This month sees the launch of the first-ever cookbook from acclaimed chef Luke Dale Roberts. It is a 520-page hardcover release that celebrates the cuisine of The Test Kitchen, his pioneering fine dining destination that was based in Woodstock, Cape Town.

The book is a project that has been five years in the making, started while The Test Kitchen was at the peak of its fame, and before the shutdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic forced its closure.

During its 11-year run, The Test Kitchen was hailed the complexity of its food and the cookbook is therefore not aimed at your everyday chef, functioning more as a memoir and treatise. That said, care has been taken to break down the recipes into specific steps, to make them achievable for passionate cooks working in a well-equipped home kitchen.

The Test Kitchen cookbook is published by Penguin Random House South Africa and sells for R1500.

The 2021 harvest at Swartland property Porseleinberg was cool and hence later than usual. This might suggest a wine of extra power, but it initially appears rather pretty and relatively light bodied (despite an alcohol of 13.9%).

As has been widely discussed, winemaker Callie Louw implemented submerged cap vinification in 2018 allowing for slower, more gentle extraction. The 2021 is again super-elegant with a compelling tension about it, the tannins possessing a powdery texture. It’s not short of flavour intensity but Louw achieves this without any sense of the wine being overworked. For all the wine’s outward ease and gentleness, there is still a certain underlying firmness, the finish being deeply savoury, almost earthy. In fact, the wine turns inwards rather than opening up with time in glass – it should mature with benefit over the next decade or so. Price: R750 a bottle.  

CE’s rating: 95/100.

Read Greg Sherwood MW’s report on a recent Porseleinberg vertical tasting here.

Check out our South African wine ratings database.

Winemag.co.za celebrates its 30th anniversary this month. The first issue of Wine magazine appeared in October 1993, put out by what was then family-owned publishing company Ramsay, Son & Parker (other titles in the stable at that time being Car and Getaway).

The late Harold Eedes, father of current editor Christian, was instigator, while Mike Froud, now of TopWineSA.com was the first editor and Michael Fridjhon of WineWizard.co.za was consulting editor.

The last edition of the magazine in printed form was September 2011 and the brand then went into some sort of abeyance, its Facebook and Twitter (now X) platforms continuing to exist.  Eedes Jnr and Jacqueline Lahoud, who had previously been publisher of Getaway magazine and later Show & Events Director at RamsayMedia (as Ramsay, Son & Parker had been re-named) acquired the brand and re-launched it as digital-only in October 2014. It was sold to US-based Eileses Capital in August 2018.

Here are our 10 most highly rated wines of last month:

Miles Mossop Kika Noble Late Harvest 2021 – 96/100 (read original review here)
Restless River Ava Marie Chardonnay 2021 – 96 (read original review here)
Torero and Pasiphaë Syrah 2022 – 96 (read original review here)
Vilafonté Series C Red blend 2021 – 96 (read original review here)
Kleine Zalze Project Z Chenin Blanc 2021 – 95 (read original review here)
Kruger Family Wines Karoo Syrah 2022 – 95 (read original review here)
Kruger Family Wines Old Vines Cinsault 2023 – 95 (read original review here)
Miles Mossop Max Red blend 2019 – 95 (read original review here)
Spioenkop Riesling 2019 – 95 (read original review here)
Vilafonté Series C Red blend 2020 – 95 (read original review here)

The following received via email from Pippa de Bruyn, travel writer and wine lover:

“My name is Pippa, and I am a Sauvignon Blanc addict.” Literally the WhatsApp I sent to a complete stranger during South Africa’s second severe lockdown. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

During that first protracted lockdown ban, I ensured I was well stocked with wine. Nine cases of Diemersdal Sauvignon Blanc to be precise, a wine that hits the sweet spot of value and quality, easily accessed under my desk. When restrictions eased up, and the sale of alcohol was limited to certain hours on certain days, long queues and depleted shelves made it trickier to stockpile, and my planned drive to Durbanville kept being delayed. Then the rumours surfaced: a new ban was on the cards. On Saturday 11 July 2020, I took precautions and purchased 48 bottles online from Diemersdal. A comfort in all the uncertainty. The next day at 8pm ‘Uncle Cyril’ banned all alcohol sales. The words ‘with immediate effect’ a solar-plexus moment.

