South Africa 2021

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.

The 2020 Raaigras is a beautiful Grenache, coming from just twelve long rows of the vineyard in front of the estate, planted in 1952, making it the oldest Grenache in the Cape. It’s delicate and floral on the nose, with a power and intensity that builds over the palate. There’s stunning freshness here, and a long and mineral finish. Beautifully done.

A serious Cinsault from a vineyard planted on the Paardeberg in 1954. This has notes of liquorice, rose petal, and lifted strawberry fruit. And it will age brilliantly, too. Powdery tannins complete the picture. You can almost taste the soil here. Brilliant.

Undoubtedly the hardest wine name to pronounce in the world. It’s from a 1962 planted vineyard on the Paardeberg, and is an epic wine. Notes of iodine and blood orange, with a core of dark fruit, and sumptuous tannins. Don’t miss this, even in halves. Fewer than 1,500 bottles are made.

A blend of Shiraz, Grenache Noir, Cinsault, Tinta Barocca and Touriga National, there's wonderful depth here, with notes of fynbos and lots of spice, with clove and dried thyme shining through. This is incredibly pure and fine boned: a brilliant wine from Adi and his team.

A blend of Shiraz, Grenache Noir, Cinsault, Tinta Barocca and Touriga National, there's wonderful depth here, with notes of fynbos and lots of spice, with clove and dried thyme shining through. This is incredibly pure and fine boned: a brilliant wine from Adi and his team.

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.

From a vineyard that only really started being productive at the age of 65, this is so lifted and pure. It's one of the best examples of Cinsault we know of in South Africa. Just so delicious.

A cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon, with very refined tannins, a little clove spice and lifted lavender notes, and a lovely core of dark fruit. Pieter is so talented when it comes to this grape variety.

A left field blend from Pieter: Grenache, Cinsault, Pinot, Syrah and then some Chenin Blanc & Viognier. This is a ripost to those who claim Pieter is a jack of all trades, master of none. It's so easy drinking, but with the structure and length to make it interesting.

The 2020 Little William Syrah is a stunning, cool-climate Syrah from one of South Africa’s most dynamic producers. It’s cool, fresh and perfumed, with lots of floral lift and a really mineral finish. This is so delicious now, but will age well, too.

While the Epilogue Syrah gets all the plaudits, the Sons of Sugarland is arguably just as good, if not even better. It sees no oak, and is a peppery, suave, floral expression of the grape. With bottlings like this, it's no wonder that Reenen is regarded as one of the Cape's Syrah masters.

The 2019 Epilogue underlines its credentials as one of South Africa's best Syrahs, and one of the best wines here in general. It's almost Hermitage like in intensity, with dried herbs and a hint of iron oxide on the finish. Reenen's wines get better and better. Don't miss this.

The vineyard takes its name from from the final use for the land before vineyards were planted: to shoot a film about Napoleon. Here, clay and iron rich soils with schist, just 6km from the ocean give plenty of structure: this is an intense Pinot Noir. Notes of pomegranate and a hint of citrus complete the picture on this brilliant wine.

The Peter Max Pinot Noir is the introduction to the estate. It comes from five different plots, from different regions, and its name honours the first growers to sell grapes for the wine (the sources have since changed). It’s lifted and approachable, with lots of pomegranate and blood orange character. Just lovely in 2020.

This is from the Vrede vineyard, which is also the source of Hannes Storm’s Pinot of the same name. The palate here has a little more breadth, and there’s incredible definition to the fruit here. Flavours come wave after wave. Brilliant.

Malabel, was added in 2013. This is in the Elandskloof, on a farm that Peter-Allan’s dad started working with in the 1990s. Here, there’s more sand in the soil, and at 700 metres of altitude, it’s a much finer, more elegant wine. The 2020 is suave and cool, and will age beautifully.

From four vineyards, with the core from the Paardeberg, near David & Nadia’s farm. 60% whole-bunch fermentation while maturation lasted 12 months, half in concrete and half in older 500-litre barrels. This is pure, focussed, and very long indeed: a stunning expression of this grape variety.

38% Grenache Noir, 36% Syrah, 10% Pinotage, 9% Carignan and 7% Cinsaut. Minty, floral, and incredibly expressive on the nose, it’s the texture that’s particularly good here. Long, savoury, and very moreish, this is excellent.

38% Grenache Noir, 36% Syrah, 10% Pinotage, 9% Carignan and 7% Cinsaut. Minty, floral, and incredibly expressive on the nose, it’s the texture that’s particularly good here. Long, savoury, and very moreish, this is excellent.

