Boekenhoutskloof Mini-Vertical Tasting – A Brief Review of Their Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah Wines in 2023…

January 10, 2024January 10, 2024 ~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

The original Boekenhoutskloof farm in Franschhoek was established in 1776. The chairs on the now famous wine labels all pay tribute to the skills of the 18th century craftsmen and their achievements in creating beautiful furniture from natural sources, in this case, mostly Boekenhout or indigenous Cape Beech trees, which were highly prized for furniture making at the time.

Under the leadership of Marc Kent, the first Boekenhoutskloof wines were produced in 1996 after the property was bought in 1993, with the legendary 1997 Syrah capturing the attention of wine critics globally. Over the years, there have been several brand extensions including the creation of the Porcupine Ridge and Wolf Trap brands as well as the Chocolate Block red blend.

More recently, considerable investments in the Swartland have led to large scale plantings of mostly Syrah, which for Boekenhoutskloof culminates in the pinnacle of quality with their Porseleinberg Syrah brand managed and produced by Callie Louw. On the eve of the vintage 2021 Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah releases, I thought it would be an opportune moment to reflect on the quality of several back vintages of each wine. My notes were taken from a tutored masterclass in London presented by Marc Kent in January 2023.

Semillon Flight:

Traditionally made from circa 97% Semillon from three vineyards planted in 1902, 1936 and 1942, and 3% Muscat d’Alexandrie planted in 1902.

Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2001

Honey, buttered toast, salted caramel and lanolin on the nose. Soft, piquant Sherry like palate with richness, an incredibly saline vein, and deliciously pithy and fresh with a bitter almond skin finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2002

Dark gold in colour. The nose shows mushrooms, forest floor, earthy savoury notes, old honey. The palate is creamy, revealing salted caramel, a rich core of yellow stone fruit and a nutty walnut finish. Fresher in the mouth than on the nose.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2009

Aromatics of honey on buttered white toast, white blossom, honey suckle, lanolin and a touch of stony reduction. Beautiful balance and creamy texture, fabulous purity, with liquid minerality, a fine tension and a good, long concentrated finish. Truly stylish! Wow!

(Wine Safari Score: 97/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2010

Aromatics of dusty minerals, tea leaf, dry tobacco and lemon peel. The palate is creamy, pure and precise showing lemon butter, honey on white toast, and a piquant, nutty, pleasantly bitter finish. Rich and textural with plenty of dry extract, a silky texture and salty taut finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2020

Attractive pale gold. Reductive white Burgundy nose with peach stone, crushed limestone, and smoky white citrus. Sleek and pure frutied, crystalline and focused with superb wound spring tension and a reductive, smoky minerality on the long finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Cabernet Sauvignon Flight:

Until the 2014 vintage, Boekenhoutskloof only produced a Wine of Origin Franschhoek Cabernet Sauvignon, which was then joined by the WO Stellenbosch Cabernet.

Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, WO Franschhoek

Salty caramel, piquant oak spice with savoury black tea notes with leather and sweet earthy red currant fruit underneath. Lovely intensity with a defined focus and saline, tart glassy frame. Very Claret-like, cool and classical.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, WO Franschhoek

The nose is very complete and complex, full of sweet tobacco, black chai tea spice, dense earthy black currant and black plum. Plush and vibrant on the palate with glassy acids, a slightly angular frame but also beautiful balance. Quite traditional but really lovely now.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, WO Franschhoek

Big vintage, big wine. Dense and punchy with earthy blue and black fruits, stewed plums and sweet tannery leather. Plush and creamy, touch piquant with notes of tertiary sweet tomato emerging. Possibly some slight oxidation on the bottle? I would expect more from a pristine bottle of 2009, a great red vintage in SA.