Early the next morning, after a sleepless night, I set off for the cool-climate terroir that spawns such a dense array of award-winning Sauvignon Blancs. My husband had offered to accompany me, but desperation is a card best played without someone rolling their eyes.

I drove through rolling hills semi-shrouded in mist, heart rising with hope …  But the Diemersdal approach was ominously barred by closed gates. I abandoned the car; bent low over to the intercom. “Hello!” I said jabbing the Cellar Sales button repeatedly. “Hello, hello?” No answer. Winetasting. No answer. Winemaker. “Hello?” A male voice.

“Dank die goeie Vader,” I bleated. “Ek is net hier om my wyn op te pik!” The muffled sound of a hand over the speaker.

“Hello? Can I help you?” A woman’s voice, unreasonably chirpy, given the circumstances.

“I really hope so,” I respond. “I am here to collect the wine I purchased on Saturday. It’s paid for, so I’m just here to collect.”

“I’m very sorry,” she says. “But we can’t let you in. Have you not heard the news?”

“Yes of course I’ve heard the news. That’s why I’m here. Technically I purchased my wine before the news. The transaction took place before the ban.” Deep breath – aggression never a winner – and force a smile at the metal box. “Please, it’s just a quick collection.”

“Look lady, we can’t help you. The ban includes distribution.”

“But you don’t understand.” The hysteria now bubbling up. “I open a bottle of Diemersdal Sauvignon Blanc every evening. Every evening!” My voice cracks. “And I only have two bottles left. Two bottles!” I wail.
“I am really sorry.” Not so chirpy anymore. “But we can’t risk losing our trading licence.”

I am crying now. “Please! You have to help me!”

“Ag shame man,” the disembodied voice does sound compassionate. “Really, if I could, I would. But I just can’t.”

By now there are several vehicles queuing behind my stationary vehicle, doubtless all ready with their own sob story. The Diemersdal desperados. I got in my car and started calling around for help. Which is how I came to be sending WhatsApp messages, declaring my addiction to some stranger, hopefully with hidden stockpiles.

Two and half years later, and I still avoid looking at the intercom of shame. I whizz past on a sunny Saturday. Aside from stocking up (I still buy in caseloads, a kind of lockdown PTSD), I intend to knock back the entire range of Sauvignons made by sixth-generation winemaker-owner Thys Louw. Arguably the country’s most innovative Sauvignon Blanc winemaker, the 41-year-old first proved his mettle aged 18 years ago with a flinty Eight Rows Sauvignon Blanc, made from eight vineyard rows his father Tienie gave him as an experiment when he joined as fledgling winemaker. It was a success that would grow into an obsession: from Tienie’s 26ha to Thys’s 120ha, this is the family owned farm that produces the biggest volume of this most popular white varietal.

In addition to producing his entry-level Sauvignon, blended from 10 different blocks (and 2023 a particularly fine year), Thys makes Sauvignon Blanc in six distinct styles. He also makes a Sauvignon Rosé, a Sauvignon Sparkling – even a Noble Harvest made from Sauvignon – but I’m here to compare my everyday workhorse with the rest of the stable. There’s the predictably delicious Diemersdal Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, made by New Zealand’s Ben Glover Family Vineyards with Marlborough grapes, but to the specifications of Thys … The revolutionary Diemersdal Winter Ferment, made from juice that Thys freezes at -20 degrees Celsius for five months before thawing and starting the ferment in July. A stark contrast to the Diemersdal Wild Horseshoe Sauvignon Blanc, and the Journal Sauvignon Blanc (the latter a 2022 Concours du Mondial trophy winner), both fermented in oak and giving much more layered notes, beautifully complex (but neither a top pick for me personally, being a less honest expression of terroir).

