It’s always a very special occasion visiting the Kanonkop Estate to taste new releases. In many ways, it’s the closest we get in South Africa to the annual pilgrimages European wine merchants make to iconic wineries like Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux or Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. However many times you visit, it always remains a highlight of the year and my recent visit to taste the new Kanonkop Paul Sauer was no exception.
The new 2021 Paul Sauer due for general release in June 2024.
While Abrie Beeslaar has obviously already produced a 2022, 2023 and 2024 vintage, the iconic 2021 will be his swansong release before he departs his full time role in August 2024. Undoubtedly, like the two winemakers before him, Abrie will remain as much part of Kanonkop’s history as Kanonkop will remain part of Abrie’s. He will of course have vintages like the 2004, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2017 and now the epic 2021 to look back on with immeasurable pride. Groete ou maat en alles van die beste!
We are going to miss you Abrie!
Kanonkop Estate Paul Sauer 2021 Cape Bordeaux Blend, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 13% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Paul Sauer is beautifully intense and utterly seductive, the aromatics pulling you in with their perfumed notes of incense, violets, black currant, saline oyster shell, black cherry, sweet cherry tobacco and graphite with subtle blueberry notes and a subtle kiss of sweet cedar and vanilla pod spice. The palate shows sprawling breadth and depth with a gentle picante spice together with a noticeably intense salinity and maritime, nori seaweed nuance before more bold flavours of black currant, mulberry, black cherry and blueberry coat the mouth. The fine silky tannins are deceptively taut and crisp with the fresh glassy acids adding to the wine’s obvious power, focus and superb intensity. So much wine in the glass, so much to assimilate! The 2021 Paul Sauer represents a true Cape Bordeaux blend masterclass once again from Abrie Beeslaar! Drink from 2025 to 2050+.
The previous Lievland Wine Estate can certainly be counted as one of the grand old Cape brands of the 1980s and 1990s and I can confirm that I certainly drank my fair share of their famous value red blend, the Lievlander, as well as plenty of their Shiraz and their delicious DVB Cape Bordeaux Blend. In 2017, it was announced that MAN Family Wines had acquired the 110 hectare estate with ambitious plans to build a new cellar facility and also slowly replant some of the 60 hectares under vine.
Lying on much respected Simonsberg Stellenbosch terroir, immediate neighbours are Natte Valleij, Warwick, the old Uitkyk, Kanonkop and Le Bonheur. I recently caught up in London with their head winemaker, Riaan Möller, to taste through a current selection of the Lievland Vineyards wines.
Lievland Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2022, WO Elgin, 13% Abv.
Deliciously exotic aromatics with peach skins, apricot, gooseberry, melon and green apple pastille. 100% stainless steel fermented with several inoculated yeast strains. From Sandstone soil vineyards, south facing, the grapes yield deliciously cool crystalline fruits boasting white peach, green pear, white pepper, rocket leaf and hints of lychee. Sleek, vibrant and wonderfully energetic with a really youthful vivacity and a delicate tropical kiss on the finish. A delicious cool climate expression.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Lievland Vineyards Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2022, WO Paarl, 13% Abv.
Made from a Certified Heritage Vineyard planted between 1977 and 1987 from Agter-Paarl with the use of up to 30% barrel fermented portion. The aromatics show a fruity candied opulence with notes of smoky straw, fynbos, peach rock candy and hints of green pear. The palate is rich and expressive with mouth watering layers of spicy white peach, greengage, green apple and hints of fig preserve on the long, persistent, textured finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Lievland Vineyards Liefkoos Shiraz / Mourvedre / Cinsault Rose 2023, WO Stellenbosch, 12.5% Abv.
An attractive pale salmon colour, the wine shows bright dusty chalky aromatics packed full of pear drops, crushed granite, crushed red cherry and crunchy wild strawberry fruits. The palate is cool, sleek and very precise with a delicious weightless concentration, lovely purity, mineral pithiness and impressive length. One for the lovers of Provençal Rose.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Lievland Vineyards Bush Vine Pinotage 2021, WO Paarl, 13.5% Abv.
