I have been a big follower and fan of the Capensis Chardonnay wines since their maiden release in 2013. South African winemaker Graham Weerts, based in the USA for many years but now firmly back in Stellenbosch, is of course the driving force behind the label with undoubtedly a firm hand of support for many years from Jackson Family Wines US owner Barbara Banke.
On one of my last trips to the Cape winelands in 2025, I finally managed to catch up with Graham at the Capensis winery in the hills above Stellenbosch where we toured the vineyards around the tasting room and then shared a lovely sunset braai and several bottles of delicious Capensis Chardonnay – always one of my favourites in South Africa.
Myself, Michelin Star chef Roger Jones and Graham Weerts in the Capensis vineyards.The incredible views of Stellenbosch from the Capensis vineyards.
Other than a delicious bottle of Graham Beck Yin 2016 Cap Classique (the sibling of the Yang 2016 special release pair), we also enjoyed an impressively youthful bottle of the Capensis Chardonnay 2013 (94/100 GSMW) that somehow seemed to have shed much of its previous new oak character to reveal a more detailed citrus fruit purity. This 2013 was tasted alongside a current release Capensis Chardonnay 2021 (96/100 GSMW) that was taut, vibrant and coiled like a wound spring as you would expect from this excellent cooler vintage. Then we were treated to a real surprise – the first Stellenbosch red produced at Capensis from Helderberg fruit – Graham’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2023.
Capensis Silene Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
This first red release from Capensis is a classy and classical Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon from the Helderberg that is varietally labelled but also draws on the salt and pepper complexity of a 9% Merlot and a 6% Cabernet Franc addition that was matured in French oak, 30% new, for 14 months before bottling. Picked before the rains, this 2023 displays perfumed aromatics of violets and rose petals, sweet cedar and smoky Christmas spices, lead pencils, red and black berry fruits, and subtle notes of graphite and oystershell. In the mouth there is a deliciously fresh acidity that supports lush, supple sweet tannins and a medium weighted, concentrated black berry fruited finish that slowly recedes to reveal a stony, classically dry mineral finish. An excellent debut effort. Drink from 2026 to 2040+.
I have known Paul Jordaan for many years, primarily through his role as the Sadie Family Wines’ lead winemaker, where he held this position for 12 years. It was during this tenure that he co-founded the Paulus Wine Co. in 2018, with first vintages released to great acclaim in as early as 2019. Founded alongside Pauline Roux, who I have not had the pleasure to meet yet, the Paulus Wine Co. was created “to reflect their shared passion for the Swartland, organic viticulture, low-intervention winemaking and site-specific Chenin Blanc” Paul explains.
To complement Paul’s enviable decade plus of winemaking experience at arguably South Africa’s most famous and respected premium boutique winery – Sadie Family Wines – Pauline too has a commensurate amount of experience having worked vintages at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon, at Brokenwood in the Hunter Valley in Australia, as well as having served stints at local wineries in the Cape including Mullineux Family Wines and AA Badenhorst Wines, both situated in the Swartland.
At the moment, the range consists of two wines – the Paardeberg Bosberaad Chenin Banc and the Bartas Helderberg Chenin Blanc from Stellenbosch. Having now departed his winemaking role at Sadie Family Wines, this dynamic duo are free to devote their full time and energy to promoting and developing this exciting new boutique wine brand. I recently tasted their two new release cuvees from the 2023 vintage that have just arrived in the UK and was suitably impressed.
Paulus Wine Company Bosberaad Chenin Blanc 2023, WO Swartland, 13.5% Abv.
The grapes for the Bosberaad Chenin Blanc are sourced from the heart of the Siebritskloof Valley in the Paardeberg, on the southern border of the Swartland. The vineyard is owned by their good friend and third generation grower, Franziska Wickens of Waterval Farm. The old dryland grown bush vines were planted in 1980 and produce low yields of intensely concentrated fruit. Located on an east-facing ridge, the site benefits from afternoon shade, tempering the region’s warm climate. The site’s decomposed deep Granite soils also result in excellent balance, minerality and freshness. The vines are farmed organically, without certification. 2023 was a challenging vintage in the Swartland. Winter was warm and dry, followed by a dry growing season. Rain in mid-December helped to reduce vine stress and extend the ripening. Fortunately, the region did not experience prolonged heatwaves, only short 1-2 day heat spikes. However, yields were still relatively low. Paulus’s harvest began in mid-January and finished at the end of February 2023.
