Established in 2020, Great Heart Wines is a brand entirely owned and run by the employees of both the Mullineux and Leeu Passant wineries, Gynore Hendricks, a graduate of the Cape Winemaker’s Guild Protégé Program heading up winemaking. Tasting notes and ratings for the current releases as follows:
Chenin Blanc 2020
Price: R136
Originally reviewed in April 2021 where it rated 91/100, this is still drinking well.
Chardonnay 2022
Price: R305
Grapes from Polkadraai Hills. Matured for six months in older 500-litre barrels. Peach, citrus and some appealing nuttiness on the nose while the palate has well-defined fruit, racy acidity and a nicely dry finish. Linear and elegant, alcohol is 13.5%.
CE’s rating: 90/100.
Red Blend 2020
Price: R136
Grapes from Swartland. 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 12% Syrah. 50% whole-bunch fermented before maturation lasting 18 months in older oak. Plums, cassis, undergrowth, earth and spice on the nose while the palate is medium bodied with pliable tannins. Full of flavour, this has a rustic appeal about it. Alc: 14%.
CE’s rating: 91/100.
Pinot Noir 2022
Price: R305
Grapes from Elgin. Whole-bunch fermented before six months of maturation in older 500-litre barrels. The nose shows cranberry and strawberry as well as rose and crushed herbs while the palate has great generosity of fruit, zippy acidity and granular tannins – alcohol is 14.66% and the wine is none too slight.
CE’s rating: 90/100.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
Price: R305
Grapes from Helderberg. Matured for 11 months in 225- and 500-litre barrels, 10% new. Attractive aromatics of red and black berries, floral perfume, fresh herbs and hint of pencil shavings, The palate is medium bodied with pure fruit, lively acidity and fine tannins. Clean and focused. Alc: 14%.
CE’s rating: 92/100.
Cabernet Franc 2021
Price: R305
Grapes from Franschhoek. Matured for 11 months in 225- and 500-litre barrels. Overtly perfumed with notes of rose, red and black berries plus fresh herbs. The palate appears quite light but fruit definition is excellent and the wine has a lovely tension about it – pure fruit and bright acidity, the oak well managed. Alc: 14%.
CE’s rating: 94/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
Burton Francis is a former professional rugby union player who participated locally from 2008 to 2013 before joining French side Agen until 2017 when injury ended his career. During his time in France, he decided to do his MBA in Wine & Spirits Business at the Burgundy School of Business and he has now launched his own wine brand, in collaboration with Kevin Grant of Ataraxia wines. Tasting notes and ratings for the maiden releases as follows:
Francis Chardonnay 2022
Price: R495
Grapes from Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. Matured for nine months in older 500-litre barrels. The nose shows citrus and flinty reduction plus hints of vanilla and oatmeal while the palate has excellent depth of fruit, big acidity and a saline finish. Pure and powerful with a sweet ‘n sour tanginess to it. Alcohol is 13.6%.
CE’s rating: 95/100.
Francis Pinot Noir 2022
Price: R595
Grapes from Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. 20% whole-bunch fermentation before maturation lasting 11 months in older 228-litre barrels. Red and black berries, intense musk, mushroom, herbs and spice on the nose while the palate has good fruit weight, bright acidity and some light grip to the finish. Forceful and direct, alcohol is 13.6%.
CE’s rating: 92/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
Cape Collective – the Wrapper Series continues to intrigue with Coltamino 2021. As made by Gunther Schultz of Baleia Wines, it’s an unusual white blend that originates from Montagu – unusual in that it incorporates a portion of table grape Sultana, this from a vineyard that is 94 years old, along with 57% Colombard (vine age: 40 year) and a dash of Palomino (vine age: 48 years). Winemaking saw the Sultana given skin contact in tank for two weeks while the Colombard and Palomino were barrel fermented for eight days. Alcohol is 12.5%.
It’s immensely likeable but not facile. The nose shows guava, pear, peach and grapefruit plus herbs and some leesy complexity while the palate has good fruit weight, bright acidity and a salty finish and the inclusion of that Sultana certainly arouses the curiosity. Price: R150 a bottle.