From a vineyard on the westerly slopes of Paarl mountain planted in 2000/1 with a small 5% addition of Grenache. Only a small amount of new large oak is used (15%) and mostly multi-passage 225 and 300 litre used barrels. Packed full of vibrancy and freshness with notes of bramble berry, forest fruits, tilled earth, black plum and hints of red apple. Super polished and sleek, the texture is silky, elegant and delicately exotic with lovely purple rock candy, Parma violets and a mouthwatering Fanta Grape-flavoured allure. The finish is bone dry, spicy and mineral with real balance and length. A very individual expression of Pinotage, but undoubtedly delicious.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Lievland Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, WO Cape Coast, 14% Abv.
High altitude fruit from the Helderberg and Agter-Paarl, makes for a very classy Cabernet Sauvignon with a sneaky 5% Cinsault, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc blended in. The aromatics show sweet red berry, red plum, red currant, raisined cranberries, cassis, tilled earth and delicate notes of sweet tobacco and tannery leather. On the palate the soft, seductive silky layers dominate, revealing a very fine textured, compact mouthfeel. A very impressive wine with great complexity, lovely granitic minerality and a delicate salinity on the finish.
Fruit from original vineyards on the farm planted 2001. 86% Syrah and 14% Mourvedre with 20% whole bunches, were fermented and aged 100% for 16 months in mostly used neutral 225 litre barrels with a 15% new French oak portion. The aromatics are lush and seductive with blueberry, black cherry, tart plum and subtle hints of dried herbs, cumin and peppercorns. Wonderfully pure, delicate and elegantly fresh, this is a very classy, considered, light touch Syrah made with real attention to detail. The finish is intense and focused with a fine weightless concentration.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Lievland Vineyard wines are imported into the UK by Berkmann Wines.
The 2023 edition of the Judgement of Wimbledon Grenache Tasting was held last year with one of the most impressive line-ups of Grenache wines to date, and the results were of course always going to be highly contentious. The 14-wine blind flight included three wines from Sierra de Gredos, the mountainous region west of Madrid, four wines from Priorat in Catalonia, one wine from Montsant next door to Priorat, one wine from Vinos de la Tierra Castilla y Leon, three old vine wines from South Africa, one wine from Rioja and one wine from the USA. It was indeed a spectacular array of wines that the tasters thought couldn’t be easily surpassed.
But of course, as another year has passed and another vintage hits the market, so many truly incredible 2021 Garnachas from Spain, among other regions, have become available and the prospects for a fourth consecutive Judgement of Wimbledon have never looked so tantalising! With the line up being restricted to circa 16 to 18 wines, there is, by necessity, a certain amount of pre-selection, that needs to take place before a final line-up can be agreed, and while the judges won’t know the final line up destined for the grand blind taste-off, they certainly get an initial insight into the quality they can expect by tasting in some of the preliminary Judgement of Wimbledon Tasting Pre-Selection assessments.
This year, one of the Kew-based judges volunteered to host one of the preliminary blind tastings and the below report gives a brief but illustrative snapshot of just what is in stall when the final Judgement of Wimbledon 2024 tasting occurs. Some mention should be made to the selection criteria as many people often ask why wines such as Chateau Rayas or some big, ripe Australian expressions are not included. The simple answer is that these wines, from USA, Australia and of course Chateauneuf-du-Pape, in the case of Rayas, are often simply too stand apart and unique, making their expressions incredibly obvious and very easy to identify. So, over many years, the focus has naturally moved to emphasise not only innate quality, but also minerality, freshness, terroir, and classical restraint… which seems to be the modern style of Grenache / Garnacha that has started to captivate the world in the past 3 to 5 years, led by Spain and South Africa, though of course, not exclusively.
With a special acknowledgment and thanks to global wine critic from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, Luis Gutierrez, who contributed many suggestions for the preliminary tastings, proceedings kicked off in January 2024 with the following initial wines tasted blind:
Tasting Line Up (with group average scores):
1. 2021 Vina Zorzal, Senora de las Alturas – 94.1/100 score
2. 2021 Mas Martinet – Els Escurçons – 92.2/100 score
3. 2020 Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra – 94.9/100 score
7. 2020 Uvas Felices Reina de Los Deseos – 94.9/100
8. 2020 Bodegas Frontonio, El Jardín de Las Iguales Garnacha – 95.2/100
9. 2020 Uvas Felices La Mujer Canon – 95/100
10. 2020 Bruma del Arenero – 92.4/100
11. 2020 Bodegas Frontonio, Las Alas – 94.8/100
12. 2022 Sam Lambson, Experimental Grenache – 91.2/100
Or in order of scoring for individual judges:
Undoubtedly, Spain has made the category of Grenache almost its own with incredible tension, precision, minerality and power. This snapshot tasting was merely a teaser for what is lined up for the grand finale, with some of the above wines possibly making the Final Cut?