The most improved wine in the cellar, this is a really lovely Cabernet Franc. From shale and sandstone, there’s lovely red fruited perfume as well as plenty of energy on the finish. This is incredibly well balanced.

From vines that are reaching a good level of maturity, this is a really impressive Syrah from Peter-Allan. Lavender and liquorice, and blackberry fruit mark out a wine that balances the warmth of the site and delicate winemaking. Outstanding.

Just the second vintage, and produced in miniscule quantities, this is floral and lifted, with lovely purity of fruit, and a juicy, fine-boned finish. Serve this at cellar temperature for a totally delicious Syrah.

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.

Nom comes from Kaaimansgat Vineyard in Elandskloof, the same plot that Peter-Allan Finlayson’s Malabel comes from. Indeed, it was Peter-Allan who originally planted the plot in 2008. The vineyard is at 700m of altitude, but the property, which is mostly planted with apple trees, goes even higher. On the peaks that surround the vineyard, there used to be snow every month of the year other than January. Nom stands for nombulelo (gratitude in “Xhosa”) and Nomkhubulwane (a forgotten African goddess of agriculture), and the stunning label was designed by Isabella Kuijers. It’s lifted and very floral: a very red-fruited expression of Pinot Noir, that’s utterly beautiful this year.

The Om Pinot Noir comes from a vineyard planted on the Hemel-en-Aarde ridge in 2006, just 12km from the sea, at 300m of altitude. Here, the soils are granitic with plenty of clay, and the resulting wine is more savoury and earthy than the perfume of the Nom. For Jessica, Om symbolises the concept of universal creation, while the word is also synonymous with peace. It’s more nervy than the Nom, with more depth and texture, too. There’s a refinement to the tannins, and impressive length.

From a vineyard planted in 1953, the finest site on Kanonkop’s estate in their eyes, just 6,500 bottles are produced of the Black Label Pinotage. It’s powerful and intense, but it’s the quality of the tannins that’s simply remarkable. A unique wine: this needs to be tasted to be believed.

2017 was a spectacular vintage in South Africa, and this Cabernet Sauvignon is a brilliant iteration from Kanonkop: possibly the best we’ve tasted from here. This is fine-boned, crunchy, but with perfect ripeness. Don’t miss this.

The country’s benchmark Pinotage delivers again in 2019. Notes of rose petal and a whiff of smoke on the nose, the palate is vibrant and full, with lovely minerality on the finish.

Paul Sauer needs no introduction, and the 2018 is another brilliant example. Crunchy black fruit, notes of cigar box and plenty of graphite, too, with brilliantly rendered tannins. This lives up to the hype.

Keermont's Bordeaux blend has undergone a revamp from 2015, with more careful selection and much smaller production. This is brilliant: minty, dark berries, and incredibly refined tannins. Very very good.

South Africa's best value Syrah? Keermont is clearly a very special place for this grape variety, and this entry level bottling shows remarkable poise, energy, and length. Lots of herbal lift, spice, and such purity of fruit. A really impressive wine, and at this price a no brainer.

A blend of grapes from Greyton and Cape South Coast. Lovely energy here, with fynbos and tapenade notes, and then a core of dark fruit. Very nicely done.

The most improved wine in Franco’s cellar, this is a stunner in 2020. It’s a blend of 44% Grenache Noir, 31% Cinsault, and 25% Syrah, and is floral, lifted, and so light on its feet. There’s such perfume here, as well as incredible energy. Just such a delight.

From Piekenierskloof, and produced in tiny quantities, this is a little more serious than last year. Notes of liquorice and plenty of floral lift, and a very silky finish. Delicious, and likely very ageworthy.

For Lukas, a good glass of Cinsaut should be like jumping into weightlessness, shouting Geronimo. This comes predominantly from 40+ year old vines on the Helderberg, and is one of our favourite Cinsauts from South Africa. Floral and fine, with citrus lift and real salinity, it's an absolute beauty. Slightly chilled, it's ready to go right away - but it will surely age brilliantly, too.

Lukas is a huge fan of Loire Cabernet Franc, and the Breton is definitely more in this style than most examples from the country. The 2020 is perfumed, with notes of violets and a minty lift, while the palate is silky, saline, and very long indeed. It's from the Polkedraai, from the estate where Lukas lives, and the wine is the hidden gem of his range. Not to be missed.