CE’s rating: 92/100.
Also made by Schultz from Montagu grapes is a New-Wave style Pinotage 2021, 50% whole-bunch fermented and matured in old oak for 12 months. The nose shows subtle notes of raspberry, cranberry and red cherry plus fynbos, earth and spice while the palate is light, the acidity a little sharp, the finish very dry (alc: 12.5%). Not unpleasant but very primary and angular at this point. Price: R150 a bottle.
CE’s rating: 89/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
Everyone who loves wine has, at some point, wondered what on earth is going on with the broader market. Why is it that some of the most unique, delicious and undervalued wines continue to languish in the doldrums, whilst some of the most generic wines are sold in huge volume? What will it take for consumers to discover the kaleidoscopic array of fantastic Riesling available, delivering a level of quality unsurpassed by most in the world for a fraction of the price? For the umami-laden, concentrated dry wines of Jerez to find their rightful place at the dinner table? For even a fraction of the wine-drinking population to see the complexity and sheer drinking joy under their noses in Sauternes and Tokaji? Whilst this reality makes for convenient question-setting for MW exams, it´s certainly disheartening to still see row upon row of the same, generic wines dominating supermarket shelves.
Yet, things do change. Whilst certain styles and grapes announce their intentions to the world to the sound of PR campaigns and trumpets, others are more subtle, slowly creeping their way into restaurants lists, collections and wine glasses. Over the last 20 years, Chenin Blanc has been the master of this softer approach, driven by the South African Wine Renaissance, as well as an injection of new energy into the Loire Valley. On paper, this doesn´t come as a surprise; few, if any, grapes can manage such a variety of styles at high quality levels. Historically, sweet Chenin Blanc was one of the most prized possessions in the cellars of France, with producers like Domaine Huet benchmarks for quality since the early 20th century, with many of their bottlings giving pleasure many decades on.
The recent rise of Chenin Blanc, though, has been through harnessing its potential as a dry wine and particularly its place as the ambassador grape of South Africa. Chenin Blanc, or “Steen”, was first planted in South Africa in the mid-17th century, with plantings rising over the centuries once its hardy nature and high potential yields were realised by the brandy industry. Lieberstein (a semi-sweet wine popular in the early 20th century) did little to enhance its reputation as a quality grape, nor did the decades spent under the KWV. Indeed, its fortunes in the New World didn´t change until the end of apartheid in 1994, when the modern South African wine market was once again accessible to the world and a host of wine-making talent began making its way back to the southern tip of Africa.
By the time I began my studies in London in 2015, the wine trade was buzzing with the sound of South African Chenin Blanc. Vivat Bacchus, a South African restaurant with a strong wine list, was conveniently close to the WSET Bermondsey School and became a regular haunt for post-class inspiration. Through the restaurant and people I met there, I was introduced to the wines of Ken Forrester, Eben Sadie, Mullineux and Badenhorst. Back home in Barcelona, the more ambitious wine bars were catching on and these wines were suddenly available, joined by some new faces: Alheit Vineyards, David & Nadia, De Trafford, Reyneke and Donovan Rall to name a few. The momentum was already growing.
For all of its versatility, perhaps Chenin Blanc´s greatest strength is its ability to retain a high level of acidity and natural freshness, even in warm weather. The broad, persistent acidity and subtly waxy texture of Chenin Blanc are two of its most pleasing features; as true in Montlouis sur Loire as it is in Stellenbosch. It also seems to retain a sense of place in these warmer vineyards; a quick tasting through the steely, rugged Chenin Blanc of the Swartland will dispel any notion of Chenin Blanc lacking nuance and individuality. It´s perhaps no surprise then, to see many South African winemakers bottling varietal Chenin Blanc from individual, named vineyards and specifying soil types on their labels.