Watch out for my full report on the Judgement of Wimbledon 2024 in the coming weeks. It stands to be the pinnacle of Grenache perfection!
Owner Jose Conde and the Stark Conde Winery often describe themselves first and foremost as a premium Cabernet Sauvignon producer and of course why wouldn’t you when your vineyards are situated on some of the most attractive Cabernet-friendly Stellenbosch vineyards in the Western Cape. So it is always interesting to taste their “entry level” Estate Blend Cabernet Sauvignon new release as any winery is only as good as its most modestly priced wine, or so the saying goes.
Fortunately, there is no compromising when it comes to quality and this beautifully accomplished wine is sourced from four different blocks on the farm where the soils and aspects differ slightly, but with all vines planted on ideal decomposed granite iron-rich red soils typical of the Stellenbosch mountain vineyards. In addition to the Cabernet Sauvignon blocks, two additional blocks are incorporated into the Estate Blend to add a little extra salt and pepper complexity, leaving the final blend at 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec. For this cuvee, after fermentation is completed, only 300 litre French oak barrels are used, of which around 30% is new oak. Aged for 20 months in barrel, the wines are then bottled unfiltered and unfined.
Looking down over the farm from the Three Pines Single Vineyard.
While winemaker Rudger van Wyk has now moved on from Stark Conde in 2023, he was certainly instrumental in establishing the Stark Conde Cabernet Sauvignon wines of the Estate Blend, the Three Pines Single Vineyard Cabernet and the Oude Nektar Single Vineyard Cabernet as some of the most respected expressions of premium Cabernet Sauvignon produced in Stellenbosch. 2020 of course saw the tail end of the drought and the harvest began early and ended relatively early. Average temperatures were moderate with cool evenings, the resultant fruit of good quality with a fine balance between fruit, acid and tannins, although yields were decidedly on the low side this vintage.
Stark Conde Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, WO Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
The 2020 Stark Conde Cabernet Sauvignon is another charming wine with an alluring aromatics of pressed violets, sweet piquant black berries, black cherry, burnt wood embers, sweet cedar wood shavings and a stony graphite spice that wafts from the glass. The palate is fresh and vibrant, deep and layered, with a core of zippy black currant fruits, soft black plum nuances, black cherries, fine grained tannins, and a sumptuous depth of spicy granitic minerality. A very well honed, harmonious, full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon expression that combines a wonderful balance, finesse and harmony with the characteristic Jonkershoek Valley fruit intensity and structure. Drink on release and over 10+ years comfortably.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Stark Conde wines are imported into the UK by specialist South African merchant Museum Wines and the wine retails for circa £26 per bottle.
In 2023, Kanonkop (owned by the fourth generation of the founding family, brothers Johann and Paul Krige) celebrated 50 years of wine with the inaugural release being the 1973 vintage of their single cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon. Joining in 2002, Abrie Beeslaar became only the third winemaker in the farm’s history, replacing Beyers Truter (1981-2003) who followed Kanonkop’s first official winemaker Jan Boland Coetzee (1968-1981). Of the estate’s 95ha of mainly dry-farmed vines, 35% are Cabernet Sauvignon, averaging 30 years old, from Simonsberg in Stellenbosch, used for their varietal Cabernet Sauvignon cuvée as well as the Kanonkop flagship Paul Sauer Cape Bordeaux blend.
In 1973, the Kanonkop cellar crushed around 1,000 tonnes of grapes, of which 200 tonnes were vinified and bottled under their own label, with the first bottlings consisting of a single varietal Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage. Today, the cellar processes 3,000 tonnes of grapes, 580 from the Kanonkop estate and the rest from 22 different growers contracted across Stellenbosch. In early 2024, Abrie Beeslaar announced that he would be leaving Kanonkop to focus on his own wine label Beeslaar, thus once again resurrecting succession plans for only the winery’s fourth winemaker since 1968.