 “They all have their place,” Thys answers when I ask if he has a favourite Sauvignon. (The impossibility of asking a parent!).  “For me the interesting part lies in producing a diversity of styles. I like the elegance and accessibility of the Marlborough-style, and the pure terroir expression of Eight Rows. But I also like working with oak – the first time I tasted the Didier Dagueneau Pouilly Fumé and Alphonse Mellot from Sancerre, it was life-changing, as is every visit to the Loire Valley. This year I have just started fermenting in glass, and it’s a terrific addition to the cellar.”

 In one way this tasting is a bit of a disaster. I survey the price list. The Diemersdal Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2023, made from the highest vineyard block on Diemersdal farm, and totally the equal of the Diemersdal Marlborough, is only R45 more than my everyday Diemersdal workhorse. A deserved winner of the 2023 Concours du Mondial gold and Double Gold Veritas, it is out of this world delicious. Tropical notes of granadilla and gooseberry to delight the nose, and unbelievably it gets even better on the tongue, with citrus zest and lime layered into the tropical fruit. And at R130 a bottle… an absolute bargain, right?

More vineyards are coming online, and the cellar has been enlarged at Restless River in Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Craig and Anne Wessels have been farming here for some 20 years, their credentials as one of the country’s most prestigious producers now surely beyond doubt, their Chardonnay in particular an industry benchmark. Tasting notes and ratings for the new releases as follows:

Restless River Ava Marie Chardonnay 2021
Matured for 12 months, 90% in 500-litre barrels of which 10% were new, and 10% in amphorae. A later vintage and the nose is a little more exotic than usual with notes of lemon and orange to go with blossom plus hints of oatmeal and flinty reduction. The palate is not without depth although alcohol is just 12.7% – pure fruit and zesty acidity, the finish possessing a subtle pithy quality. Great definition and poise.

CE’s rating: 96/100.

Restless River Le Luc Pinot Noir 2021
Some 35% fermented whole-berry. Matured for 12 months in 228-litre barrels, 35% new. Seductive aromatics of red and black berries, musk, floral perfume, tea-leaf and white pepper while the palate has luscious fruit, bright acidity and velvety tannins. Full of charm and already quite accessible. Alc: 13.2%.

CE’s rating: 94/100.

Restless River Main Road & Dignity Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
Matured for some 22 months in 225-litre barrels, 20% new. Cassis, incense, violets, tea leaf and oystershell on the nose – very little herbal character, good or bad… Medium bodied and yet not short of fruit weight and structure while the tannins are fine, the finish properly dry. Alc: 13.8%.

CE’s rating: 94/100.

Check out our South African wine ratings database.

The Kleine Zalze winemaking team does research and development under the banner of “Project Z” allowing them to explore everything from more adventurous picking dates to different fermentation vessels. “It wasn’t started as a commercial endeavour. Experimental wines are often made but typically get lost in the greater scheme of things – we decided that only by bottling could the project be fulfilled,” says head winemaker RJ Botha. Tasting notes and ratings for the latest releases as follows:

Chenin Blanc 2021
Price: R460
Grapes from two Firgrove vineyards planted in the 1970s. Grapes given 12 hours of skin contact before fermentation and maturation lasting nine months in two 500-litre amphorae. Floral perfume, hay, citrus, peach and earth on the nose. Great fruit depth, well integrated acidity and some light grip to the finish. Pleasantly thick-textured but also no shortage of verve. Alc: 13%. Total production: 1 023 bottles.

CE’s rating: 95/100.

Chenin Blanc Skin Contact 2021
Price: R460
Grapes as above. Fermented on the skins over a period of 10 days in amphorae before maturation lastin nine . Pronounced reductive pong along with notes of naartjie, orange, dried flowers and spice on the nose. Dense fruit, tangy acidity and plenty of phenolic grip, the finish intensely savoury. Not exactly easy drinking but works well with food. Alc: 12%. Total production: 702 bottles.

CE’s rating: 89/100.

