Chris Groenewald is a polymath of the South African wine scene, weaving together his background in theology, a deep expertise in blind wine tasting, and a “New Wave” approach to winemaking. Based in the Western Cape, Chris’s personal project, Pounding Grapes, reflects his philosophy of “naked, raw, and natural” wines that emphasize joyful character over any kind of technical rigidity.
As the captain of the South African World Blind Wine Tasting team, Groenewald possesses a world-class palate in anyone’s language, yet his own wines are anything but academic. His portfolio, which includes vibrant releases like the Bringing Back The Joy Skin-Contact Sauvignon Blanc and the Heart Candy Pinotage, focuses on minimal intervention. These wines typically undergo natural fermentation, often utilizing concrete eggs or old oak barrels to maintain fruit purity and texture without the mask of heavy wood.
Chris Groenewald from Pounding Grapes Winery.
Sourcing grapes from premium cool-climate sites like Durbanville, Pounding Grapes celebrates the “natty” wine culture – sometimes cloudy, often pithy, grippy and alive, while maintaining a high level of purity, cleanliness and technical precision. Whether he is reviving boutique labels like Terracura or crushing small batches for his own label, Groenewald’s work remains at the forefront of the Cape’s artisanal revolution, proving that serious wine doesn’t always have to take itself seriously.
Chris was recently in London and hosted an enlightening and informative tasting lunch at Noble Rot Mayfair, where we got to enjoy his new releases which are coming to the UK very soon through his importer, Wood Winters.
Bringing Back the Joy Skin Contact Sauvignon Blanc 2025, WO Durbanville, 12.5% Abv.
Malmesbury Shale soils facing table mountain. 7 days skin fermented, basket pressed into 1 x 500 litre Egg and 1 x 300 litre old oak barrel. Naturally fermented with malo fully completed. The aromatics are dusty and pithy, delicately grassy and herby with crushed Granite, lemon grass, pear and yellow orchard stone fruits. Delightfully fresh and tangy with an excellent fleshy mid-palate core of fruit, finishing with a zesty, intense salinity. Quite superb.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Terracura Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.
Chenin Blanc from vines planted in 1998. Basket pressed into one 525 litre egg. Lovely complex bruised yellow orchard fruit aromatics with hints of wet straw, waxy peaches, orange peel and savoury fynbos notes. Delicious weight, fleshy but beautifully characterful with excellent persistence on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Unicorns in the Sky Chenin Blanc 2025, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.
Sourced from the ‘Sky’ Vineyard 75% Chenin Blanc planted 1998 and 25% from Kweperfontein Farm Chenin Blanc planted in 1964. Skin Fermented for 6 days, the Sky portion as per Terracura. Classical, waxy, savoury bruised yellow orchard fruit notes of the Paardeberg but this also has an intense Granitic hit of dusty, stony minerality, dried herbs and peach stone fruits with wet straw and fynbos hints. Incredible balance and restraint, with lovely orange blossom, and tangerine peel complexity.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Fairies in the Garden Semillon Gris 2025, WO Swartland, 12% Abv.
Semillon Gris from the Kweperfontein Farm in the Paardeberg, with 7 days on skins, the big grapes packed with plenty of juice, open fermented and then into an egg and a 225 litre old oak barrel. A more natural leaning expression with delicious savoury notes, sapidity, orange peel, quince jelly and hints of yellow orchard fruits. So effortlessly juicy, tangy and bright, incredibly zippy, energetic and inviting. What an umami tinged complex stunner of a wine!
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine writer Dr Jamie Goode merched up with his Pounding Grape cap.
Just Leave Me Flowers on My Grave Blend Chenin Blanc, 15% Abv.
65% left 3 years under flor (2023), 35% from fresh 2026 fruit. Blended a month ago and due to be bottled end May 2026. Saline and niche, nutty, tangy and umami salty without the cutting intensity of Sherry but with a salty, savoury complexity. The finish lingers – powerful and imposing with a pleasing walnut skin bitterness on the loooong finish. Idiosyncratic but also very delicious.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Heart Candy Pinotage 2024, WO Durbanville, 13% Abv.
North facing vineyard, aged in two 225 litre oak barrels, the wine shows a lifted perfume intricacy and an exotic pink musk complexity, violets and red cherry rock candy notes. Super pure, bright and crystalline, this is delightfully translucent, energetic and vibrant with a smashable drinkability, tangy tart acids and a fabulous juicy length. Superb.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Where the Lines Bend 2025, WO Stellenbosch, 10.8% Abv.
100% Cabernet Franc from the Bottelary Hills, 10 days cold soaked and fermented before being basket pressed into a concrete egg. The aromatics highlight the perfume and crunchy red fruit intensity, sweet cedar, crunchy red cherry and red currants. The delicate cedar spice sapidity follows to the palate with real energy and tension, tart linear acids and a cool, steely, taut focus with a hint of bay leaf spice on the finish. (1,300 bottles produced.)