The 2019 vintage in the Cape yielded another iconic Paul Sauer Cabernet Sauvignon (69%) based Cape Bordeaux blend. From the very moment of its final assemblage, all eyes were on its later release sibling, Kanonkop’s 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, such was the power, freshness and intensity inherent in the Paul Sauer 2019 blend. Produced from 30-year-old vines which are nearing old vine heritage status, grown on dry land vineyards on decomposed Granite, Hutton and Clovelly soils, the wine was matured for 24 months in 225-litre French Never oak barrels with a 50% new oak portion and a 50% second fill portion. From the very first nosing of the glass, the aromatics are incredibly vibrant, lifted, and expressive with enticing perfumed notes of pressed violets and purple flowers over saline crème de cassis, black cherry liquor, macerated plums, oyster shell, moist cherry tobacco and beautifully integrated notes of subtle sweet cedary oak and seductive vanilla pod spice. Medium bodied and initially quite weightless, lithe and supple in the mouth on entry, before a massive shock wave of intense black cherry, salty black currant, graphite, and tart blueberry fruits invigorate the senses, making the palate salivate with its bright refreshing acids and intense mouthwatering persistence. This is an exceptionally well-made single cultivar wine with intricate pinpoint tannins, tart sweet-sour acids, a piercing fruit concentration and the most harmoniously seamless structure possible. It has all the elegance, focus and poise of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vins of the world. Drink from 2024 to 2044+.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The iconic Kanonkop Estate wines are imported into the UK exclusively by Seckford Wine Agencies. The Kanonkop wines are available for retail from specialist South African merchant Museum Wines and the Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 will retail at circa £44 per bottle.
Brothers Pierre and John Philip (JP) Winshaw released some beautiful wines with their maiden 2017 Charles and Bill Winshaw Cape Red Blends, and subsequent releases have also followed suit with striking quality, impressive fruit selection and wonderfully precise winemaking. They visited the UK to launch their winery brand in 2023 and from the very first moment, critics were seduced by the intensity, purity and overall appeal of their delicious wines.
A particular favourite of consumers in the UK, there is simply no holding back the success of single cultivar Malbec wines whether from Argentina or indeed South Africa. Handled correctly and vinified with care and attention, some very attractive, fruit forward Malbec wines are able to be created in South Africa and Winshaw Vineyards, along with the likes of Vilafonte in Paarl and Doolhof in Wellington, are becoming leaders in the category. The 2022 vintage should hit the UK retail market in mid-2024 and retail for approximately £26pb.
Winshaw Vineyards Malbec 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
The sumptuous 2022 Winshaw Vineyards Malbec continues almost exactly where the 2021 left off despite the vintages being fairly different in overall character. Made from MC71 clone vineyards planted in 2001, these 21-year-old vines are really starting to hit their stride, producing wines with great depth, breadth and character, suitable for single cultivar bottlings as well as making an attractive blending partner within the Charles and Bill Winshaw cuvees. The aromatics show wonderfully spicy, picante dark broody black berry fruit aromatics with lashings of black currant, black cherry, mocha chocolate and chargrilled meat nuances. The palate texture is plush, seductively inviting and delightfully accessible, with beautifully silky soft sweet tannins, sleek, cool spicy blue and black berry fruits, with hints of crème de cassis, cherry kirsch liquor and a slightly sappy, plummy finish that is suitably bright and attractively mouthwatering. This elegant Malbec is sure to be as big a hit with customers as previous vintages, but be warned, quantities produced are once again very small. Drink now and over the next 4 to 6+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Winshaw Vineyards wines are imported exclusively into the UK by specialist South African merchant Museum Wines.
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.
Marc Kent
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
Few white wines produced in South Africa evoke as much emotion and mystery as the Sadie Family Wines maiden release Old Vine Series Mrs Kirsten 2006 Chenin Blanc, made from the oldest surviving Chenin Blanc vineyard still in the ground in South Africa, located in the Jonkershoek Valley in Stellenbosch.