The Bosberaad 2023 is yet another benchmark old vine Chenin Blanc from Paul Jordaan made from Paardeberg grapes grown on decomposed Granite soils. The aromatics are true to the Swartland terroir with intricate notes of dry bushveld after the first rains, wet hay, white peach, crunchy pear, and crushed granite with just the most subtle top notes of white toast and honeycomb. The palate is packed with concentration and intensity with confident yellow orchard fruit flavours, yellow apples and pear puree all concertinaed between a pithy wet stone minerality and deliciously bright, taut tangy acids that lend great persistence, focus and clarity to the finish. The 2023 Swartland vintage was a bit of a slow burner on release but with a little extra time in bottle has revealed a veritable feast of flavour and freshness. Swartland Chenin lovers are going to want some of this gem in their cellars. I certainly do! Drink now to 2035+.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Paulus Wine Company Bartàs Chenin Blanc 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 12.5% Abv.
The grapes are sourced from a vineyard block located on a small hill on Rustenhof Farm in the Helderberg, the southernmost coastal region of Stellenbosch. Planted in 1978, the bush vines are rooted in shallow decomposed Granite soils, contributing to the wine’s distinctive mineral character. The site faces a prevailing south-easterly wind and is located roughly five kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean resulting in a notable precision, purity and tension in the wine. The 2023 vintage produced elegant wines in Stellenbosch. The Helderberg region experienced a cooler winter than average at the end of 2022, allowing the vines to effectively rest and recover from the previous harvest. Berries were slightly smaller than average resulting in excellent flavour development and intense concentration. The grapes were harvested at the end of January 2023.
Paul Jordaan and Pauline Roux’s Bartàs 2023 is sourced from a stunning old vine parcel of Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc planted in the Helderberg in 1978, and like its sibling from the Swartland, the Bosberaad Chenin Blanc, is grown of decomposed Granite soils. This coastal Chenin Blanc shows a pronounced dusty crushed Granite minerality over notes of green apple, crunchy pear, dried herbs, fynbos, and delicate, pithy grape skin phenolics. Beautifully pure and delineated on the palate, the acids are noticeably bright, tangy, and lemony, melting seamlessly into tart green apple, sweet quince, and salty lemon peel nuances. This is another very impressive Helderberg Chenin Blanc with a surfeit of mineral intensity and precision, fabulous fruit purity and a terroir driven complexity. Drink now and over the next 10+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Paulus Wine Co. wines are imported exclusively into the UK by Liberty Wines.
I’ve already gone on record for saying I truly believe that the top Cabernet Sauvignons, Cabernet Francs and Cape Bordeaux blends from the 2021 vintage will in future be recognised as some of the best wines produced by the Cape industry to date, surpassing the heights of even 1995, 2009, 2015 and possibly even 2017.
Many mainstream global wine critics who merely did a bit of a “cut and paste” operation on the 2021 scores will , I predict, eventually see the error of their ways and seek contrition, finally acknowledging that perhaps they got it wrong and under rated the vintage and its top wines.
Taaibosch looking towards False Bay, July 2025.
It’s still early days but the highly acclaimed Taaibosch Crescendo 2021 Bordeaux blend is about to be released in the local South African market and in the UK in September. While some local South African critics have rated the wine already and described it as lacking some “profundity” and being too “tentative”, I think, once again, they have fallen into the trap of missing the wine’s innate delicacy, freshness, classism and elegance with subtle intensity and weightless concentration. Raw horse power and muscle does not necessarily make a wine great. The 2021s are most definitely not muscle men, but perhaps more well toned, well proportioned, lithe athletic gymnasts to use an alternative analogy.
Tasting with the Taaibosch team in July 2025.
Only time will tell. But when the winemaker tells you that the 2021 could be the finest wine they’ve ever produced, you need to take them at their word, especially when they tell you this while releasing their previous vintage (the 2020)! So not just a case of “my latest vintage is my greatest” because that’s what I need to sell! A true conviction.
Tasting the 2025 Taaibosch components from barrel.