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Terracura 2025 Syrah, WO Swartland, 13.2% Abv.
100% wholebunch Syrah, then basket pressed into eggs and 300 litre barrels. Incredibly stalky, smoky, sappy and peppery over a dark fruited black berry, brambly fruit core. This is incredibly Oldy Worldy Rhone style Syrah with a super sleek creamy texture, incredibly finessed tannins with an attention to detail second to none. Wow!
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Contact Andrew@woodwinters.com for allocations and pricing.
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+.
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+.
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.)
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.
Located in the heart of the Bot River valley, Anysbos is far more than a traditional winery; it is a holistic farm where the wild beauty of the Overberg meets refined, small-batch craftsmanship. Established by Johan and Sue Heyns, the farm takes its name from the Anysboegoe, a local wild anise shrub that dots the landscape. This connection to the land is the winery’s guiding light, emphasizing a deep respect for the indigenous flora and the unique shale-heavy soils of the region.
The winemaking, led by the talented Marelise Niemann, focuses on varieties that thrive in the valley’s dry-land conditions. Anysbos has carved a niche for itself with its Rhône-style blends and exceptional Chenin Blanc. Signature labels like the Tesame (a Grenache-led blend) and the Disdit white blend are celebrated for their elegance, bright acidity, and true “sense of place.” Beyond the cellar, Anysbos is a Mediterranean-inspired sanctuary. The farm is equally famous for its award-winning goat’s cheese and its sprawling olive groves, which produce some of the finest oils in the district. By integrating livestock, fynbos conservation, and viticulture, Anysbos stands as a premier example of the authentic, unpretentious, and high-quality farming that defines the Bot River community.
I recently caught up with owner Johan for dinner in London while he was on a whirlwind tour of the market. Together we tasted a range of wines that are undoubtedly one of the best kept secrets of the Bot River wine region.
Anysbos Disdit 2022, WO Bot River, 13% Abv.
A blend of 69% Chenin Blanc, 13% Roussanne, 12% Marsanne and 6% Grenache Blanc. The Chenin shows beautifully with hints of lemon grass, lanolin and waxy lemon citrus peel. There is lovely energy here, cool, creamy and plush with seamless elegance, fantastic balance and deliciously tangy acids. Impressive concentration and focus, this is a beautifully fresh Rhone blend! Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Anysbos Disdit 2023, WO Bot River, 13% Abv.
A blend of 57% Chenin Blanc, 17% Grenache Blanc, 17% Marsanne and 9% Roussanne. An exotic aroma builds off delightful notes of lemon and herbs, buttered white toast, glazed brioche and lees complexity. The palate reveals a creamy balance with a fulsome mid-palate, a really saline, pithy concentration and a long, cool, seamless finish. The acids are soft but invigorating, beautifully integrated, making for a very smart wine. Drink now to 2036+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Anysbos Tesame 2021, WO Bot River, 12.5% Abv.
A blend of 47% Grenache Noir, 45% Syrah and 8% Cinsault aged for 20 months in old oak. A classically cool, taut, fresh vintage speaks with a soft voice, whispering an aromatic complexity of sappy berries, crunchy red fruits full of dried herbs, fynbos spice and an irony ferrous minerality. Such a pretty wine with a cranberry and pomegranate freshness and purity with a delicate bramble berry hint. A really very special wine with such beautiful texture and freshness at such a meagre alcohol! Love it! Drink now to 2038+.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Anysbos Tesame 2022, WO Bot River, 13% Abv.
A blend of 55% Grenache Noir, 33% Syrah and 12% Cinsault aged for 16 months in old oak using a partial whole bunch portion. Incredibly pristine and bright, this is an evocative wine with crystalline red berry fruits, cranberry, bramble berry and a fynbos herby spice. The palate expertly walks a tightrope between sweet concentrated red berry fruits, stony minerality and a sweet bay leaf herby, silky finish. Drink now to 2036.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Anysbos Tesame 2023, WO Bot River, 13% Abv.
A blend of 56% Grenache Noir, 39% Syrah and 5% Cinsault aged for 16 months in old oak. This is a big, intense, punchy, extroverted style in 2023. Simply put, it takes your breath away. The aromatics are sweet and sappy, layered with dried herbs, fynbos, pithy red plum and red currant berry fruits. The integration and balance on the palate are simply stunning. This is the business! A fabulous wine I’d love a case of in my cellar. Drink now to 2038+.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Anysbos wines are imported exclusively into the UK by Wood Winters Wine Merchants.
The first quarter of the year always sees the Liberty Wines Portfolio tasting at the Oval in Vauxhall, London, which features an incredible array of wines from around the world. This year I decided to focus on tasting the exciting crop of new and current release wines from South Africa in their range. Many in the UK will be aware that several key South African premium producers have recently moved over to the Liberty Wines portfolio, making it now one of the most exciting line-ups with any importer in the UK. As always, it was fantastic to catch up with the producers in person like John Seccombe, Marelise Niemann, Craig Wessels, Peter-Allan Finlayson, Chris Mullineux and others.
