April 2023

Winery: Neil Joubert

Wine Maker: Erni Leicht

Winery Location: Paarl

Varietal(s): 100% Cabernet Sauvignon;

Vivino Score: 4.3/5.00

Retail Price: R245.00

Notes in the wine: Layered and complex aromas of black berries, cassis, plums, savoury spices and roasted coffee. Pin-point balance between the acidity, rich fruit and velvety tannins. A full-bodied style of Cabernet Sauvignon with lingering flavours of dark chocolate and savoury spices on the finish. 100% Matured in new 225L French oak barrels for 72 months.

Winery: Vergeleging

Winemaker: Luke O’Cuinneagain

Winery Location: Somerset West

Varietal(s): 100% Shiraz

Vivino Score: 3.90/5.00

Retail Price: R220.00

Notes on the wine: The grapes were selected from Vergelegen’s Rooiland vineyards, Blocks 6, 9 & 11 were chosen for their unique and moderate climate, 140 m above sea level and circa 10 km from the ocean. These vineyards have carefully defined irrigation and canopy management practices to ensure a balanced crop size.

Dark ruby with violets, spice, chocolate and black berry fruit on the nose. The palate shows a balanced acidity, with rich tannins and a long clean fruit dominated aftertaste. Drink now or enjoy over the next decade

Winery: De Grendel

Winemaker:  Charles Hopkins

Winery Location: Ceres Plateau 

Varietal(s): Pinot Noir

Vivino Score: 3.8/5.00

Retail Price: R300.00

Notes on the wine: This Pinot is nourished by the unique ‘terroir’ of the Graaff family farm in the Witzenberg Mountain range in Ceres, better known until recently for high quality apples and pears.

At an altitude of 960 meters above sea level, with winter snowfalls often covering the vineyards, a truly continental climate facilitates gradual ripening for a concentrated, luscious, elegant, ‘terroir’ driven wine which, as the vines mature, produces increasingly perfumed wines with each successive vintage.

Carefully handpicked in Ceres in the early hours of the morning.

Winery: Swerver

Winemaker: Jasper Wickens

Winery Location: Paardeberg

Varietal(s): 100% Touriga Swerver

Vivino Score: 4.10/5.00

Retail Price: R260.00

Notes on the wine: ‘Single-variety Touriga Nacional can be a bit of an oddity but this is characterful and compelling. Red and black berries, fynbos, olive, spice, some meatiness and a hint of reduction on the nose while the palate has good depth of fruit, a nice line of acidity and nicely firm tannins.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 93/100

‘Touriga Nacional sometimes seems to show more tannin and grip in South Africa than it does in its native Portugal. This is a case in point, with notes of Angostura bitters, orange zest and blackberry fruit, a funky, earthy top note and a meaty, dry finish. Drink 2022-26.’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2021, 91/100

Deep, dark in colour with a purple rim. Rich floral aromas of violets and sweet oriental spice. Complex flavours of blueberry, plum and purple and black forest fruits and a soft but succulent acidity. It is elegantly weighty with a velvety density and a defined underlying structure. A wine that reveals the identity of Touriga Nacional with uncompromised character.

Winery: Nabygelegen

Winemaker: James McKenzie

Winery Location: Bovlei/ Wellington

Varietal(s): Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot

Vivino Score: 3.900/5.00

Retail Price: R200.00

Notes on the wine: 33 months on wood; 50% new oak, 50% second fill (80% French, 15% American, 5% Hungarian)

Merlot for suppleness, Cabernet for structure, and Petit Verdot for the backbone. This elegant wine has berry richness with blackcurrants and ripe plums overlaid with soft, smoky, aromatic tannins.

Grape selections were cold oaked over a long period before undergoing extended fermentation in stainless steel tanks whilst the Petit Verdot underwent the same process in small upright French Oak Barrels. Regular punch downs and aerated pumpovers with further carbonic maceration post fermentation for up to 10 days ensured the correct flavour extraction. The wine was then racked, pressed and underwent Malolactic Fermentation and a further 24 months maturation in a selection of different French Barrels before unfiltered bottling

Drink now or bottle mature for up to 10 years.

Winery: Ioana

Winery Location: Elgin

Winemaker: Werner Muller

Varietal(s): 64% Syrah, 3% Viognier, 6% Mourvedre, 27% Petit Verdot

Vivino Score: 4.20/5.00

Retail Price: R310.00

Notes on Wine:

Notes on the wine: Hand harvested, before being destemmed and sorted on a vibrating table, the grapes were destemmed and not crushed. Once wild fermentation had started the skin cap was softly punched down 2 times per a day to achieve desired extraction.