Taaibosch Crescendo 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
A sleek, sophisticated blend of 62% Cabernet Franc, 28% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from Taaibosch yields up notes of earthy black currant, cedar spice, wet tobacco, tree bark, sun raisined red currant, dried herbs and subtle fynbos nuances. But it’s on the palate that the true pedigree of this classy blend reveals itself, where incredibly tight grained mineral tannins marry with bright, fresh, taut blue and black berry fruits, saline creme de cassis, sappy currants, damson plums and a mouth coating creamy mineral grip on the finish. Beautifully compact with pin point precise tannins balanced with a real sense of effortless harmony and purity. A simply astounding expression. Drink from 2026 to 2045+. (68,000 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Also tasted at Taaibosch…
Le Chant Red Blend 2020, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
A delicious blend of 38% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Syrah and token amounts of alternative cultivars like Sangiovese. Beautifully brambly and spicy showing earthy red currant notes. Slightly wild and savoury with hints of Christmas spices, raisined black cherries and a peppery creamy mineral finish. Beautifully balanced and already deliciously accessible.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Le Chant Chenin Blanc 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.
Also from a vineyard in the Polkadraai Hills ward of Stellenbosch that has just turned 35 years old making it official “Old Vine”. The wine displays a creamy, ripe beautifully intense aromatics bursting with white peaches and cream, zesty green apples, pear and honeycomb. Plenty of yellow orchard fruit depth, mid palate fleshiness and granitic mineral intensity on the finish. A real delight. Drink now to 2032+.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Taaibosch and Le Chant wines are imported into the UK by Dreyfus Ashby. Contact Richard Kelley MW for trade allocations.
Uva Mira recently announced the exclusive maiden release of the Fox’s Lair red – a Cabernet Franc led Cape Bordeaux Blend that seems destined to become one of the Cape’s modern classics.
“At dawn’s first light on the Helderberg mountain vineyard slopes, fleeting glimpses of the elusive Cape fox—Vulpes chama, Africa’s only true fox—are sighted within the wild pockets of Cape fynbos. With its silver-grey coat and black-tipped ears, this agile creature became the inspiration for the name Fox’s Lair.” ~ Christian Coetzee, Winemaker at Uva Mira
The wine is also a testament to Uva Mira’s enduring commitment to conservation and sustainable farming in harmony with nature. Cabernet Franc, celebrated for its aromatic finesse and structural poise, thrives in the cool, high-altitude vineyards of Uva Mira at elevations of between 350m and 500m above sea level.
“The Fox’s Lair cuvee brings together Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon in an impressively composed wine that shows floral lift, fine tannins, and a notable mineral precision” according to Christian Coetzee.
Described as a “baby OTV” by Christian Coetzee, winemaker at Uva Mira.
Uva Mira The Fox’s Lair 2022 Bordeaux Blend, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
The maiden release of the Fox’s Lair is a delightful wine that winemaker Christian Coetzee described as a “baby OTV” when I tasted this new release with him for the first time. The blend is Cabernet Franc led with a 52% portion that’s supported by 48% of Cabernet Sauvignon that was aged in 35% new French oak barrels for 18 months. The 2022 is deliciously opulent, offering up attractive perfumed aromatics of red cherry pastille, raspberries, blueberry rock candy, black licorice, pencil shavings and flower petals, followed by a medium to full-bodied, mouth-wateringly supple, velvety palate that’s vibrant and intense, revealing yet more layers of blue and black berry fruit concentration that is framed by seamlessly integrated oaking, a vibrant acidity and silky mineral tannins. Texturally accessible and immediately generous, this new Cape Bordeaux blend over delivers. A really very, very delicious wine. Drink now to 2035+.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Uva Mira wines are imported into the UK by Museum Wines and the RSP for the Fox’s Lair is £38.99pb.
It’s been over two decades since Paul Boutinot set up his Waterkloof Winery in 2003 on the slopes of the Helderberg in Stellenbosch. As a wine merchant at the time who was buying a lot of wine from Paul’s UK wine merchant company, Boutinot Wines, I certainly watched this new project with a lot of interest. Both Paul, and son Louis, were always adamant that the “Waterkloof” brand would only ever be used for the winery’s highest quality wines, and as such, this would take some time for the winemaking and vineyards to evolve to a point where this was possible. As a result, consumers have become well acquainted with Waterkloof’s Circumstance brand in the interim.