The Restless River New Releases from Craig Wessels will be featured in a separate write-up on A Fine Wine Safari coming very soon.
Dr Jamie Goode tasting with John Seccombe.
Thorne & Daughters:
Thorne & Daughters Paper Kite 2024, 13% Abv.
Semillon planted in 1963 on Granite soils. Rich leesy aromatics with lemon and herbs, lanoline and buttered white toast. Crisp, fleshy but beautifully saline and textured on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
John Seccombe
Thorne & Daughters Rocking Horse White Blend 2023, 13.5% Abv.
Rich and waxy with lemon and peaches, lactic leesy hints and some marzipan nuances. Fleshy, and pithy, packing a nice bit of power on the long finish. Impressive as always.
This Skurfberg vineyard delivers a pithy, waxy yellow orchard fruit characters that balance the slightly oily notes of the Sauvignon Blanc phenolics. The palate is chiselled and fresh with a vibrant saline acidity and a cool, pithy, mineral finish. Classy grown up Sauvignon!
A Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Mourvedre blend. Shows exotic sweet spices, layers of red fruits and bramble berries. Acids are crisp and saline, the minerality adding extra crunch, definition and tension. Lovely textured red Rhone blend with weightless concentration.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Momento Wines:
Momento Chenin Blanc / Verdelho 2022, 13% Abv.
Complex leesy, herby, savoury aromatics before a more fleshy palate packed with granitic minerality and a yellow orchard fruit complexity. Serious effort as usual.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Momento Grenache Blanc 2023, 13.5% Abv.
Pithy, dusty aromatics with grated apple skins, pear drops and granitic minerality. Beautifully balanced, the palate shows freshness, citrus pithiness, dried herbs and a crystalline wet river pebble finish. Top class example.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Myself and Marelise Niemann
Momento Grenache Gris 2023, 13% Abv.
Waxy green apple cordial and wet grey slate aromatics. Lovely intensity on the palate, a pronounced salinity and a cool, crystalline, mineral finish. Impressive!
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Momento Paardeberg Grenache Noir 2023, 13% Abv.
Distinct bramble berry fruit aromatics, delicately perfumed with potpourri and rose petals. Beautifully cool, mineral and restrained in the palate, taut, crystalline and pure with crunchy saline chalky red berry notes on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Peter-Allan Finlayson
Crystallum and Gabrielskloof Wines:
Crystallum The Agnes Chardonnay 2025, 13.5% Abv.
Embryonic, pithy and fresh with white citrus, green melon and delicate fruit salad and cream notes. Lovely concentration, flinty stony reductive hint with a wet river stone finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Crystallum Clay Shales Chardonnay 2025, 13% Abv.
A little more citrus, peaches and cream with leesy hints and buttered brioche nuances. Dense, compact and textured, the concentration is punchy, the toasty melon and citrus fruits intense and long.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Gabrielskloof Elodie Chenin Blanc 2024, 13% Abv.
From 40- and 45-year-old Swartland Chenin Blanc vineyards. Taut stony mineral expression with apple, peach and pear drop aromatics. There’s impressively delicate weightless green apple notes, with a cool, crystalline, easy drinking finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Crystallum Peter Max 2024, 13.5% Abv.
Beautifully aromatic nose laced with potpourri, violets, and bramble berry spice. Incredibly intense and vibrant with piercing red berry fruits, cherry and a salty finish. Wow!
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Gabrielskloof Syrah Whole Bunch 2024, 13% Abv.
A deliciously brambly, earthy peppery aromatics ps led full of smoky black berries, tar and burnt wood embers. Palate is soft and supple, cool, elegant and vibrant with crunchy acids and a long finish full of Christmas spices.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Gabrielskloof Cabernet Franc Landscape Series 2022, 14% Abv.
Beautifully expressive aromatics of sweet cedar, liquorice, tar and salty black currant. The elegance and salinity follows to a juicy, vibrant palate, finishing with graphite minerality and herbal spice.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Wines:
Mullineux Old Vine White 2024, 13.5% Abv.
Still circa 70% Chenin Blanc with some Quartz vineyard but mostly low yielding Paardeberg Chenin Blanc. Aromatics are full of sweet herbs, crushed Granite and white peach with a weightless concentration, delicately pithy fruits and a yellow orchard fruit concentration on the finish. Punch and impressive for the vintage.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Terroir Series Granite Chenin Blanc 2024, 13.5% Abv.
Lovely tangerine and white peach notes with hints of green apple, deep veins of liquid minerality and concentrated apple and white citrus on the finish. Layered, fleshy and intense, this packs a real punch.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Chris Mullineux
Mullineux Syrah 2023, 13% Abv.