The story of how this very special Sadie wine joined the range is best explained by the man himself, Eben Sadie…
”One day I was visiting a friend of mine in Stellenbosch, Carlo Suter, who is a farmer, oenologist and cabinet maker. And also someone practising bio – dynamic viticulture. During the visit we went for a walk on the property and we walked past this block of very old and very neglected Chenin Blanc. On asking him about the parcel of vines , he told us that it belonged to a Mrs. Kirsten, aged about 85 and that she was not farming the vines anymore.”
Eben Sadie overseeing his new cellar construction.
“The reality was a lot of very obvious potential in the parcel, for one, the very fact that the block was older than Mrs. Kirsten… and secondly, it having been planted on a very special site. Then the idea came to mind to approach her and ask if we may lease the vineyard and take care of it. From there onwards, we have been taking very special care of this vineyard, firstly by pruning out all the dead arms of the vines (years of them), and secondly by ploughing the soils and converting the vineyard back to organic farming.”
A modern vintage of the Mev. Kirsten Chenin Blanc (Afrikaans for Mrs Kirsten)
“Since 2006 we have been producing about 300 bottles annually out of one hectare of vines, which relates back to a very uneconomical 3 hl/ha yield, but the concept of such a project is rather to finance a vineyard in a world driven by profitability and return. It is a vineyard that has given more to us than numbers and has resulted in the production of a uniquely different and individual wine.”
Vinification involves the sorting of each individual berry for the entire production in small “strawberry” cases. The grapes are de-stemmed and fermented on their skins for about two days at low temperatures and then pressed in an old basket press and the juice run off directly into barrel without settling. Natural fermentation continues in tight grained French oak, the oldest barrel at any stage in the cellar being at least 10 years of age, insuring they impart zero oak influence to the taste.
The aging takes place for 12 months on the lees and then the wine was racked. An additional six months of aging on the fine lees took place afterwards. Total time spent in oak was 18 months. Total production for 2006 was a meagre 283 bottles.
Sadie Family Wines Mrs Kirsten Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2006, 13.65% Abv.
1.8g/l RS | 6.2g/l TA | 3.45pH
A beautifully rich old gold, old honey Sauternes-style copper / bronze colour. A slight disconnect between colour and taste, this bottle is in perfect condition with the aromatics tightly concertina’ed, slowly unwinding to reveal aromatics of apricot compote, nutty yellow orchard fruits, nectarine, salted toffee, crystallised ginger, caramelised fig and savoury notes of damp leaves and wet moss. You get a sense that this wine has a lot to offer, with a slow reveal in play. The palate is intricately spicy and pithy with layers of peach stone fruits, quince and savoury notes of mealy warm peach crumble with hints of vanilla pod spice. A beautifully textured wine with fine grained, phenolic, spicy tannins and a cool, pithy, spicy ginger infused yellow fruited length with an enticing salinity on the finish. A fascinating expression of Chenin Blanc and undoubtedly an iconic unicorn wine of note!
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.
Many producers said that rain and cooler conditions in some South African regions at the end of February and early March 2019 might have hampered some later ripening red grape varieties, but for earlier ripening Merlot based wines, quality was excellent and the finished bottled wines at De Toren are really starting to shine. The cool daytime conditions (and especially nights) of December and January meant that the earlier varieties ripened with lovely vital acidities and great fruit freshness, mostly at lower alcohol levels. But as always, the precision viticulture at De Toren delivered excellent quality fruit with very consistent results.
De Toren Edition Z 2019, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
This big bold De Toren Edition Z is another opulent, fleshy expression very much in the style of an expressive, generous Right Bank Merlot based blend. The aromatics are rich and powerful, packed full of sweet perfumed violets, stewed black plums, warm blueberry pie, salty cassis and melted black liquorice thoughtfully complimented by hints of sweet cedary oak and a vanilla pod dusting. The medium to full-bodied wine coats the palate with an intensity and concentration of dark berry fruits, dried thyme, black cherry confit, and subtle tarry, black currant notes that linger on the creamy, softly tannic persistent finish. This is a beautifully accomplished Cape Bordeaux red blend that offers seductive drinking now and the power and poise to age beneficially for at least 8 to 10 years.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The De Toren Wines are imported into the UK by The Wine Treasury and Edition Z retails for circa £42pb.
