South Africa: New releases

The 2021 Secateurs Chenin is the best example we've tried. Loads of fresh, crunchy apple fruit and a lovely lick of spice, with a hint of oatmeal make this an awful lot of wine for the price. And if you forget a few bottles in the back of the cellar, you might just be surprised.,

Chenin Blanc-based, with 46% Roussanne, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Muscat de Frontignan and Chardonnay, this is a stunning white blend from one of the Cape’s best winemakers. A real insider’s tip: excellent value, and will age brilliantly.

From the vineyard next door to the cellar - Kelder in Afrikaans - this is a quintessential Paardeberg Chenin Blanc. Planted in 1974, the vines are now considerable in size, and this has orchard fruit and lots of spice.

Planted in 1968 on the soils with the highest clay content, this is a structured, yellow-fruited wine, with amazing saline minerality on the finish. Delicious and mouth watering.

From the same vineyard on the far west coast of the cape as Eben Sadie’s Skerpioen. This Palomino is savoury, fresh, and beautifully balanced. It’s a curious, long-lived white that’s seriously impressive.

A unique wine in our South Africa offer, this is mainly Roussanne, with a drop of Chardonnay. It's all about texture and bright fruit. Roussanne can be a little heavy, but there's none of that here: it's savoury and frest, with just a hint of herbal lift.

The Full Moon White is a field blend from a single vineyard on the Swartland’s Uitkyk farm, a farm where plenty of others source grapes. Just a handful of bottles are made of this blend of Chenin, Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Chardonnay, from a 45 year old vineyard. Lovely weight on the palate, and plenty of energy. Delicious.

This comes from a vineyard in Wellington, planted on a hill overlooking a farm called Twyfeling. Pieter was chatting to his mum, and she mentioned that her ancestors had owned this Wellington farm: it was purely by accident that Pieter was now buying grapes from it, and the neighbouring hillsides. So the label shows the hill overlooking seven generations of the Hauptfleisch family - Pieter’s mum’s maiden name. The resulting wine is textured and very impressive, with lots of leesy complexity, and very saline finish. Delicious.

Pieter’s old assistant introduced him to this parcel of Verdelho vines in the Swartland, so he named it in her honour (Makstokkie is her instagram handle). There were just 800 bottles made of this focussed, textured white, with brilliant energy.

Pieter discovered this vineyard in some bushes - it had been totally abandoned for twenty-five years. It’s a parcel of old Chenin Blanc, that’s now forty years old, along with some young Picpoul Blanc, Petit Manseng, Semillon, Macabeo and Grillo that have been planted among the old Chenins. Oorbegin means new beginnings, referring to this new start for a forgotten vineyard. Fermented and aged in Amphorae, this is complex and balanced, with remarkable purity and shape in the mouth.

A blend of a blend of Roussanne, Grenache blanc, Chenin blanc, Verdelho and Grenache Gris, this takes its name from the Lord of the Rings dragon that Pieter’s son drew for the label: in return he gets a small commission on every bottle they sell. It’s a lovely balance of ripe fruit, savoury notes, and lots of tension. A brilliant white.

From a 1.6ha vineyard planted on Schist soils in 1996, on the Kasteelberg’s Goldmine property, this is a grippy, floral, spicy Chenin that’s utterly delicious. There’s notes of wild flowers, beeswax, and a hint of ginger spice. It’s ready to go, but will age well, too.

The 2019 Semillon comes from three sites in Franschhoek, from vines planted in 1902, 1936 and 1942. It’s so complex and fresh, with a hint of orange blossom from 3% Muscat from 1902 planted vines. There’s incredible texture here, and a sea-spray tinged finish that lasts an age. Incredible.

From the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge WO, and a blend of Roussanne, Chenin, Chardonnay, and a few other grapes, this is the hidden gem of Chris's range. It's elegant, savoury and refined. Remarkable tension on the finish: this is delicious.

Chris' second vintage of this, his young vines cuvée. There's plenty of purity here, with lovely vibrant citrus fruit, and then a lick of ginger spice. This is turning into a must-buy every year. Outstanding.