Riesling 2021
Price: R280
W.O. Elgin. Fermented and matured for The nose shows a little flinty reduction before lime, green apple plus hints of flowers, herbs and petrol. The palate has great clarity and focus – concentrated fruit, driving acidity and a super-dry finish. Alc: 12.5%. Total production: 634 bottles.

CE’s rating: 93/100.

Cinsault 2021
Price: R420

Rated 93 in March this year – see here.

Syrah 2021
Price: R590

Rated 94 and placed Top 10 in this year’s Prescient Shiraz Report – see here.

Check out our South African wine ratings database.

Radford Dale, the local operation with a core group of international wine personalities behind it, celebrates its 25^th anniversary this year. How far it has come, the acquisition in 2021 of Elgin Ridge, certified both organic and biodynamic, the most recent development of significance.

The maiden releases from the 2022 vintage have now been revealed by Jacques de Klerk, head of winemaking, and what they might lack in flawlessness, they more than make up for in interest. Tasting notes and ratings as follows:

Touchstone Chardonnay 2022
Price: R499

Grapes from three blocks, the first two planted in 2008 and 2009 while the last is high-density established in 2016. Spontaneously fermented and matured in barrel for 10 months, 10% new. Citrus, apple and some yeasty, biscuit-like notes on the nose. Good depth of fruit, acidity that’s crisp to the point of sour, the finish savoury. A characterful wine that combines oxidative notes with the freshness so typical of the area. Alc: 13.5%.

CE’s rating: 92/100.

Revelation Semillon 2022
Price: R499

Grapes from two blocks, one planted high-density in 2009 and the second in 2016. Some two days of skin contact after crush, fermentation and maturation lasting 10 months in older oak. Subtle and intriguing aromatics of hay, dried flowers, peach, citrus and spice while the palate is light-bodied (although alcohol is 13.5% suggesting pick wasn’t too early) with bright acidity and a gently savoury finish. Not without texture, well balanced and alive. Alc: 13.5%.

CE’s rating: 92/100.

Higher Purpose Cabernet Franc 2022
Price: R499
Carbonic maceration in concrete eggs. Attractive aromatics of dark cherry and floral perfume plus the merest hint of herbs and earth. Lovely fruit purity, bright acidity and fine tannins, the finish long and particularly dry. Super-elegant and poised with a certain coolness about it – alcohol is 13%.

CE’s rating: 94/100.

Freedom Pinot Noir 2022
Price: R499
Whole-berry fermentation before maturation lasting almost 10 months in 228- and 300-litre barrels, 10% new. Red and black cherry and musk but also somewhat wild notes of fynbos, cured meat and spice on the nose. The palate shows generous fruit, fresh acidity and powdery tannins, the finish gently savoury. Well balanced and detailed, a wine that makes for pleasing drinking.

CE’s rating: 92/100.

Check out our South African wine ratings database.

Having just returned from a week-long trip to Bordeaux, I realised how much I had missed the wines, the people and the region. This was my first in-depth visit since July 2019, as I quickly discovered checking the dates on my last iPhone photos. I ‘d decided not to attend the Bordeaux En-primeur tastings in April earlier this year instead resolving to pay a more in-depth visit to my friends, negociants and related chateaux colleagues when the EP circus had ended. Of course, with the Rugby World Cup upon us, getting in and out of Bordeaux became somewhat difficult with available flights disappearing quicker than a summer rain puddle in the Namib desert…

In the end, my Bordeaux visit was an exhilarating trip, but there was another upcoming tasting that was resting in the back of my mind. This was the imminent Porseleinberg Syrah vertical tasting in London hosted by winemaker Callie Louw, showing every vintage from the maiden 2010 all the way up until the newest 2021 release – the first time such a tasting had been done in London, if not anywhere for that matter? What was even more remarkable was that the wines were presented by the winemaker himself. Now, if you know Callie, he is even harder to extract from the Swartland than Eben Sadie, so hats off to whoever convinced him that this was a good time to travel to London to promote the wines he’s worked so hard to perfect for over a decade.