Roll forward to 2024 and we see their new Waterkloof Boreas Cape Bordeaux Blend produced by winemaker Nadia Langenegger, released at the winery. A blend of 51% Cabernet Franc, 24% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the best parcels that are farmed regeneratively used in this blend that saw a whole-bunch wild yeast fermentation (with the exception of the Cabernet Sauvignon), foot-trodden in 9000 litre French oak open top foudre. The resulting wine was aged for 27 months in French oak barriques, with a 10% new component, as well as in the 9000 litre French oak foudre. The finished wine saw a gentle filtration with no fining or additives added other than a small amount of sulphur at bottling.
Waterkloof Winery Boreas 2020, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
The 2020 vintage in the Cape is known for its softer, more elegant, and accessible red expressions and this new Waterkloof release fits tightly into the broader generalities of the vintage. The aromatics are packed full of violets, graphite and iodine with pronounced notes of grilled red capsicum, dried herbs, fynbos and an intense sappy cedar spice complexity that melts into sweet black currant and mulberry fruits on a cool, creamy, finely textured palate. Picante and beautifully complex, the finish is silky and fine grained with lots of powdery black tea tannins, subtle complexing herby pyrazines, and a long, dusty, granitic tobacco spice finish. A very sleek, polished, dynamic wine with a high degree of winemaking flair on display. Drink this accessible 2020 vintage expression now on release and over the next 8-12+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines are distributed to the trade in the UK by Boutinot Wines and retails for circa £30 per bottle.
Predictably, the Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon often occupies the majority of wine critics’ column inches, garnering high 90+ point scores on a seemingly regular basis… and not just from local critics either. Both the 2020 and 2021 releases have picked up scores from 97 to 99/100 points from UK as well as respected American critics. So, of course it gives me even more pleasure to review the “other” Cabernet Sauvignon produced by this iconic Stellenbosch producer.
The fruit for this “regular” Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from selected vineyard sites within Stellenbosch, with a conscientious mixture of cool gravelly slopes facing the cooling False Bay and rich red granitic soils located around Stellenbosch to ensure a harmonious and accessible balance of aromas and flavours in the final wine.
Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 14.23% Abv.
2.1g/l RS| 5.9g/l TA | 3.77pH
The 2022 Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon is an attractive and sumptuous pure Cabernet Sauvignon expression brimming with perfumed fresh violets and rose petals, grilled herbs, black cherry compote, black tea and creme de cassis. There is a real fleshy tenderness to the wine that shows a deliciously accessible Cabernet fruit typicity, laced with cherry tobacco, mulberries and Black Forest gateau nuances. Medium bodied with a harmonious integrated freshness and a mouth watering salinity following to an expansive finish with majestically subtle sweet mineral tannins, this wine has everything you could possibly want from an affordable, pure fruited Stellenbosch Cabernet. Drink this beauty on release and over the next 8-10+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 14.39% Abv.
1.6g/l RS| 5.4g/l TA | 3.70pH
This quintessential classically styled Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 exhibits attractive aromatics of shaved lead-pencil infused with black berries, black cherry, moist tobacco, iodine and precocious fragrant notes of violets and white spring flowers over graphite and a granitic minerality. The palate is medium bodied with incredibly fine-grained tensile tannins and delectable mouthwatering acids that really bring this wine to life. After a few hours of breathing, the wine unfurls to reveal an incredibly well integrated oak profile, restrained enough to let the inky, saline crème de cassis and black cherry fruits really shine in the glass. There is an effortless sense of power, mid-palate tension and textural precision but also a delicacy and purity. Such a wonderfully fresh, vibrant, elegant expression of Cabernet Sauvignon that celebrates the charm and purity of a cooler, slower ripening vintage like 2021. A stylish classical red wine that will continue to reward the drinker for at least 10 to 15+ years after vintage. A truly affordable luxury fine wine.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Le Riche wines are imported into the UK by Boutinot Wines and are available retail from specialist South African merchants like Museum Winesfor around £22-£24 per bottle.
Always exciting to taste and review new producer’s wines. I’d heard of the Dorper wines but until now had not yet tasted any, so was very pleased to sit down with their white Chenin Blanc and their Pinotage red both from the newly released 2022 vintage.
Dorper is the own label started by winemaker Reg Holder, previously of Delheim winery but who is now also running Lautus De-Alcoholised Wines. The name comes from the Afrikaans word for “dorp” or small town following a philosophy to use small old vine vineyards in and around Stellenbosch town itself that reflect a certain sense of terroir and place.