A very pretty fragrant aromatics with red and black berry fruits, violets, lavander and sweet herbs. The tannins are cool and stony, pithy and mineral with notes of saline black currant, black liquorice and Granitic spice. Tangy, fresh and beautifully intense.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Terroir Series Schist Syrah 2023, 13.5% Abv.
A beautifully fragrant and exotic aromatics showing violets, lavander, musk and stony minerality. The delicately perfumed nose gives way to a power packed palate, dense, savoury and spicy, packed full of black pepper, cured meats and smoky wood embers. A substantial wine indeed.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Leeu Passant Wines:
Leeu Passant Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, 14% Abv.
Intricate aromatics of sweet cedar, lead pencil, graphite, sweet Chai tea over black currant fruits. Silky and sleek in the mouth, cool, mineral and classically framed, this is really elegant and restrained for old world wine lovers.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Leeu Passant Chardonnay 2023, 14% Abv.
Exotic aromatics of perfumed peach and apricot, honeydew melon, green apple and buttered white toast. Massive concentration on the palate with candied citrus, lime cordial and a fleshy green apple finish. Wow, this has a lot of stuffing.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Adi Badenhorst, a new agency for Liberty Wines.
Also on taste: Restless River from Craig Wessels, AA Badenhorst Family Wines who’s sample bottles were mostly finished before I could taste them due to popular demand, the Bosberaad Wines from Paul Jordaan and Pauline Roux which I recently reviewed on A Fine Wine Safari, as well as a selection of Fairview Wines and Spice Route Wines.
There are few more beautiful regions in the southern Rhone Valley than Beaumes-de-Venise. This enchanting wine regions is towered over by the striking Dentelles de Montmirail peaks, limestone outcrops from the Jurassic era, the sloping vineyards of this tiny southern Rhône cru and its five picture postcard villages possessing a true classical beauty. With a mosaic of complex soils situated on slopes at altitudes as high as 600m, this region seems to tick all the correct boxes for a new generation of wine drinkers looking for quality, individuality, and affordability, all presented with a rich historically storied past.
Interestingly, Beaumes de Venise was one of the first French wine regions I visited on my return to Europe from South Africa in 2000. Coming five years before the appellation changes in 2005, the region was firmly dominated by sweet Muscat wines with red wines very much an afterthought – the red wines living in the shadow of more notable up and coming villages like Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau, Sablet, etc. I knew it was beautiful as a region and incredibly complex geologically, having hiked the Dentelle de Montmirail trails… which normally means it should be perfect red wine terroir as well.
Beaumes-de-Venise’s world-class Vins Doux Naturels (VDNs), sweet wines fortified to 15%, aka AOC Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, might be what the region is best known for, but as I discovered during a recent three day tasting trip to the region, there is so much more to discover and explore about this beautiful part of the southern Rhône Valley.
While the regions Muscat Beaumes-de-Venise VDN sweet wines need no introduction, having been served at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the Cru status for the reds wines was only conferred on Beaumes-de-Venise reds in 2005. These must be an assemblage of at least 50% Grenache and 25% Syrah, with other Rhône varieties permitted such as Mourvèdre, Cinsault and Counoise.
White varietals like Viognier, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc can also be added but must make up no more than 10% of the blend. In practice, the majority of producers stick with Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Currently, the INAO is still considering the AOC’s application in 2022 to include dry white wines under the same Cru designation.
The uniqueness of Beaumes-de-Venise’s terroir lies in its complex geological diversity, with four soil types: Triassic red earth, grey Jurassic earth, Cretaceous white earth and blond Miocene earth. The emergence of the Dentelles de Montmirail brought the Triassic deposits to the surface around the village of Suzette, whose soils are ideal for Syrah, providing richness, suppleness and longevity. Grey Jurassic earth is found north of the village of Lafare, being made up of silt, clay and sand which is perfect for Grenache. Cretaceous white earth around the village of La Roque-Alric, with its marly clay-limestone soil, is good for both Syrah and Grenache, which are grown on terraces, or ‘banquettes’, that boost groundwater retention. Blond Miocene earth’s clay-sand soils are best for Muscat, providing finesse, freshness and floral aromas. This blend of soil types gives Beaumes-de-Venise wines distinctive complexity and balance.
Beaumes de Venise celebrating 100 years – 80 years for sweet wines plus 20 for the red wine appellation.
For the UK market, there is definitely a significant opportunity for the red blends focusing on Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre. Most interestingly for me, despite the 14 to 15 % alcohol levels on the wines, they all retained incredible purity, freshness and focus more in keeping with wines that are 13 or 13.5% abv. But the limestone soils and altitude definitely bring something special to the wines. In the wider wine market, there is undoubtedly plenty of interest in the UK for the £16.99 to £22.99 price point wines that should see consumers getting a very accomplished red wine showing fruit purity, concentration, and structure.