The 2020 Graft, Syrah from the Polkedraai, is a wonderfully pure, peppery expression of Syrah. There's high-toned fruit that's lifted and floral, and then there's silky tannins and plenty of freshly ground pepper on the finish. Really suave and cool, this is one of SA's best Syrahs.

The 2020 Stars in the Dark comes from 3 different sites within the Cape Agulhas ward, in the far south of the African continent. With parcels on clay, shale, and koffieklip, and each plot treated differently, this is a stunningly pure, silky, complex Syrah. Notes of wild flowers and white pepper swirl from the glass, while the palate has astonishing purity and focus. There's the salinity on the finish that we've come to expect from this great wine. This is not to be missed.

The 2019 Connect the Dots comes from 3 different sites - 2 in Elgin, that have subsequently been ripped out, and one in Stellenbosch, on the Helderberg. The wine is whole bunch fermented, and has lift and pepper spice, and a really beguiling texture. This is a real beauty.

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 from a farm on the Paardeberg, next to Eben Sadie’s farm, and it’s so complex and pure. Notes of wild berries and pomegranate, and a fine thread of acidity - too often missing with Grenache. Just spectacular.

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.

The Syrah is as true an expression of this grape variety in the Swartland’s varied terroirs as you’ll find. In 2018, it’s a blend of four parcels planted in the stony Shale and Schist based soils of the Kasteelberg; two parcels of dry-land, bush vines grown in the decomposed Granite of the Paardeberg; and one on the rolling, iron-rich soils west of Malmesbury. The vines are aged between 22 and 30 years, and while delicious on first release, it’s a wine that will age impressively. There’s slightly less whole bunch this year, and it’s really open, grippy, and very fine.

From a plot in Franchhoek planted in 1932, there are just 5,000 bottles of the Franschhoek Old Vines Lötter Cinsault.

The Dry Red is inspired by the South African reds of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. At this time, wines labelled as Cabernet Sauvignon would frequently have a considerable proportion of Cinsault, and this is an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Cinsault, and is a wine built for long ageing.

From a parcel planted in 1900, this is an incredible Cinsault of depth and power, and remarkable structure. Tiny quantities produced.

It comes from cooler sites across Stellenbosch, including a 39 year old parcel close to the sea, and parcels on the Helderberg and in the Polkadraai hills. This is silky and suave, and cool fruited: a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon.

From a 19 year old vineyard on the iron-rich soils around Malmesbury, the Iron Syrah has a breadth on the palate that’s not found on the other wines, and is stunningly aromatic. There’s incredible perfume here: this is bloody and almost citrus in character. A stunning Syrah.

The Schist Syrah comes from the couple’s Roundstone property, allowing full control of the farming. These 21 year old vines give a structured, peppery expression of Syrah. The berries here are 25% smaller than the Granite, and that gives this incredible texture and power.

The Granite Syrah comes again from the Paardeberg, from 24 year old vines, and is incredibly elegant and floral in style, with real focus. Powdery tannins and incredible length here. This is saline, with linear tannins and remarkable purity.

The 2020 Family Vineyards from Newton Johnson is another brilliant release from this beautiful estate. So fine and finessed, with lovely juicy fruit and lots of saline, savoury tannins, this is long and pure, and totally delicious already. This is a must buy every year.

From a single vineyard on the estate, the 2020 Windansea has more depth and intensity than the Family Vineyards, and is a little more structured. This will take longer to come around.

The 2020 Family Vineyards from Newton Johnson is another brilliant release from this beautiful estate. So fine and finessed, with lovely juicy fruit and lots of saline, savoury tannins, this is long and pure, and totally delicious already. This is a must buy every year.

The 2019 Family Vineyards Pinot Noir is a stunning wine, that’s all about floral aromatics and focussed energy. It comes from four separate parcels on the estate, and shows incredible balance, purity of fruit, and savoury length. A brilliant Pinot Noir: the best value we know?

Citrus and ripe cherries, and plenty of power and depth. Lovely grippy tannins, with plenty of structure, and finesse and drive on the palate. Really nice energy here, with plenty of texture, and a sense of understated power. Very long and fine, and delicacy on the finish. Iodine and citrus. Lovely length.

The 2019 Porseleinberg is an astonishingly complex, concentrated, refined wine, with notes of lavender and dark berries on the nose, and a palate that wows with its poise yet power, and incredibly sumptuous tannins. This is surely now one of the world's greatest Syrahs. It's not to be missed on first release.