Dorper Chenin Blanc 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.
This is impressive Chenin Blanc from a blend of vineyards in and around the Bottelary Hills in Stellenbosch that were fermented and aged in old oak barrels. The aromatics show an archetypal wet river stone, granitic mineral aromatics intertwined with notes of crunchy pear, white peach, wet hay, and dried herbs with subtle hints of dry bushveld after early summer rains. With a modest 13% alcohol, the palate displays a very decent depth of fruit and glycerol weight in the mouth with yet more wet stone liquid minerality, green pear, pithy apple skins and delicate white citrus nuances. One of the highlights is undoubtedly the wine’s deliciously vibrant tangy acids that carry the mineral laden fruits with notable length on the finish. Quite a serious, grown-up expression of Chenin Blanc for sure. Drink on releases and over 8 to 10+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Dorper Pinotage 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
1.8g/l RS | 5.3g/l TA | 3.75pH
This is another Pinotage expression that helps trumpet the stylistic revolution that this cultivar has undergone over the past decade. Made from fruit sourced from two old vine parcels, one grown on decomposed granite soils in the Helderberg and the other on shale soils in the Bottelary Hills, the grapes were destemmed but not crushed, using a portion of whole bunches, this is a lively, perfumed, energetic Pinotage with complex floral aromatics of black and blueberry fruits, hints of black cherry, cranberry and saline crème de cassis nuances. A real cornucopia of flavours and texture, but always siding with fine grained, elegant tannins supported by the most delicious tangy sweet-sour acids. A wine very much centred around the purity of the fruit and the mid-palate harmony with just the most subtle wood spice notes on the dry mineral finish. A complete pleasure to drink! Drink now and over 5-8+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines are imported into the UK and are available to trade from Graft Wines.
The first Cabernet Sauvignon was produced from the Journey’s End estate in 2001 and the first Chardonnay in 2002, all from estate fruit. The Kumala brand, which used the Journey’s End name for its premium tier for a short period of time, was sold off in 2004 followed by a complete separation of brands. The first real resurrected “Journey’s End” brand personality started in 2007 when Rollo Gabb took over and a first shipment of wine was exported to the UK through Bibendum Wines, consisting of the 2005 vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, and Merlot, signalling the end of the old regime and the start of the new.
The Journey’s End winery is now comprised of a 120-hectare estate which produces a small range of premium hand-crafted wines following minimal intervention, sustainable and organic practices. I caught up in London recently with Rollo Gabb at Quo Vadis, one of the more famous restaurants in his UK business empire, and had an opportunity to reacquaint myself with some of the latest releases from Journey’s End.
Journeys End V6 Sauvignon Blanc 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.
Made from vineyards situated 200m above sea level on south facing slopes, the wine remains on its lees for circa nine months in stainless steel tanks. Lush, vibrant and energetic with tangy tropical fruit acids, and notes of green papaya, mango, white peach, gooseberry and a deliciously vibrant fruit concentration and intensity. A really charming expression with plenty of precision and character.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Rollo Gabb tasting in London in 2023.Journey’s End winemaker Mike Dawson
Journeys End V1 Sauvignon Blanc 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
Aged in 10% new oak and 80% second fill barrels with 10% also in egg / amphora. 50%/50% wild and inoculated yeasts in the fermentation with malolactic discouraged. Shows powdery aromatics of green melon, green apple, and white blossom with a beautifully round, harmoniously textured palate that is very subtle with no edges, round and voluptuous, but also delicately spicy with a lovely long length.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Journeys End V1 Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 12.9% Abv.
An 87% Sauvignon Blanc and 13% Semillon blend mostly naturally fermented. Classically vibrant and fresh, this wine encapsulates the maritime freshness, energy and zestiness of the Helderberg. The aromatics display lovely notes of wet slate, gooseberry, melon, greengage plums and cut grass that melt into a seamless, harmonious palate bolstered by a tangy acidity, plenty of fleshy peachy fruit and a long, tropically kissed finish. Very impressive indeed.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Journeys End Destination Chardonnay 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 13.38% Abv.
