South Africa: New releases

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.

The first wine that put this estate on the map was the 1997 Syrah, and even today the estate Syrah remains a South African benchmark. Since 2016 it’s been entirely Swartland fruit, benefitting from the minerality of the Porseleinberg, and the rounded fruit from the brown schist of Goldmine. Gottfried has also tweaked the vinification for this, focussing more on larger oak, and a purer expression of Syrah.

The Franschhoek Cabernet Sauvignon comes from four different sites, including some coming on stream from the estate itself. It’s a wonderfully exuberant yet pure expression of Cabernet, that’s one of the Cape’s finest. A little Cabernet Franc makes it into the blend, too, which gives a touch of floral character.