AOC Beaumes-de-Venise Red Tasting:
1 Domaine Sant Amant 2024
Enticing sweet herbs, Xmas spices and black berries with a dusty stony, mineral undertone. Fresh and crunchy, texture shows tension, acid frame and lovely red and black fruit clarity with a tangy finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
2 Domaine Pierre Rougon 2024
Full of dark broody black berry fruit aromatics with a dusty limestone minerality. Lovely pithy mineral tannins, restraint and grip but fine grained and full of energy with a saline liquorice kiss on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
3 Sarl Persephone Domaine Suzette 2024
Deep earthy black berry fruits with damson plum, black cherry and sweet bramble berry spices. The texture is fleshy and compact showing depth and breadth but also a creamy black fruited depth with plush powdery tannins and a saline intensity on the harmonious finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
4 Domaine Caroline Bonnefoy 2023
Intense perfumed aromatics packed full of sour plum, peach skins, violets and lavender fragrance. Bright and fruity, the palate is tangy and mouth watering with a sweet / sour acidity with soft fleshy layers of red and black berry fruit on the finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
5 Domaine de Fenouillet Terres Blanches 2023
Dark broody nose with exotic black cherry and wild strawberry notes. The texture is sleek and polished, the tannins fine grained and powdery, finishing with chalky, grippy mineral tannins. A real terroir feel to this wine.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
6 Domaines des Bernardins 2023
The aromatics are dusty and savoury with sappy spicy notes, peppery black berries, and a smoky flinty hint. The palate is fruity and bright full of red and black berry fruits, tangy acids and a sappy brambly finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
7 Domaine des Garances Alazard 2023
A delicately perfumed aromatics showing musk, lavender, potpourri, black plums, red currants and black cherry. Palate shows crisp acids and notable delineation with wild strawberry and bramble berry fruits over a stony limestone minerality.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
8 Domaine du Grand Montmirail Terres Blondes 2023
Piercing and pure fruited with violets, lavender, red cherries and red berries. Crisp, pure and very focused with an impressive textural precision. Very impressive balance. Real class.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
9 Domaine La Ligiere Les Garennes 2023
Deep broody complex aromatics show herbs and spices, black berry fruits, musk and lavender. The palate is plush and ripe with a sweet sour acidity alongside plummy red and black fruits, bramble berries and hints of breakfast brown toast.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
10 Domaine Raboly Clement V 2023
Delightfully perfumed nose of dried violets, potpourri and lavender alongside red and black berry fruits. The palate is crisp, pure and taut, full of energy and tension, polished marble tannins, tangy acids and a sleek harmonious long finish showing class and pedigree. Wow!
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
11 Famille Petitjean Les Contreforts de Montmirail 2023
Bright fruity nose showing raspberry ripple, strawberry confit and sour red plum with a smoky mineral hint. Deliciously tangy and red fruited, the finish is long, characterful and delicately salty.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
12 Famille Petitjean Tradition 2023
Dark fruited aromatics showing damson plum, bramble berries and garrigue spice. There’s a focused precision on the palate, crisp acids and an accessible, long, fleshy finish with soft pliable tannins.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
13 Domaine Pierre Rougon Les Vins Pierre Rougon 2023
Attractive aromatics of damson plum, black currant, violets and salty cassis. The texture is polished and tight knit, sleek, balanced and fine grained with creamy red and black fruits and a harmonious blackberry fruited finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
13B Jean Pierre Cartier Rouge 2023
Shows a melange of perfume and lavender, musk and bathroom soaps with potpourri and garrigue spices. The palate is fleshy and creamy, full but accessible and deliciously chalky and tight grained with a powdery grippy mineral finish. A serious effort!
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
14 Vignerons des Dentelles Dom Venitia 2023
A dark fruited plummy smoky bramble fruited aromatics. The fruits are cool and compact, polished with fine grained tannins and gentle, soft integrated acids with a delicately toasty, brûléed finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
15 Domaine de Durban Vieilles Vignes 2022
Tight dark fruited aromatics. Sleek texture. Beautifully complex and polished.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
16 Domaine de la Pigeade Hurlevent 2022
A wine with impressive minerality and precision alongside aromatics of limestone, garrigue and spicy black berry. Impressive purity and precision on the palate, a definite winemaking focus and know how that elicits the best of this wine’s terroir. A polished, harmonious style with real minerality.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
17 Domaine des Garances Jas du Chene 2022, 14.5% Abv.
50% Grenache and 50% Syrah aged in concrete and stainless steel vats. Exotic aromatics of cherry rock candy, red plum and sour cherry. Follows to a deliciously pure, crystalline palate with sleek silky tannins, glassy fresh crystalline acids and a beautifully harmonious finish with a delicate brûléed tasty twist. Very impressive finesse.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
18 Domaine Raboly Jean XXII 2022
Deep broody black fruited aromatics showing plum and black berry, musk and potpourri spice. Texture is cool, fleshy and pure, harmonious and balanced with silky tannins, a fleshy black berry core of fruit and a long, chalky finish. Very mineral and seriously classy!