A 100% Chardonnay from a single block, that is vulnerable to uneven ripening. Picked in 5 to 6 passes over two weeks. Whole bunch pressed into 228 and 300 litre barrels, 15% new and 85% used oak. Normally, 10-15% malolactic from a few rogue barrels. Shows layers of white pepper and oak spice over pear, green apple and pithy white citrus complexity. A very sophisticated expression with a subtle hint of sapidity before a cool, creamy, elegant mid-palate brimming with vitality, silky soft textured phenolics and a stony, granitic pithy finish. Classy and plush with lovely concentration on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Journey’s End V5 Cabernet Franc 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
First vintage produced in 2017 with increasing production slowly over time. The wine was aged in French old oak barrels for 14 months. Delicious aromatics offer chocolate, cherry, mocha, sweet tobacco, sappy cedar, sweet leaf and an attractive underlay of cassis and blue berry fruits. Picante and spicy on the palate, this is a very well honed, vibrant and superbly elegant expression that is neither too cedary or nor too peppery. Simply blissfully fresh, vibrant and perfectly balanced.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Journey’s End The Griffin Syrah 2018, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv.
From a 24- to 25-year-old Syrah block using 100% whole bunches on the stems incorporating carbonic maceration and full malolactic fermentation in oak barrels. Spends 18 months in 16% new American oak with the remainder going into second fill French oak barrels. The aromatics are dark and tarry, packed with stewed black cherries, black plum, olive tapenade over a sappy, resinous, smoky black berry complexity. Super rich and unctuous on the palate, the wine boasts textured layers of black berry fruit concentration, sweet mulberry, sappy sweet plum with a vanilla pod kiss of American oak on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Journey’s End Cape Doctor Red Blend 2018, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv.
A complex blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot aged in 100% new French oak barrels. An opulently textured, plush red blend that really shows a bit of swagger. Jam packed full of red berry confit, plum compote, smoky granitic minerality, tobacco leaf, and a hint of sweet vanilla pod spice. Creamy textured, sumptuous and plush, hedonistic but also beautifully approachable, expressive and accessible now. Very impressive blend.
The Stellenbosch region has arguably the finest terroir in the Cape for growing the famed Bordeaux varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Often attributed to a combination of poor sandstone or decomposed granite topsoils that make the vine struggle, ideal aspects, and the important, however cliched, cooling influence of the coastal breezes off the False Bay, the wines the Cape’s most intelligent and intuitive winemakers are now able to produce are certainly capturing the attention of the world’s top red wine connoisseurs.
The Uva Mira estate also benefits from the location of its mountain vineyards, which are 620 metres above sea level at their highest point, as the climate falls into category two on the Winkler Scale. In layman’s terms, this means it has a lot more in common with vineyards in France than many of their South African neighbours. This, alongside the decomposed granite soils, allows them to produce wines which are some of the finest expressions of terroir anywhere in the Stellenbosch region.
Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards O.T.V. Red Blend 2018, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv.
Located in one of Stellenbosch’s nine wards, Uva Mira has grown to become one of the most respected producers in the Helderberg, the ward closest to the cooling Atlantic Ocean. This super premium O.T.V. blend is a classy mix of 59% Cabernet Franc and 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, two of the most successful red varieties grown on the estate. This flagship blend commemorates the current owner’s father, O.T.Venter Senior, with an inspirational and prestigious cuvee that spares no expense in the pursuit of greatness. The rigorous selection of fruit has yielded a beautiful red wine with clarity, purity, precision, and distinction. The aromatics are packed full of perfumed pressed violets, sweet cedar spice, saline crème de cassis, red currants, and hints of freshly tilled earth. On the palate, it is every bit as cool and seductive as you would expect from a flagship blend like this, boasting a dense silky texture with tannins of velvet, classical layers of picante black currant, and black cherry fruits all wrapped in a considerately oaked, vibrantly fresh, intensely luxurious package. Like the other 2018 reds in the Uva Mira range, they nailed the vintage in 2018, producing some of the most attractive wines in the region. Drink now, after an hours decant, if you feel like spoiling yourself, or else bury a case in your cellar for 8 to 10+ years to experience the wine’s true inner class.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Uva Mira Wines are available exclusively in the UK from importer Museum Wines.
As someone who is very fortunate enough to have access to almost any winery and winemaker in South Africa, I often get asked who I think are the most exciting new talents emerging on the South African wine scene. Of course, there are so many phenomenal young producers emerging in the colourful wine industry landscape of the Western Cape that it makes picking out one or two almost seem foolish. But every now and then you meet special personalities and taste new releases that leave you contemplating the wines days or even weeks after tasting. One such producer is Bernhard Bredell.