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

Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, WO Franschhoek

Much tighter, denser, and compact with ample notes of tannery leather, black berry fruits and exotic peach skin top notes. Palate is youthful and fresh, still with slightly drying grippy tannins, crisp soft fresh acids and a harmonious balance overall. If the fruit holds while the tannins soften further, this could be an absolute cracker.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, WO Franschhoek

Cool, sleek and elegant. Shows coffee cream, mocha, charcoal embers and piquant black chocolate. Very fine grained, compact and harmonious with a feeling of real precision. Classy and elegant as always, with a fresh, fine grained grippy finish. Should evolve into an absolute gem.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, WO Stellenbosch

Stony, broody and tight with a hint of tilled earth, graphite, black cherry and stewed earthy red berries. Lovely power, muscle and shape in the mouth with creamy drying youthful tannins, and a long, black fruited, mineral finish. Archetypal Stellenbosch Cabernet.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Syrah Flight – (SH21 Syrah Clone):

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2001, WO Western Cape

Polished mahogany, wood spice, savoury red fruits with a hint of leather and molasses. Palate is dense and lactic, chocolatey, and quite appealing. Still a big bold wine with some tertiary development on the minty finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2002, WO Western Cape

Touch of reduction still with blue and black fruits, violets and purple flowers. Palate is fresh, crisp, and taut with sweet tangy red and earthy black fruits, hints of leather, tobacco, cured meats and kalamata olive tapenade on the finish. Lovely cooler vintage.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2009, WO Western Cape

Cool, stony and sleek with chalky drying tannins and earthy aromatics of coffee bean, stewed plum, and sun raisined cherries. Super creamy and plush on the finish with a savoury, tertiary hint developing. Drinking very well but probably won’t improve further, so start enjoying now.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2010, WO Western Cape

Cooler vintage like 2002. Nose is smoky and savoury with sappy red and black berry fruit nuances, red apple skins and a stony mineral dustiness. Sweet fruited, plush and broad on the palate with savoury red berry fruits, strawberry jam and earthy, youthful notes. A serious vintage making a serious wine with a very subtle tarry finish. Yum.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2020, WO Swartland

Boekenhoutskloof are now farming over 200 hectares of Swartland fruit from three farms. (The 2011 vintage included some Porseleinberg fruit.) Newer vintages consist of 90% Porseleinberg and 10% Goldmine Syrah from the farm next door to Mullineux’s Roundstone property. Deliciously youthful and grapey with notes of violets, lavender, sweet grilled herbs, charcoal embers and a leafy sapidity. Palate is super light on its feet with purity, black cherry elegance and pithy graphite hints, finishing with a weightless concentration and a soft blueberry complexity. Very classy indeed.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/10 Greg Sherwood MW)

The wines are imported into the UK by New Generation Wines and are available retail from South African fine wine specialist merchant Museum Wines. http://www.museumwines.co.uk

Boekenhoutskloof’s New Release 2019 Reds and Whites Impress at their London Launch…

June 17, 2022June 18, 2022 ~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

While some of Boekenhoutskloof’s headlines might have been stolen by its successful Swartland Porseleinberg Syrah project in recent years, its new releases remain a highlight on the wine calendar especially in the South African home market. With much of the fruit for the range now coming from several top properties in the Swartland as well as Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, quality can always be assured to hit an impressively high nouveau.

The 2019 vintage involved one of the earliest pickings to date with their Swartland Syrah vineyards exposed to extremely dry conditions during flowering resulting in earlier than normal bud break. The dry 2019 conditions also resulted in smaller berry clusters and reduced overall yields without compromising quality.

Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2019, WO Franschhoek, 13.2% Abv.

Pristinely pure nose displays all the complexity and exoticism that collectors have grown to know and love on this benchmark white. There are beautiful layers of wax and incense, subtle notes of muscat and multi-dimensional layers of lanolin, white peach and buttered white toast. The palate offers excellent balance and a vibrantly fresh, taut texture with yellow pithy citrus, lemon oil, almond skins and orange peel on the long, bright, concentrated finish. A very classy rendition of this classical grape. Drink now and over the next 15 to 20+ years.

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

Boekenhoutskloof Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, WO Stellenbosch, 14.86% Abv.

