Prescient Fund Services Signature Red Blend Report 2025: Top 10
By Christian Eedes, 1 July 2025
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Introduction
This year’s Signature Red Blend Report convened by Winemag.co.za and sponsored by financial services company Prescient Fund Services is now out. There were 48 entries from 32 producers and these were tasted blind (labels out of sight) by a three-person panel, scoring done according to the 100-point quality scale.
Top 10
The 10 best wines overall are as follows:
95 – Best overall
Koelenbosch Nineteenfortyone 2022
Price: R130
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 14.74%
Winner of an energy audit worth R10 000 from Evolve Battery & Grid Solutions.
95
Rust en Vrede Estate 2021
Price: R650
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 14%
94
Afrikaans Vol. VII Cabernet Sauvignon Cinsault 2023
Price: R280
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 14%
94
Bizoe Genant 2022
Price: R390
Wine of Origin: Western Cape
Abv: 14.74%
94
JAN Syrah Grenache Mourvèdre 2023 (Zevenwacht)
Price: R190
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 14.01%
93
Alto Rouge La Residence Centenary Blend 2022
Price: R1 980 (1.5L)
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 14%
93
Coterie Grenache & Syrah 2024 (Wildeberg)
Price: R210
Wine of Origin: Coastal Region
Abv: 13.44%
93
DaschBosch The Gift 2022
Price: R130
Wine of Origin: Western Cape
Abv: 14.58%
93
Ernie Els Proprietor’s Blend 2022
Price: R350
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 14.74%
92
Fairview Extraño 2021
Price: R150
Wine of Origin: Western Cape
Abv: 14.07%
Shop online
Online wine shop Getwine is offering all of the top wines for sale – buy wine.
About the category
Why should South Africa be bound by the Bordeaux model when it comes to creating great blended red wine? Perhaps the Rhône is a better reference point given local growing conditions while the so-called “Cape Blend” incorporating Pinotage potentially gives us a unique selling proposition. Then, of course, there are the red blends of yesteryear – Alto Rouge, Chateau Libertas and Rustenberg Dry Red to name but three – which conformed to no particular model but are revered for their complexity and longevity.
Once again, we called for wines which were “distinctive of their originators” and instead of the usual practice of dividing them into various sub-groups according to style (Pinotage-based vs Shiraz-based being the differentiation most usually made), we tasted them as one continuous line-up – the thinking being that the fundamentals of wine appreciation such as complexity and balance should apply when it came to making quality assessments.
What do top Signature Red Blends go for?
The average price of the 27 wines to rate 90-plus is R276 a bottle and of the Top 10 is R347.
Best buy
Offering the best quality relative to price is Charles Lang & Sons Cabernet Sauvignon Ruby Cabernet Carignan Shiraz 2023 with a rating of 90 and selling for R65 a bottle.
Red berries, fynbos, cured meat and spice on the nose. Medium bodied with smooth tannins, the finish gently savoury.
In-depth analysis
To read the report in full, including key findings, tasting notes for the top wines, buying guide (wines ranked by quality relative to price) and scores on the 100-point quality scale for all wines entered, download the following: Prescient Fund Services Signature Red Blend Report 2025
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Motheto Selepe | 2 July 2025
Thanks so much for the report. I have always been curious about Charles Lang, time to sample this..