The Granietsteen Chenin Blanc tastes and smells just like the vineyard from whence it comes!
Bernhard Bredell is the 7th generation of a family that has farmed in the Lower Helderberg area of Stellenbosch for over 160 years and his own Scions of Sinai label is a project he started in 2016 in an effort to save old vineyards that were planted by his grandfather Koos Bredell around a particular granitic hill known as Sinai. Bernhard’s winery now processes 20 tons of fruit producing around 1,250 cases of wine that are incredibly exciting, premium in quality and distinctly terroir driven.
The view from Sinai across the valley towards the Helderberg Mountain range.Old Vine Chenin Blanc planted in 1978.Bernhard tasting the Granietsteen Chenin Blanc 2021 in the vineyard it’s grapes come from with friend and mentor Ian Naudé in March 2022.
I myself grew up buying and drinking the excellent fortified wines of Anton Bredell, Bernhard’s father, made under the JP Bredells Cape Port label. But over the years, with fortified wines falling out of favour with the mass market, and after a series of unsuccessful still wine brands together with expensive marketing projects going awry, the family winery was eventually closed and sold off in 2011.
But Bernhard Bredell has winemaking in his DNA and coursing through his veins, so any notions of opting out of the wine industry to pursue other interests was never an option. The Scions of Sinai winery was launched with the 2017 vintages made from grapes sourced from vineyards grown on Firgrove, 4kms from the Atlantic Ocean. Bernhard currently uses five single vineyards and then some smaller half hectare plots. These include a Grenache Blanc made from a vineyard located in the Klein Karoo near the Swartberg Mountains and Meiringspoort, planted in 2009 on Schist and Shale soils, producing 600 bottles called the Gramadoelas; the Granietsteen Chenin Blanc; the Heldervallei Cinsault; the Swanesang Syrah; the Feniks Pinotage and the Nomadis Cinsault / Pinotage Blend. All vineyards are secured on contracts and have been farmed organically for over 5 years.
Scions of Sinai Range Tasting:
Scions of Sinai Granietsteen Chenin Blanc 2019, Helderberg (1978)
Sourced from a Chenin Blanc vineyard planted in 1978 on decomposed granite soils with very low fertility, high drainage and very low cropping levels that helps create intense flavour development in the grapes. There is a pre-fermentation maceration for around 3 nights for 70% on skins, 30% wholebunch pressed. Grapes are picked when they express the purity of the vineyard site while retaining naturally high acids. After fermentation, the wine is aged in large 400 litre barrels and kept on its lees for 9-10 months before being bottled unfiltered and unfined.
Bernhard Bredell Scions of Sinai Granietsteen Chenin Blanc 2019, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
After tasting the excellent maiden 2017 vintage a few years ago, Bernhard delivers another very self-assured performance with this delightful 2019 Chenin Blanc. Made from another seriously good white vintage from 43 year old vines planted in 1978, this wine is rich and expressive and boasts fabulous aromatics of pear puree, white flowers, yellow orchard fruits and seductive top notes of freshly baked apple strudel. The palate is fresh and bright with hints of toasted hazelnuts and walnuts, pithy peach stone fruits, pineapple pastille and a delicate note of maritime salinity and brine on the finish. Wonderfully textural and concentrated, this wine makes your mouth water with its deliciously tangy acids and enticing umami characters. Dry, intense and packed full of liquid minerality from the decomposed granite soils, this wine is already building up a solid cult following among the hardcore Chenin Blanc cognoscente. Drink now or enjoy over 8 to 10 years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Scions of Sinai Feniks Pinotage 2019, Helderberg (1976)
In 2018 Bernhard moved into the old Helderberg farm called Klein Helderberg and has since produced four vintages there from old vine dry farmed bush vines yielding 3.5 to 4 tons per hectare. The vines produce tiny grapes on very small bunches. The soils are high in silica (fine sand) making for very fragrant wines compared to those made from vines grown on heavier clay soils. 70% of grapes are whole bunch and 30% destemmed, with around 10% undergoing semi-maceration carbonique in tank. Basket pressed after 12-13 days on the skins into 400 litre oak barrels that are normally a minimum of 4 years old for 12 months of ageing.