Post fermentation the wines underwent extended maceration; the wines were tasted regularly in order to assess the extraction level and when to press-off. Once pressed off, the wines undergo spontaneous malolactic fermentation in barrel where they were aged for 12-16 months, in 500L French oak barrels, of which 20% is new oak.

Elegant with ripe, juicy red and black fruit. Lovely white pepper and sweet, exotic spice on the nose. The entry is intense, with underlying cedar wood, followed by a long savoury, earthy finish with fine grained tannins.

Winery: Noble Hill

Winemaker: Kristopher Tillery

Winery Location: Simonsberg Groot Drakenstein

Varietal(s): 100% Chenin Blanc

Vivino Score: 3.80/5.00

Retail Price: R130.00

Chenin Blanc is both the oldest and highest-elevation vineyard at Noble Hill.

The winery uses unique large-format concrete vessels to ferment and mature our Chenin Blanc. These concrete vessels allow the wine to develop nuance and complexity without imparting oak flavour. The wine is fermented with wild yeast populations, and left on the fine lees for 9 months with regular stirring to develop fullness and depth. The name “Sur Lie” refers to this extended lees ageing.

This Chenin Blanc opens with aromas of fresh lime blossom, honeydew melon, and green apple. The aromas are balanced by delicate mineral flavours derived from the rocky slopes of the Simonsberg mountains where the wine is grown.

Winery: Rickety Bridge

Winemaker: Donovan Ackermann

Winery Location: Franschhoek

Varietal(s): 100% Chenin Blanc

Vivino Score: 3.80/5.0

Retail Price: R220.00

Specially selected grapes from old vineyards in Paarl & Swartland. All the grapes were handpicked early in the morning and then taken to the cellar.

The grapes were whole bunch pressed, settled for two days, then pumped to 500L French oak barrels where natural fermentation took place. Barrel maturation for 10 months. Dominant pineapple, peach and ripe pear aromas with notes of spicy oak. A rich mouth-filling wine with good structure and a long finish of dried fruit, white flowers and subtle minerality

Winery: De Grendel

Winemaker: Charles Hopkins

Winery Location: Durbanville, Cape Town

Varietal(s): 95% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon

Vivino Score: 4.10/5.00

Retail Price: R225.00

A special vineyard selection is made from high-quality vineyards in Lutzville and Darling, plus a small batch of Semillon from De Grendel Vineyards, in which meticulous vineyard management ensures superior fruit concentration and bolder flavours. Grapes were picked separately, depending on phenolic ripeness and flavour components. The vineyards are mostly nourished by weathered shale soils and yield 6 to 7 tons per hectare.

The De Grendel Koetshuis Sauvignon Blanc was so named because the grapes used to make this wine are grown in the vineyard that sprawls out right next to the old coach house (‘koetshuis’ in Afrikaans) where the wagons of days gone by were once kept.

The complexity of the Koetshuis promises excellent maturation potential and the wine will no doubt develop further over the next 3 to 5 years.

Winery: Nabygelegen

Winemaker: §James McKenzie

Winery Location: Wellington

Varietal(s): Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Verdelho

Vivino Score: 3.80/5.00

Retail Price: R150.00

Notes on the wine: round and full Chenin Blanc. Chardonnay tones of lemons and limes. Verdelho Spanish spice and oak. 

Winery: Vergelegen

Winemaker: Luke O’Cuinneagain

Winery Location: Somerset West

Varietal(s): 100% Chardonnay

Vivino Score: 3.80/5.00

Retail Price: R280.00

Notes on the wine: The grapes come from the famous Schaapenberg Vineyard on the Schaapenberg Hill. This hill functioned as Simon Van der Stels’ look out for ships rounding Cape Point. The 2.5 hectare single vineyard was planted in 1988 and is located 6,5 km from False Bay, directly south-facing at 320 meters above sea level.

The 2021 Schaapenberg Sauvignon Blanc is extremely aromatic with ripe passion fruit and ripe guava, black currant leaf, a touch of lemongrass and good minerality. The aftertaste is long and clean.

Winery: Iona

Winemaker: Werner Muller

Winery Location: Elgin

Varietal(s):  90% Sauvignon Blanc, 10% Semillon  

Vivino Score: 4.00/5.00

Retail Price: R190.00

Beautiful purity of limes and ripe gooseberry, with tropical, floral and fine herbal notes, ruby grapefruit and white pear drop on the finish. This is cool climate Sauvignon Blanc – vibrant, mineral, elegant, balanced and delicate, with a long, layered and complex finish.