Donovan’s Cinsault was first released in 2015, and is a blend of fruit from Swartland, shared with David Sadie, and Darling, from the same vineyard as Duncan Savage’s Follow the Line. It’s a really lovely expression of this grape, with loads of rose petal and plenty of juicy berry fruit. Will also age well.

A blend of 70% Syrah, 12% Grenache, 10% Carignan, and 8% Cinsault, this is a brilliant Mediterranean red from a master winemaker. Hints of wild herbs and plenty of red fruit, there are saline tannins here, and a really lifted, elegant quality to the fruit.

From the same schist vineyard as the Ava Chenin, farmed by Donovan and his team. Incredible purity of fruit here, with plenty of baked earth complexity, as well as amazing energy. Donovan is making some of the Cape’s best wines today. Don’t miss this.

From two vineyards on Craig & Anne’s estate, the 2018 Main Road and Dignity might just be the best iteration of this yet. It’s got incredible depth of fruit, with blackcurrant and lavender notes, as well as the slight leafiness that marks these wines out as so refined. The finish is mineral and long, and the potential for ageing is spectacular. Don’t miss this.

From biodynamically farmed grapes in the Polkedraai, the 2019 Syrah from Reyneke is a stunning red. Floral and expressive, there’s notes of raspberry coulis and pomegranate, as well as incredible lift, and a mineral, textured finish. It’s a brilliant wine, with everything in impeccable balance. It’s a real advert for the holistic approach of Johan Reyneke.

The reserve red is Polkedraai Syrah, and is a stunningly beautiful Syrah from Johan and his team. This has loads of violet lift, crushed rock, and a core of blue fruit on the nose. The tannins are so refined, and the finish lasts an age. Outstanding.

A brilliant Bordeaux blend from Johan Reyneke, at an outstanding price. Magnums are a great way to enjoy this: the perfect sunday lunch wine.

A blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot, with 30% new oak, this is a brilliant Stellenbosch Bordeaux blend. Cornerstone refers to the project whereby Johan supports his workers by buying them houses, and this wine lives up to the project. Long, intense, yet still lifted, it's a lovely wine.

From 11 tiny parcels, the 2018 Pinot Noir is a powdery-tannined example of the grape, with notes of pomegranate and loads of floral elements. Red fruited and long, it’s a really lovely Pinot.

5 parcels of Syrah in Elgin go into this cool climate Syrah. More Cote-Rotie than Hermitage, notes of white pepper and violet keep this all very together. Beautifully balanced and very long.

The Thief in the Night is, in 2020, around 63% Grenache, with the rest made up of 26% Cinsault and 11% Syrah. It comes from Piekenierskloof, with the Grenache coming from the same vineyard as Eben Sadie’s Soldaat - Eben has 8 rows, and Duncan has 4. Here, at 550m elevation on sandstone soils, the wine maintains stunning energy alongside perfect ripeness. It’s red fruited and spiced, and very long indeed.

Arguably Duncan’s most sought after wine, predominantly because of the miniscule quantity produced, The Girl Next Door comes from a 0.38ha plot of Syrah vines planted in the housing compound where Duncan used to live, that was originally planted purely for decorative purposes. But Duncan has been coaxing it back to life, weaning it off water, and farming it organically. Already impressive, Duncan reckons it’s still a few years from its best. But good luck finding any then!

Follow the Line is Duncan’s Cinsault, that’s quickly gained an almost cult following. From south-east facing old bushvines that are almost 40 years old, the wind and heat here mean that picking date is key, and a drop of Syrah in the blend adds depth and structure. It’s ageworthy and suave, with amazing length.

Arguably the least imaginative of Duncan’s wine names, Are we there yet? Comes from Malgas, way distant from the Cape’s heartlands, and from the Sijnn vineyards. The first time Duncan visited David Trafford’s project out here, he was blown away. He asked if he could buy a few grapes, and this is the result: a blend of 50% Syrah and 50% Touriga Nacional from 14 year old bushvines, that reflects the wildness of the place. The 2020 is gorgeous: fynbos, tapenade and dark berries, and real stony minerality. Don’t miss this.

The Savage Red gets better every year. 100% Syrah from a single vineyard in Kuils River, it’s spice and pure, with incredibly refined tannins and remarkable length.

The Vrede Pinot Noir comes from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, at 150m elevation and just 1.4km from the sea, and a north facing site. The warmest site Hannes works with, this has ripe dark fruit, rounded tannins, and plenty of spice on the finish.