Bernhard Bredell Scions of Sinai Feniks Pinotage 2019, WO Stellenbosch, 12% Abv.
There are many styles of Pinotage being produced in South Africa, but it is perhaps the fresher, earlier picked, brighter style that has started to resonate the loudest with international fine wine consumers and this is another of these vibrant examples that simply bristles with crunchy red cherry fruited energy. Fabulously energetic and intense, the aromatics boast mouth-watering notes of black cherry, black currant, lavender, dried herbs, incense and a hint of bramble berry spice. Despite its lower alcohol and bright super fresh acids, this wine manages to retain an impressive depth of fruit, ample concentration and a fine, linear texture. I’m hesitant to say this is the future of Pinotage in the fine wine market as there are so many who pour scorn on the lighter, crunchy Pinot Noir-styled Pinotages, but there is certainly a massive following already developing for this purer style of wine. Drink this on release or you can certainly expect some flavour fireworks after 5 to 8+ years of bottle ageing. Very much worth seeking out. (864 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Scions of Sinai Swanesang Syrah 2019 (1996) – SH1A Clone
Produced from apparently the last known bushvine Syrah in the Helderberg that yields spicy dark fruits loaded with rosemary and thyme herbal nuances.The fruit also retains a very low pH and crisp acids… 12.5% to 13.2% Abv. Combination of whole cluster, 30% stems intact, used for the very slow fermentation followed by 5 to 6 days maceration on the skins before being pressed to 400 litre barrels for 12 months ageing with an additional 2 to 3 months ageing in bottle.
Bernhard Bredell Scions of Sinai Swanesang Syrah 2019, WO Stellenbosch, 12.5% Abv.
There is no doubt that Syrah is the hot property on the South African market garnering high critical praise and scores from international critics far and wide. Of course there is Syrah, but then there is Syrah on decomposed granite… a soil profile that definitely raises the perfumed aromatic profile of a wine while simultaneously dropping the pH levels and adding incredible freshness and tension. The Swanesang is made from fruit from a young vineyard ‘only’ planted in 1996 and the profile of these single clone SH1A vines is definitely on the purer, fresher, more perfumed red fruited spectrum of the scale. Once again, the granitic soils perform their transformative magic on the vines. In this specific cuvee, between 30 to 50% of whole bunches were employed delivering a fabulously expressive nose of violets, sweet baking herbs, red cherry, cranberry and alluring liquid mineral notes. The palate is super fresh and bright with intense red fruited concentration, revealing tart Victoria plum, cranberry sours and yet more red cherry fruit with just a smattering of black pepper and granitic minerality. A thoroughly engaging wine. Drink now and over 10 to 12+ years. (1,204 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bernhard Bredell Scions of Sinai Granietsteen Chenin Blanc 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 12.5% Abv.
Another real terroir expression from old vine Chenin Blanc planted in 1978. Harvested on the 29th of January, this single vineyard expression from bush vines displays an impressive aromatic intensity with layers of peppery white citrus, white flowers, crushed granite, dried herbs green herbs and subtle fynbos notes. Like many Chenins grown on decomposed granite that aren’t picked too late, the nose and palate are dominated by an intense liquid minerality that dances across the palate with fresh zippy Sherbety acids, notes of almond skins, tart green pears, citrus peel and yet more liquid minerality. If ever a wine expressed the terroir of the vineyard it’s sourced from, this is it. Drink now and over the next 10 to 15+ years. (1,950 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bernhard Bredell Scions of Sinai Heldervallei Cinsault 2020, WO Stellenbosch, 12.5% Abv.
Produced from beautiful old bush vine Cinsault vines planted in 1988, situated right next door to Bernhard’s Chenin Blanc vineyard. The aromatics are powerful and intense unfurling with layers of red and black berry fruits, sweet exotic grilled spices, damson plum, rose petals, grey slate and smoky crushed granitic minerality with a hint of juniper. On the palate there is real precision and focus but also Bernhard’s trademark liquid minerality, dried herbs, pithy cranberry, hints of cherry pips and phenomenal dry, stony fine grained tannins. Quite a unique style that has more in common with a young premier cru Cotes de Nuits Pinot Noir tasted from barrel than a Cinsault. This wine is fabulously delicious but also shows serious ageworthy depth and intensity. Drink now to 2030+.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wines are available in the UK market from merchant Indigo Wines.
