14 Abv.

This wine exhibits alluring aromatics of dark pithy black plum, black berry spice, sweet leaf, earthy red currants, plum sauce and a cornucopia of led pencil wood spice, dried herbs and sweet cedar notes. Texturally, the palate weight is super sleek and taut harking back to the classical styles from the mid 1990s despite the elevated alcohol level at 14 abv. The tension, verve and stony minerality wash across the palate finishing with a long lingering note of sweet black bramble berry spice and a subtle cedar complexity. I love the linearity, precision and focus that is often absent in the majority of other South African single varietal Merlots. This wine’s crystalline acids bring an energy and crispness that frame the wine in such a classical manner. While I have never claimed to be a massive fan of single varietal Merlot unless from California, the Right Bank of Bordeaux or from pockets of Tuscany, I fail to see how much better this variety can perform solo in a South African context unless you blend in other grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc or Petit Verdot. This 2017 Reserve certainly tastes like a keeper. For the record, the 1994 and 1995 Thelema Merlots are still going strong! Maybe it’s time to drink up and replace with a few bottles of this impressive new wine?

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

Another Cooler Climate Wonderland – Tasting the Sophisticated Sutherland Reserve Chardonnay 2016…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

The Sutherland Reserve Range consists of three premium wines, a Reserve Grenache and a Reserve Petit Verdot, both cultivars not normally associated with Elgin, as well as the Reserve Chardonnay, a variety for which this region has become known as one of South Africa’s leading areas.

“Selecting the Chardonnay for the Reserve Range was a bit of a no-brainer. The cool climate, Tukulu soils and the proximity to the ocean that lies nine kilometres away makes for about as ideal a South African Chardonnay site as one could wish for,” says Gyles Webb.

The grapes for the Sutherland Reserve Range are hand-picked in Elgin and transported to the Thelema winery in Banhoek, Stellenbosch for vinification.

Sutherland Elgin Reserve Chardonnay 2016, 13 Abv.

Aged for 10 months in French oak, there is a mouth wateringly complex bouquet of spicy macerated lemons, boxwood, sweet bergamot zest, brioche and crushed gravel with high toned notes of lime peel and citrus blossom. The palate is super linear and taut with a pronounced steely acidity and serious verve and vigour. A supremely Old World proportioned wine that has masses of classical cool climate restraint and complex nuances of flinty struck match reduction that intermingle with lemon grass, dried thyme and sour green apple bon bons on a racy mineral finish. This is a wonderfully impressive Reserve Chardonnay from Elgin that will appeal to drinkers looking for a more sophisticated, restrained expression of Chardonnay. Drink now or cellar for 3 to 5+ years.

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