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
19 Domaine Saint Amant Grangeneuve 2022
An intricate aromatics with raspberry and red currant top notes over deeper, broodier black currant and damson plum baritone fruit notes. Full and plush in the mouth, the acids are tangy and the tannins sweet, soft and accessible, finishing with a mellow sweet and sour complexity.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
20 Earl Saint Roch Cuvee des Sens 2022, 15% Abv.
60% Syrah and 40% Grenache. Smoky meaty savoury aromatics with hints of cherry rock candy, macerated blueberry fruits and musk hints. The palate shows a fleshy depth and concentration, accessible ripeness and generous depth with a long, plush, sweet black fruited finish. Packs a lot of punch and intensity.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
21 Earl Saint Roch Cuvee des Taus 2022
A delightfully fragrant aromatics boasting violets and potpourri, black cherries, musk and lavender. The fruits are tangy and bright in a red and black berry melange. Polished tight grained marble tannins are supported by a fresh acidity and a generous, harmonious fruit length.
(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
22 Vignerons des Dentelles Confidence 2022
The aromatics show dusty, herby garrigue spice with musk and cinnamon spice. Cool and compact on the palate, the tannins are fine grained, chalky, and soft with a drying mineral finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
23 Gaec de Benquillon Rene 2022
Perfumed aromatics with pink musk, talc, lavender and potpourri. The palate is bright and tangy, the acids crisp and the tannins chalky and mineral. Massive fruit concentration and intensity make this a very impressive wine.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
24 Famille Soard Domaine de Fenouillet Yvon Soard 2021
Deep dark notes of black cherry, liquorice and black berries. Stony mineral texture with linearity and chalky tannins. A more mineral, classically restrained expression.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
25 Domaine de Garances Le Pas de L’Aube 2021
75% Syrah and 25% Grenache from a single plot. Complex aromatics of black berry, saline cassis, liquorice and black olive. The texture is cool and tight knit, with polished stony tannins, a chalky minerality and a drying intense finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
26 Domaine Saint Amant Cuvee Nathalie 2020
20% new barriques with up to 8 year old barrels with a 3-4% Viognier portion blended and Co-fermented. Aromatics full of black cherry, kirsch liquor, and salty black liquorice. The black fruits are zippy and vibrant, the texture chalky and mineral with a long, tangy salty finish. Plenty of intensity here.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
27 Famille Petitjean Felibrige 2020
A more savoury meaty black fruited aromatics with cherry and cured meats. Palate is mineral and taut with stony tannins and a chalky finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
28 Vignerons de Dentelles Trias 2020
Deep broody aromatics boast black cherry, black berries and saline spice. A notable minerality belies the palate with fine grained chalky tannins and a fresh, bright acid finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Star performers from Domaine Raboly, a young premium micro-site boutique producer.
It’s that time of year again! Tasting the unique micro expressions from some of South Africa’s top producers is no easy task. It used to be a real expose of some really unique wine styles of the ever evolving South African wine industry, but now, it feels like producers are evolving, maturing, and certainly playing it a little safer. Is that a bad thing? No, not at all!
Speaking to tasters, collectors (at the tasting) and producers, the feeling was very much that ALL wines were impressive and worthy of praise. But, many did feel that the innovation had been slightly dialled down in the name of premiumisation and in order to offer the wider global fine wine market a unique selection of wines that can be offered to incredibly fussy international merchants and collectors in a congested fine wine market place – wines that can’t be compared and contrasted to anything already available on the market.
Some will reflect on these wines and feel that they are not sufficiently “different” from the regular cuvées offered on the commercial market, but one has to bare in mind that many of the buyers engaging in the CWG auction are not in a viable position to access workable / commercial quantities of wines from these top producers now that European allocations have become so tightly controlled and limited. The CWG breaks that mould and expands the market for South African fine wine, bringing some incredibly high quality wines to a wider, new generation of collectors and connoisseurs. That alone should surely be celebrated. I for one remain a MASSIVE fan of the CWG concept and auction process and encourage enthusiasts to buy with confidence whether bidding directly or buying through a merchant channel like Bordeaux Index.
Scores at the doors…
AA Badenhorst Family Wines ‘Out Of The Strong Comes Forth Freshness’ Carignan 2024 – 93+/100
The Saldanha Wine & Spirit Co. Saldanha Pale Dry SEA, SALT, SAND AND WIND N.V. – 95/100
Ataraxia ‘Sympathy For The Pinot’ Pinot Noir 2024 – 94/100
Angus Paul is a young, exciting new talent on the Cape wine scene producing some very accomplished wines in his own right, none more so than his Old Vine Chenin Blanc expressions. While I was in the Cape recently, I caught up with Angus, not to show me his wines, but to taste an exciting new Syrah wine made in a small new project … “formed from an unlikely partnership and friendship between a steel construction worker and a financial planner, both of whom have a passion for talking about wine and drinking fine wine” – that has now led to the Staanspoor collaboration.