So what of its home, in the cooler reaches of the Loire Valley? Even 10 years ago, you were far more likely to come across a bottle of Sancerre than Vouvray or Anjou in most restaurants, yet now it seems that Chenin Blanc is also on the rise here. Plantings haven´t changed drastically but generational changes in viticulture and winemaking, along with this new-found consumer interest in the grape, has led to greater demand internationally. The cooler climate of the Loire Valley hones the acidity to a sharper point, with greener fruit and inviting, chamomile characters when the wines are young, yet the structure and delicious, honeyed tinges are broadly similar to their cousins in South Africa.
Nicolas Joly, Eric Morgat and Thibaud Boudignon all produce dramatically different wines in arguably its greatest vineyards in Savennières; a region of gentle slopes on the north bank of the Loire River. The wines here can be uncompromising and unyielding in youth and often demand years in the cellar before they unfold to their complex, persistent best.
Yet it´s in neighbouring Anjou where perhaps the most sought-after Chenin Blanc is to be found, from the near-mythical wines of Clos Rougeard and Guiberteau, to newer projects like Richard Leroy, Jo Pithon and Belargus. The late, great Jacky Blot not only put Montluis sur Loire firmly on the map but makes some of the most delicious, evocative Chenin Blanc at all, including the superlative Triple Zero – a sparkling Chenin Blanc that every wine lover should try at least once.
Will Chenin Blanc displace Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in the mass market? Probably not. The Chenin Blanc that has grown a strong following over the last two decades plays by a very different rule-book to most mass-produced wines and at its best, can hold its own with any wine in the world. However, it´s adaptability to warm climates, multiple soil types and different styles certainly puts it in a good position for the future, with encouraging new plantings as far afield as Australia, California and Argentina. It´s fair to say that Chenin Blanc has a unique place in the wine world and if the growth of the last 20 years is anything to go by, the best is yet to come.
It’s a day I won’t forget easily. On 15 September 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and thousands of bankers dressed in the finest business suits were expelled from the company’s various offices one by one, clutching their possessions in a single brown collapsible cardboard box. It was a sombre reminder that nothing is forever, even in the highbrow, high flying world of some of the wealthiest global bankers and investment analysts. In December 2022, Price Waterhouse Coopers stated that just the winding up costs for the London-based arm of Lehman Brothers had already reached over £1.1 billion pounds and over 3.1-million-man hours over 14 years since the calamitous collapse in 2008, and that an additional three years would still be required to finalise the unwinding process.
Lehman Brothers was the fourth-largest investment bank in the USA when it collapsed in one of the biggest corporate bankruptcies on record. On the upside, over £43 billion pounds in assets have since been recovered by PwC for creditors over the past years. But of course, for fine wine lovers the world over, the Lehmans crash had a significant impact on the whole market, particularly for investment-grade wines, which, compared to many of the world’s other commodity markets, fine wine investment and trading was still in its relative infancy. Much like the Tulip phenomena during the Dutch golden age of the 1600s, where prices reached extraordinarily high levels and then dramatically collapsed, the lack of pricing data in the early years of wine trading and wine investment ensured that the fine wine markets frequently saw cycles of boom and bust, and the post-Lehmans period was little different.
But we should remember that all these tumultuous events did take time to filter down into the general fabric of day-to-day society. Thinking back to September 2008, I do of course recall receiving endless phone calls from investment bankers who had decided to “dabble” in fine wine as a pet investment project, and now that they had lost their jobs and their proverbial shirt off their backs, many of them were desperate to liquidate their wine portfolios rapidly, which undoubtedly meant taking a significant “haircut” in banking parlance. Many cash-flush merchants made a killing, preying on the desperation of the fallen. At the fine wine merchant I was working for at the time, we decided not to enter the feeding frenzy, and instead opted to help buy back wines some of our regular customers had bought but wouldn’t be able to realistically afford to keep anymore. But beyond that, we actively tried not to add to the general fine wine market hysteria.