People know Callie as the quiet guy, the winemaker who would rather spend his time in the vineyards than in the winery. The silent, hard-grafting artisan that believes the best wines can only be made if you produce the very best grapes… and then the rest will fall into place naturally. He might well have been Dr Callie Louw, but fate decided otherwise, when he changed direction at the University of Stellenbosch to study viticulture rather than medicine, travelling to France, New Zealand, and the United States to do harvests after his graduation. He also completed three harvests at Rustenburg working with Adi Badenhorst on both the Rustenburg Estate range as well as the more commercial Brampton labels prior to the brands sale.

In 2004, Callie started his first permanent position at Vondeling, where he helped design the cellar, and then in 2005 moved on to work at the famous La Soula winery in Côtes Catalanes in the South of France, where it is said he discovered the importance of farming to produce great grapes instead of trying to make great wines inside the winery from average grapes. This would also have been a time when Callie made some of his first in-depth experimentation with organic and biodynamic practices, both of which play an important role in the current wines being produced today at Porseleinberg in the Swartland.

After a brief stint at what was thenTulbagh Mountain Vineyards, Callie was brought in to run and farm a newly purchased wine property in the Swartland in 2009 by Boekenhoutskloof director Marc Kent. This purchase was of course part of the big step for Boekenhoutskloof towards owning more land and vineyards after previously sourcing a lot of grapes from growers for their various brands. 2009 is also the date that marked their move to more vineyard ownership and specifically doing their own vineyard planting.

Funny enough, the small plantings at the original Porseleinberg property were bought and used by Callie and Adi for the Brampton brand back in the day. Nowadays, Callie oversees three important farms – the primary Porseleinberg property, the Goldmine (Kasteelberg) property next door to the Mullineux’s Roundstone farm, and a newer third partnership vineyard. From 2010, the first vintage of Porseleinberg was produced and from 2016, the Porseleinberg project turned completely organic before an enforced temporary hiatus with so many new vineyard plantings being established.

Having been based in London as a wine merchant since early 2000, I was quick to pick up on this new top-end Swartland Syrah project as a retailer who was, at the time, already selling large amounts of both the highly-regarded Boekenhoutskloof wines as well as the fast-growing brand of Chocolate Block. But when the maiden 2010 vintage hit the UK market some years later, we all knew that this was something different, something special. This was an individual, uncompromising – it was high quality and carried a high price tag to match at a time when very few South African wines were priced above £20 per bottle (R460). Inevitably, in those early days, vintages did not sell out and you could often see multiple vintages on the shelves of dedicated fine wine merchants in London. Now, if you want back vintages, you are going to have to hit the secondary market or auction houses and pay a big premium.

It has perhaps been Callie’s inaccessibility to the wider world that has helped build the aura surrounding the Porseleinberg brand, and today, he is as much part of the brands fabric and persona as the dry, scrubby renosterbos and blue schist soils are to the Porseleinberg vineyards. After eight years of solid, artisanal winemaking, in 2018 Callie made some of the first winemaking changes and started using the submerged cap fermentation process after working a vintage at the iconic Domaine Jamet in Côte Rotie. Before this change, the wines had been made essentially the same way over the past years, with grapes matured in 2 500 litre foudre, all purchased from new. This change in extraction management has arguably changed the wines for the better, allowing for gentler, more finessed extraction while still packing the wines with sturdy textural tannins.

Many consumers in South Africa have told me over the years that if they could do just one vertical tasting for wines drawn from over the past 10 to 15 years, a Porseleinberg Syrah vertical would be top or close to the top of their choices. So here goes… a possibly never to be repeated full vertical of a wine that critic Neal Martin described at the tasting as ‘possibly South Africa’s greatest ‘first growth Syrah’.

Porseleinberg Vertical: 2010 to 2021

Porseleinberg 2010, WO Swartland, 13.7% Abv.
Plummy red black opaque colour. Hints of wood smoke, cured meats and savoury black plum spice. Youthful, mineral and restrained on the nose. Palate shows dense grainy tannins, bright vibrant lemony acids and a potent, well balanced black fruited savoury dry grippy mineral finish. Intense and powerful still.