Always a wine with depth and power but this 2019 also displays wonderful precision with pure perfumed aromatics of violets and sappy cassis leaf, sweet tobacco and hints of blackberry, fynbos and cedar spice. Deliciously cool and fresh, this wine shows a lovely acid frame on which there are opulent fruit layers of black currant, black cherry and black chocolate generously draped. An extremely elegant, classy fine wine. Drink from 2024 to 2040+

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

Boekenhoutskloof Franschhoek Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, WO Franschhoek, 14.86% Abv.

Distinctly different to the Stellenbosch cuvee, the aromatics are fleshy and plush, overtly generous on the nose with purple flowers, mulberry, black currant and subtle hints of milk chocolate, salted toffee and creme brûlée. The palate is elegant and polished with fine gravelly tannins, soft black berry compote and a long, chalky finish with espresso and graphite nuances. Deliciously regal as always. Drink now to 2035+.

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

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2019, WO Swartland, 13.95% Abv.

The aromatics are initially shy, slowly releasing notes of brûléed coffee beans, grilled herbs, cured meats and underlying hints of garrigue and sweet red and black berries. The palate is cool and broody with notes of liquorice and tar, barbecued meats and sun raisined cherries and a touch of smoky bacon fat and coffee beans on the finish. A slightly more restrained expression than other previous drought vintages. Drink now and over 10 to 15+ years.

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

Boekenhoutskloof Noble Late Harvest 2018, WO Franschhoek, 10.85% Abv.

Made from grapes grown along the Franschhoek river on alluvial soils, this 100% Semillon achieves excellent levels of botrytis every year from its own unique meso-climate. Using several traditional tries or passes through the vineyard to pick the fruit, the results are impressive revealing a nose of lime and grapefruit marmalade, honeycomb, buttered warm brioche and cool creamy pineapple pastille with creme brûlée notes on the finish. Certainly shows a punchy sweetness that is more than adequately tempered by fresh tangy acids and harmonious vanilla pod oak spice. Drink now and over 10+ years.

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

Boekenhoutskloof Journeyman Red Blend 2015 – Tasting Another Epic Red From The Belle Époque…

June 22, 2018 ~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

In the past few months I have reviewed a lot of 2015 South African Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet based red blends, many of which have admittedly received rather impressive scores. Some commentators have raised eyebrows and questioned if these wines are really individually exceptional or whether I’ve just had a rush of blood to the head. But time and time again I simply point out that an exceptional vintage like 2015 comes along maybe only once in a decade, or with global warming bearing down on us, perhaps only once in twenty years?

I am certainly not prone to hubris or score inflation but merely look, taste and assess the quality in the glass put in front of me and judge it in an international quality context. Which brings me to another of the top 2015 wines I have been waiting to taste… the Journeyman red blend from Marc Kent and Gottfried Mocke at Boekenhoutskloof.

Produced from grapes off the Franschhoek estate, this wine possesses a slightly mythical reputation, being almost unobtainable internationally and only irregularly by the bottle at cellar door. Mostly Cabernet Franc with a 10% splash of Merlot, this wine has been one of winemaking talisman Marc Kent’s pet projects for the past 10 years (when he’s not obsessing about Swartland Syrah!)

Boekenhoutskloof The Journeyman 2015, WO Franschhoek, 14 Abv.

Thoroughly distinguished, this wine whispers class from the moment you pull the cork. Dark, deep and broody, it tantalisingly suggests a lot but tries to hide its hand like a sneaky poker player. But with enough coaxing the nose reveals aromatics of cedar, sweet wet tobacco, subtle rose petal perfume and potpourri spice, raisined cranberries interwoven with mineral graphite depth. On the palate, there is a surfeit of classy cherry and black cassis fruit, powdered chew tobacco, vanilla pod spice, mocha coffee espresso and buttered brown toast. So incredibly elegant, a tight rope walker that is so assured and focused, brimming with confidence. This is certainly up there with some of the finest 2015 wines produced in South Africa. Buy it IF you can find it. Drink now to 2030+

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