Iona Monopole

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.

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.