South Africa: New releases

Wary of the propensity of Chenin Blanc to lose acidity when ripening, she wanted something to add vibrancy to the white. The Chenin comes from a 1979-planted vineyard on the Paardeberg, from the same farm as the Grenache, and a 1982-planted vineyard in Botrivier, while the Verdelho comes from the Voor Paardeberg. This is a beautifully elegant, textured white, with white peach, lemon zest, and a hint of brioche on the pithy finish.

A recent bottle of 2013 of this shows just how good Tinta Barocca can be. It’s a real labour of love, and comes from three different, old vine sources: one in Bot Rivier, one in Stellenbosch, and then a parcel on the same farm on the Paardeberg as the other two wines. As mentioned this is a bottling that benefits from a couple of years in bottle: with that it develops wonderful smoky notes, and hints of blood orange. The 2019 is simply stunning: a real hidden gem of our South African range.

This is a real contender for South Africa’s finest Grenache. She calls Grenache “South Africa’s Pinot Noir”, and is always looking to make as elegant and precise an example as possible: this comes in at just 13.5% abv, yet is perfectly ripe. It comes mainly froma farm on the Paardeberg, next to Eben Sadie’s farm, with a drop of Voor Paardeberg and Bot Rivier fruit in 2018, from young vines and carefully selected clones.

This, from the Voor Paardeberg, from really young vines, is just spectacularly delicious. Red apple and wild roses swirl from the glass, while it’s the salinity and texture of the palate that really blew us away. Such an individual wine; such a wonderful wine.