Staanspoor, meaning departure point in Afrikaans.
Staanspoor, means the departure point in Afrikaans, and this wine’s departure is a shared passion between wine-loving friends. Produced by Angus Paul from fruit sourced from the famous Karibib vineyard in the Polkadraai Hills, on the False Bay facing Granitic slopes just above the Reyneke winery, which is home to fruit also sourced by producers such as Duncan Savage and Mick and Jeanine Craven. Angus brought me the maiden 2022 and also the new 2023 to taste and assess.
Staanspoor Syrah 2023, WO Polkadraai Hills, Karibib, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
An incredibly attractive aromatics packed full of sweet black and blue berry fruits with hints of black olive tapenade, black peppercorns, salty black currant, incense, and warming Christmas spices. The palate is rich but vibrant, tightly packed with saline black berry fruits, oyster shell and hints of nori seaweed nuances. The frame is chiselled and taut, sleek and notably mineral with a fine vein of granitic spice and maritime salinity on the finish. A very classy, old world Northern Rhone lookalike that’s absolutely delicious. Drink now to 2035+.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Staanspoor Syrah 2022, WO Polkadraai Hills, Karibib, Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.
This maiden release is made in a ripe, opulent style with aromatics of black liquorice, chargrilled meats, sweet black peppercorns, spicy black currants and dusty Granitic mineral spice. The texture is impressively pithy and tight grained, even picante, with a Granitic wet stone minerality, fynbos and garrigue herbal spice on the slightly wild brambly finish. Drink now to 2032+.
In celebration of their Bruwer family heritage, cousins Bruwer Raats and Gavin Bruwer Slabbert created Bruwer Vintners in 2014. Their guiding mission was to master South Africa’s heritage varietals, namely Pinotage, Cinsault and Chenin Blanc / Semillon blends to express their heritage and terroir in a modern interpretation.
The Bruwer Vintners’ white and red releases have been incredibly solid, well made, classical expressions from the very beginning, but from the 2024 vintage we see a notable, and quite frankly, unexpected step up in quality, focus and intensity. I visited the winery in July 2025 to taste but sadly Gavin wasn’t available for me to quiz him on how exactly he’s managed to dial up the quality of his entire range. But the quality shift is undeniable. But don’t just take my word for it, seek out these new releases and discover some incredibly exciting new wines.
Bruwer Vintners Haarlem to Hope 2024, WO Polkadraai Hills, 13% Abv.
A white blend of 75% Chenin Blanc and 25% Semillon, with a portion of the Chenin Blanc fermented and aged in concrete, differentiating the 2024 from previous vintages. The wine is incredibly mineral and smoky on the nose, full of crushed granite, dried herbs, fynbos, tangerine peel and crunchy green apples. In the mouth, this blend is delightfully cool, pure and precise on the palate with a real sense of confidence and harmony, a wine fully at ease with itself. Super tangy, fresh and bright, the crystallinity resonates in the wine with such purity, streamlined tension and focus. This is an incredibly accomplished white blend that benefits from its new maturation tweaking. Drink now to 2035+.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bruwer Vintners Lone Wolf Cinsault 2024, WO Stellenbosch, 12% Abv.
Old vine Cinsault from the 1953 Bellevue vineyard, this wine is always a star performer in the Bruwer Vintners range. Aged in two 500 litre barrels for 10 to 12 months, the 2024 is already incredibly perfumed and precise, bursting with violets and rose petals, potpourri, Turkish delight, blood orange and juicy ripe cranberries with an intricate undertone of granitic mineral spice. The oaking is very much an afterthought, the palate deliciously fresh, pure and vibrant with an incredible intensity and concentration that all melts together so seamlessly into a wonderfully complete wine. This 2024 rises to new levels of vibrancy, energy, and vivacity, showing off the very best components of this heritage Cinsault block. Drink now and over the new next 10 to 15+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bruwer Vintners Liberte Pinotage 2023, WO Polkadraai Hills, 13% Abv.
This new expression saw a reduction of the whole bunch portion to circa 15% with longer ageing in older barrels, with 18 months maturation allowing the wine to integrate and find a better balance. The results of these small stylistic tweaks reveal themselves on the nose and palate, the aromatics boasting an extra dimension of freshness and bright red berry fruit with hints of cranberry and succulent red cherry, red plums and red currants. Delicious brightness and energy, youthful vivacity and purity that truly champions this modern fruit forward styling of premium Pinotage. Drink on release and over the next 8 to 10 years.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Bruwer Vintners Lone Wolf Syrah 2024, WO Polkadraai Hills, 13% Abv.
