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.,

We first tried the 2021 Secateurs red at a wedding on Adi's farm in November 2021: it's hard to explain just how easy this is to drink.

A blend of Shiraz, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Mourvedre and Grenache, it's so juicy, fine boned, and fresh. Brilliant.

A blend of Syrah, Cinsault and Grenache, with multiple other varieties, co-fermented alongside. This is wonderfully pure and complex, and there’s lots of energy and freshness here, and a fine and mineral finish.

Under a hectare of huge, old Grenache vines, planted in 1952, on the entry to Kalmoesfontein. This is the Cape’s oldest Grenache, and the resulting wine is astonishingly good. Floral and pure, with amazing tension on the palate, and such minerality on the finish. Bravo.

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.

A vineyard planted on Kalmoesfontein in 1954, this is a beautifully complex, savoury, well-balanced Cinsault. There’s notes of rose petal and a core of blue fruit. Delicious.

Tinta Barocca has huge potential in the Swartland, this parcel, planted in 1972, shows it beautifully. There’s notes of iron oxide and black pudding, with a core of dark fruit. Structured and intense, this will age brilliantly.

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.

A Cabernet Franc led blend, this is one of the best bargains on our list. Loads of ripe, juicy fruit, fine-grained tannins, and a mouth-watering freshness, having a bottle to hand is a must.

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.

Caro is the Argentina project for the Rothschilds of Chateau Lafite, along with the pioneering Catena family. The nose is complex with aromas of red fruits, figs, and gentle notes of blue berries. On the palate the wine is round with soft tannins and refreshing acidity, displaying good density and persistence, well balanced. 2021 is the coolest vintage Mendoza has seen in years, and the result is one of the freshest, most vibrant Malbec blends we've tried.

A staple of Pieter’s range, and a brilliant value wine, this is a blend of all sorts: Swartland Grenache, Wellington Grenache, Breedekloof Cinsaut, Elgin Pinot Noir, Swartland Chenin Blanc, Swartland Fernao Pirez, Stellenbosch Chardonnay and Stellenbosch Pinotage. The name refers to the fact that working with 38 grape varieties from 60 vineyards, it’s impossible to be a master of all. Rather, Pieter and his team are happy to tell stories, and be Master of None. This is a delicious wine, with tons of energy, floral top notes, and a core of crunchy red fruit. There’s spice on the mineral finish. The perfect everyday red. Try this at cellar temperature.

Prausis biodynamically farmed Voor Paardeberg Shiraz, with a little Pinotage from Darling in the blend. It’s juicy and just so drinkable.

The story of Retirement @ 65 is now well known: it’s one of our favourite wines from Pieter. It was a Cinsault vineyard which only started to be productive at 65 years of age, thanks to Pieter’s efforts to outsmart the baboons, sheep, and birds that would always come and eat the grapes. An old vineyard Cinsault, from the same farm as Duncan Savage’s Follow the Line, this is so complex and delicious, with an added savouriness and complexity to it. Brilliant in 2021.

From a high altitude Syrah vineyard on the Ceres plateau (where Pieter sees a huge potential for grape growing in general), and it’s one of the Cape’s best cool climate Syrahs. There’s so much energy here, with just the right amount of peppery complexity, and a fine thread of acidity throughout. Brilliantly balanced, and wonderfully long.

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.

This is a tiny production Tinta Barocca from the Swartland, that Pieter, in his inimitable wisdom, decided to only bottle in half bottles. It’s name means absent minded, and comes from the fact that the day Pieter went to pick this vineyard, he realised half way there that he hadn’t put his shoes on. Hence the label, too. It’s a brilliant example of this grape variety, that we reckon is one of the Swartland’s most exciting. Textured and bloody, with a core of dark fruit, and lovely energy. One of the best reds we’ve tried from Pieter.

Praus is biodynamically farmed Voor Paardeberg Shiraz, with a little Pinotage from Darling in the blend. It’s juicy and and utterly delicious; the perfect wine to enjoy in big bottle format.

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.

A blend of 55% Cabernet franc with 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot - all from the Helderberg in Stellenbosch. Pieter discovered these vineyards by keeping an eye out for pickers wearing white surgical gloves - those being employed by estates with the deepest pockets for vineyard research - and then buying grapes from as close by as possible. This is a lovely red Bordeaux blend from the Cape, with lots of brambly fruit, super-fine tannins, and a long and precise finish. Pieter’s Bordeaux blends get better and better.

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 Syrah from Boekenhoutskloof comes from the Goldmine property, planted on brown schist, and Porseleinberg, on blue schist. The resulting wine is wonderfully perfumed - like great Côte-Rôtie - but with a touch of added ripeness. There’s dark berry fruit and a hint of tapenade, and then silky tannins that last an age. This is an astonishingly good Syrah from the team at Boekenhoutskloof.

The Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon blew us away when we tasted it this year. From three vineyards on the Helderberg, and one on the granite of the Polkedraai, this has floral lift and dark cassis, and then just a hint of dried thyme and black olive. It’s a new benchmark for this wine: it’s not to be missed. A match for cru classé Bordeaux, without a doubt.

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 Boekenhoutskloof property Goldmine, on the Kasteelberg, next to the Mullineux’s Roundstone, this is a brilliant Schist-based Syrah. It’s as elegant as Syrah in the Swartland gets: peppery, floral, and beautifully fine-boned. Incredible length and savouriness define the long finish. This is a delicious, charming wine.

A blend of 71% Syrah, 11% Grenache, 9% Cinsault, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, and just a dash of Viognier, the 2019 Chocolate Block is a wonderfully pure, elegant expression from the heart of the Swartland. Red berry fruit and wild flowers drift from the glass, while the palate shows crystalline purity and a beautifully mineral finish. It punches way above its weight: that they manage to produce this in such quantities is one of the wonders of the wine world.

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.

Just an incredibly delicious Merlot from Ginny's Stellenbosch estate, this is plummy, juicy, and fine-boned, with a lovely thread of acidity. One to pop and pour.

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.