From Albarino vines that were grafted onto unsuccessful Cabernet Sauvignon, this was a great decision from Ginny Povall. This is pithy and fresh, with lots of savoury density, and a delicious finish. Just so easy and drinkable

This comes from the legendary Skurfberg, from the Oudam farm. At this stage it's very tightly wound, with notes of thyme and fynbos, and incredible drive. Give this a couple of years, and it will be brilliant.

This Chenin Blanc is different from all the other Chenins in our range: it comes from Elgin, one of the coolest grape-growing regions in South Africa. Planted on Bokkeveld Shale - not all that dissimilar to the soils of the Loire’s Savennières - this is as cool and precise as South African Chenin gets.

Made by pinching the tops of the bunches, concentrating the sugars, and acidity, in the grapes, this is a really lovely sweet wine from Alex Starey. Green pineapple, ginger, and a hint of lemongrass create a very refreshing but intensely sweet wine. This is a blend of vintages, hence (for the one and only time) it's a N/V wine.

A small parcel of this, the single vineyard Chenin Blanc from the outstanding 2017 vintage, has been made available to us. It was planted in 1971, and this is in such a lovely place right now. Textured, lifted, and incredibly fine-boned, this is a stunning Chenin Blanc.

A blend of three different blocks on the Klein Constantia hillside, the 2020 Clara is drop-dead gorgeous. Delicate and floral on the nose, with notes of oyster shell, lime blossom, and sea spray, and plenty of fresh ginger too, this is complex and delicious already. There’s the structure here to age beautifully too. Everyone should secure a case of this, if they can.

Taking it's name from the horses that used to work this plot, the Perdeblokke is a real beauty in 2020. There's such energy here, alongside the opulence we've come to expect from this warm site. Sweet and sour in character, this will convert even the most anti-Sauvignon wine lover.

Just a few hundred bottles of this single block are produced: for Matt, it's a play thing, something that informs the rest of his winemaking. Notes of ginger and fresh grapefruits swirl from the glass of this wine, that's all about texture and purity. South Africa's best Sauvignon Blanc?

Block 382 is a single vineyard at the top of the Klein Constantia hillside, and the 2020 is intense and pure and remarkably textured. Just a few hundred bottles are produced this: we're thrilled to be able to offer it in the UK.

The 2019 Vin de Constance is disarming in its beauty. Notes of honeysuckle and pear swirl from the glass, with hints of spice and plenty of Seville oranges, too. The palate is so impeccably balanced, you barely feel the sweetness. And there’s such precision of flavour here, too, with so much unfurling in the mouth. This is an extraordinary wine: a bottling that belongs in every cellar.

A newer wine for Lismore, this comes from Walker Bay, and has plenty of points of difference from the Chenin Blancs from Stellenbosch and the Swartland. Notes of orange blossom and jasmine, alongside a core of apple fruit, and lots of texture.

The 2020 Phoenix Chenin Blanc comes from a single old vine, organically-farmed vineyard in Paarl, planted with bush Chenin Blanc vines. 70% was vinified in tank, with 30% in barrel (the barrel component was aged at Radford Dale while Sam’s cellar was rebuilt, and hence the wine isn’t labelled organic - Radford Dale isn’t organic). The wine is brilliant. Focussed and textured, with real vibrant energy and an incredibly long finish, it’s not to be missed. 

South Africa's best Viognier? This has notes of peach and apricot, but is in no way overblown. There's a floral character, and also so much intensity and balance here. It's the salinity that strikes you on the finish, which lasts an age. Just brilliant.

Long a favourite Chardonnay, this is intense and structured. The fruit fills the mouth with stone fruits, white peach, and pear, while there's lots of spice and a long, savoury, mouth-watering finish. Just brilliant.

The 2021 Lindi Carien is a blend of predominantly Verdelho, with 65% Chenin Blanc, Colombard, Grenache Blanc and Palomino supporting. Waxy and expressive, notes of greengage, fynbos, and lots of yellow fruit. There's a lot of ginger spice, and plenty of persistence on the finish.

The 2021 Trust Your Gut is an absolute delight. Perfumed, saline and wonderfully lifted, there's a core of grapefruit and yellow plum, and a leesy complexity on the palate. There's such drive on the finish, from the Paardeberg fruit that perfectly envelops the classic Stellenbosch yellow fruit. Outstanding.