The 2024 sees a 100% whole bunch styling, fermented in open top fermenters before being aged in older 300 litre barrels for 12 months. This Karibib block yields and incredibly pure and intense expression of Syrah with dense black berry fruits, sweet black peppercorns, black olive tapenade and savoury, meaty bruleed oak spice notes. The palate is beautifully fresh and vibrant, creamy and mineral with such a beautiful weightless concentration, a deliciously chalky, creamy minerality that melts away into a sweet, savoury, red and black berry fruit concentration with gentle hints of maritime salinity and seashore kelp. The aromatics definitely trade on intense perfume and purity rather than savoury, smoky bruleed notes, which keeps the wine incredibly fresh, vibrant and energetic. A really mouth watering expression of Syrah from Bruwer Vintners that takes the quality up another notch. Drink now and over the next 8 to 10 years.
(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Bruwer Vintners wines are imported into the UK by Alliance Wines.
This is the third red release from Sakkie Mouton, one of the Cape’s most exciting winemaking talents who seems to keep going from strength to strength. With a now well-established quality track record for his crisp, complex, saline white wines from the Weskus, his wines have become incredibly sought after including his red wines.
Simply speaking, you can sell a cultish brand once, maybe twice, but if it doesn’t deliver the quality collectors and connoisseurs expect that’s where it will break down. Sakkie’s followers are however true converts, buying and drinking his wines vintage after vintage, standing as a true testament to the authentic character and ever-increasing quality of his wines.
The Dawn of the Salty Tongues label is a reference to the rise of the West Coast as a new wine region and showcases divers picking grapes under the ocean, which contributes to the “salty” taste of the palate. “Salty Tongues” also happens to be Weskus slang for the rather spicy language some of the local farmers and fishermen are known to use on a regular basis!
Sakkie Mouton Family Wines Dawn of the Salty Tongues Syrah 2024, WO Oliphants Rivier, 12.86% Abv.
2.6g/l RS | 6.1g/l TA | 3.40pH
The Salty Tongues Syrah 2024 is a 100% Syrah red made from grapes sourced from vineyards in Vredendal located 25 kilometres from the West Coast Atlantic Ocean that were picked early morning to preserve freshness before being destemmed, with 30% of whole bunches lining the bottom of the open top fermenters. After fermentation, the wine was aged for 12 months in 500 litre barrels before being bottled unfiltered and unfined. Planted in 1999, these 26-year-old vineyards are starting to yield some incredible quality with striking aromatics of pressed violets and lavender, bramble berries and pomegranate before hints of black cherry, blood oranges, nori seaweed and bloody raw meat develop. This 2024 shows more dry extract, more substance, and more depth of fruit and oak spice than either of the previous two vintages. With incredible elegance, vivacious tangy acids and a silky plush depth, the palate never loses its mouthwatering red and black berry Weskus salinity that gently melts away into a concentrated, intense, piercing finish. This is a beautifully crafted red wine from Sakkie. Drink on release and over the next 8 to 10 years.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Sakkie Mouton Wines are imported into the UK for retail and private clients by South African specialist merchant Museum Wines and for On-trade and Scotland by Wood Winters.
Sakkie Mouton is now a universally respected young winemaker crafting some incredibly unique terroir driven white wines made from grapes mostly sourced from several barren wind-swept vineyards up the Cape West Coast around Koekenaap and Vredendal. But it was only with his maiden release Dawn of the Salty Tongues Syrah 2022 that he started on his own wine brand’s red wine journey. The name and label references not only the rise of the Weskus as a new respected viticultural area of interest but is also a play on words describing the more “salty language” that some of the West Coast locals are known to use.
With Sakkie’s new Revenge of the Crayfish Chenin Blanc 2024 and his new, third release, Dawn of the Salty Tongues 2024 Syrah about to hit the UK market, I thought it would be a perfect time to revisit his second Syrah release from the 2023 vintage. Once again, this second release is made from 100% Syrah grapes sourced from vines located 25 kilometres from the cold Atlantic Ocean in Vredendal. Sakkie says the 2023 vintage was “a spectacular one on the West Coast, with warm and sunny days and nice cold evenings to help slow the ripening process.” Grapes were picked early in the morning to preserve freshness before being chilled down and destemmed with 30% of whole bunches used in open top fermenters. Fermentation lasted around 2 weeks with pump overs three times per day, with the temperatures kept at a constant 27 degrees C. After completion of fermentation, the wine was aged for 11 months in 500 litre barrels.
Sakkie Mouton Family Wines Syrah 2023, WO Olifants River, 13.45% Abv.
2.8 g/l RS | 6.0 g/l TA | 3.47pH
This 100% Syrah shows a deliciously spicy, sappy aromatics with layers of dried herbs, wet leaves, pithy red cherry, spicy dried tobacco leaf, raspberries and a graphite-laden mineral spice. The palate is incredibly sleek and taut but utterly charming, fresh and tangy with a melange of red and black bramble berries, raspberry and sour red plum on the finish. Beautiful whole bunch sapidity, exotically seductive spices with soft polished mineral tannins and a long, tangy finish make this a very drinkable wine with delicacy but also subtle intensity. Another classically leaning Syrah beauty. Drink now to 2035+.