(96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2011, WO Swartland, 13.9% Abv.          
The famous unreleased vintage. Another good vintage in the Swartland according to Callie, this shows a dark opaque colour with a red black plum colour. Aromatics are vibrantly fresh, mineral and floral with dusty granite, fynbos and dried herbs. The palate is incredibly elegant, tight grained, but peppery, spicy, intense and chalky with proper grip and latent power! Wow! A bit of an iron fist in a velvet glove! But a beauty nevertheless!

(97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2012, WO Swartland, 13.6% Abv.
Quite a subdued, dusty mineral nose with broody pithy black fruits, stony hints, dried fennel and sweet lavender. More elegant and loose knit on the palate, the tannins are supple, polished and elegant, even sweet. Still full of potent youthful black mineral laced fruits with notable elegance and finesse. A real beauty that’s ready to go now but certainly not showing its age.

(96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2013, WO Swartland, 13.6% Abv.
60% foudre /40% concrete. Consistently an opaque red black colour. Lifted and perfumed with dried lavender, violets, fynbos and pithy black cherry notes. Another supple, vibrantly fresh, pinpoint palate with elegance and harmony but also intensity, purity and seamlessly tight knit powdery tannins and an exotic salty cassis reduction hint on the finish. A really spellbinding vintage. Love it!

(97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2014, WO Swartland, 13.5% Abv.
Vintage coming off a very wet winter with massive rainfall. A big yielding vintage as well with 8 t/ha compared to circa 5 t/ha normally. Quite an earthy, plummy savoury nose with cured meats, dried lavender, potpourri, and a smoky, railway yard complexity. The palate shows delicious freshness, vibrant acids and a savoury melange of salty cassis, oyster shell and light soy hints, finishing with mouth coating chalky tannins without being obtrusive. A slightly unique expression but beautiful nonetheless.

(95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2015, WO Swartland, 13.6% Abv.
“A stand-alone vintage” as Callie says. This shows a balance between power and finesse a la Northern Rhone with potpourri, dried perfumed lavender, red cherry spice, black berry and subtle smoky reductive cassis hints. In the mouth this is classically taut and precise framed by delicious ‘architecturally soaring’ acids, and incredibly dense fine grained chalky mineral tannins that show a harmoniously balanced power and intensity. A simply profound expression of Syrah.

(97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2016, WO Swartland, 14% Abv.
No spring, just straight from a very dry winter into a dry summer with very dry conditions with rivers drying up in January. 1-2 t/ha yields. Nose shows a youthful sweetness of red berries, red plum sweet garrigue and dried violet flowers. The palate delivers massive weight and concentration of sweet black cherry and cassis fruit with layers of liquorice, tar, blackberry compote and subtle salty toffee and vanilla spice on the finish. An exotic, opulent but pretty vintage drinking very well now.

(96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2017, WO Swartland, 14.1% Abv.
Shows again a big ripeness but with perhaps more restraint than the 2016. But of course another very dry season that was cooler with some later rains allowing 3 t/ha cropping. A very savoury Rhoney nose with aromatics of sweet herbs, garrigue, wood spice with weightless elegance, subtle restraint and incredible finesse. Texturally pinpoint but a bit of a sleeper still.

(96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2018, WO Swartland, 14.3% Abv.
Submerged cap used a la Jamet for the first time in 2018. Another dry year, the wine is packed with tannins but they are less obvious allowing fruit power and concentration to shine. “Eminently age worthy” according to Callie. The nose shows plenty of sweet herbs, sappy spice, sandalwood, garrigue and savoury Rhoney notes of black berries, cured smoked meats and olive tapenade. The palate shows massive concentration with elegance, finesse and a profound, mouthwatering tangy acidity with pithy red plum and mulberry notes on the finish. Suave tannins, creamy elegant length and a real Northern Rhone presence. This is of course the fabled Tim Atkin MW 100 pointer… but a delicious wine nonetheless!

(97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2019, WO Swartland, 13.9% Abv.
Dark opaque black plum colour with a more translucent ruby rim. Slightly subdued aromatics with earthy, sappy notes of black plum, black berry and savoury raw meat nuances. Soft and supple on the palate, there is plenty of green herby spice, green peppercorns, coriander and sweet leaf with fine grained mineral tannins, ample grip but a slightly shorter finish. Leave this one in your cellar for now.

(95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2020, WO Swartland, 13.6% Abv.
Showing in a slightly shy restrained manner, the aromatics need coaxing out the glass to reveal notes of salted caramel tinged with black berries, smoky charcuterie and dried herbs and Provencal garrigue. Supple, elegant and creamy in the mouth with dry chalk soft tannins with a slight grip but supported by ample layers of black fruit, soft integrated harmonious acids and plenty of black peppery spice on the finish. A good rather than great vintage.

(95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Porseleinberg 2021, WO Swartland, 13.9% Abv.
2021 was a long, cool blockbuster vintage for Porseleinberg after a cold, wet winter. Also the fourth vintage using the new ‘submerged cap technique’ that Callie brought back from Cote Rotie after visiting Domaine Jamet, the aromatics are wonderfully deep, dark and power packed with exotic sweet Provencal herbs, olive tapenade, black currant, savoury cured meats, sappy wood spice, and a very seductive black cherry intensity. The palate is super sleek, bright and fleshy, and the texture deliciously opulent, generous and beautifully creamy with salty cassis, smoked German charcuterie, chargrilled meats and a long, suave, polished finish with the most well managed and perfectly formed tannins of any Porseleinberg vintage to date. A very pure and profound expression of Syrah from one of the world’s great terroirs. Simply wow! Exceptional. Drink now until 2035+.

(98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

So, there you have it. A few take away points from this snapshot tasting. If you have any of these vintages, including the 2010 maiden release, you can sleep easy as they are all pure, clean, and incredibly youthful still. No rush whatsoever if they are stored correctly. Another surprise, was perhaps how well the lesser regarded vintages were showing such as 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016 etc. Again, less robust, blockbuster vintages but often the wines I thought I would like to take home and drink.

I personally only have a case of 2015 and 2018 in my cellar but then again, I am more of a Bordeaux blend and Cabernet Sauvignon lover. Having said that, the post 2018 vintages really did appeal to me and Callie’s epiphany at Domaine Jamet in 2018 and the changes to the winemaking he made has served the wine very well without compromising its age ability at all. As for the 99-point Tim Atkin MW 2021 vintage… yes, Tim is on the money there declaring it as one of the best vintages produced at the estate to date… (despite his 100 points he awarded for the 2018!)

These are not cheap wines for local South Africans to buy and with the 2021 hitting the shelves in the UK at first release prices at circa £69.99 per bottle (R1,600), the wine ought to be pretty bloody good. But having said that, it does indeed deliver in spades! Most satisfying for me however was to see how well the older vintages are evolving. I am not a massive fan of very earthy, meaty, savoury, aged Syrah unless the label says Chave, Verset, Allemande or Guigal. Based on what I tasted recently, some of these special Porseleinberg vintages could very well join the elite ranks of the above greats in time! Chapeau Callie!

• Greg Sherwood was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and as the son of a career diplomat, spent his first 21 years traveling the globe with his parents. With a Business Management and Marketing degree from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Sherwood began his working career as a commodity trader. In 2000, he decided to make more of a long-held interest in wine taking a position at Handford Wines in South Kensington, London, working his way up to the position of Senior Wine Buyer. Earlier this year, he moved across to South African specialist merchant Museum Wines to become the Fine Wine Director. He qualified as a Master of Wine in 2007.

The 39th Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) Auction is set to be held on Friday 6 October and Saturday 7 October 2022 at the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West – register here. This year’s auction will see a total of 39 wines from 31 guild members on offer – I tasted all of these wines sighted, the wines to rate 95-plus as follows:

White

Red

For the wines that rated 91 – 92, click here.
For the wines that rated 03 – 94, click here.