Through the mid- to late-1990s, perhaps by design of its core members, or by simple virtue of its traditionally slow to change participants, fine wine for the most part remained a European pursuit though some large private collectors were beginning to emerge in the USA. Soon after the turn of the millennium this changed greatly with the introduction of China and the USA to the marketplace. This considerably deepened the buying pool creating a vibrant secondary market. While speculation has undoubtedly played some part in traders and collectors buying strategies since the 1990s, this market evolution brought with it for the first time, outright speculation… of course to the disgust of true fine wine lovers, drinkers and collectors.
The real impact of the Lehmans crash, unless you were actually one of the investment bankers that had lost their job, only really started to be felt in day-to-day life in around 2011 and 2012, when businesses started to close due to restricted consumer spending and high streets around the UK started to resemble rundown wild west towns with tumble week blowing down the high streets. General business lending became impossible, mortgages for buying properties became incredibly sticky, and the broader service economy was slowly but surely grinding to a halt. Unfortunately, not everyone in the fine wine market got the memo, with the Bordeaux 2010 vintage being offered for sale in 2011 at record breaking prices, testing the overall market’s strength as well as the true resilience of the Chinese market that had undergone countless rounds of economic stimulus programmes since 2008.
But no market was immune from the broader economic fallout and in July 2012, China announced their famous crackdown on gift giving of luxury goods among government officials. But by July 2014, the fine wine market had hit its lowest point since before the China-led boom. Highlighting the troughs as well as peaks over the last decade demonstrates that the fine wine market is a financial investment market like any other, where extreme expertise is required to navigating the macro-economic factors that shape the future direction of the market. So where do we stand at the moment… in August 2023? Should fine wine collectors and investors be running scared again and selling off accrued stocks or should they boldly be standing their ground, awaiting the inflation-led commodity price boom to settle down and recede?
Normally, looking at two of the key barometers of the fine wine market – Burgundy and Bordeaux – helps cast a little more light on the current state of affairs of the fine wine market. Unfortunately, Burgundy 2021 En-primeur was one of the most skewed campaigns on record, because despite the excellent quality, quantities made available for sale were down between 30% and 80% depending on the specific appellation, due to widespread frost damage and related critical weather events, which inevitably led to a frenzied market of price increases and restricted allocations.
Bordeaux En-primeur 2022 on the other hand saw an incomprehensible bullishness and hubris return to the market, with new wines released at between 20% and 35% price increases at a time when the broader European market, the UK market and the US market were all experiencing a brutal cost of living crisis. Sound familiar? Well, you could be mistaken for feeling a bit of deja vu, recalling the timing of the 2010 Bordeaux price increases in 2011, at a time when the markets were equally fragile and volatile. But as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same… and this old adage always seems to resonate particularly loudly in the context of the Bordeaux market.
As merely another investment commodity class, perhaps fine wine merchants should not be surprised by all these price increases? Inflation is rampant and wine is not immune. Undoubtedly, the cynic within me understands that every time Bordeaux raises prices in such a blatant and brutal fashion, they do so with a full understanding that these brash price increases will inevitably lead to a fresh flurry of investment and broader consumer buying of cheaper but equally exceptional physical Bordeaux back-vintages like 2016 and 2019, making welcome space in the inventories of big global wine merchants and negociants who the chateaux rely so heavily on to move the majority of their production. So in reality, any vintage sale, newer or older, can surely be considered a win-win situation for the majority of chateaux.
As for South Africa’s many new impending releases, most of which will be allocated in September and October in the UK, demand has never been stronger and the growing clamour for the 2022 releases from Sadie Family, Alheit, Savage, Naudé, Kanonkop, Van Loggerenberg, Sakkie Mouton and the like, will undoubtedly cause many allocation headaches for fine wine merchants facing greater demand than supply.
Despite these good news headlines, some smaller wineries on the sidelines will begin to experience a tightening sales market where consumers are becoming increasing discerning on what they spend their money on, while producers are simultaneously compelled to raise prices reluctantly due to rampant global inflation. Lots of rocks and a lot of hard places lie ahead. But to use the slightly hollow words of British prime minister Rishi Sunak, now is the time to hold your nerve. For the majority of South African producers, what other choice do they have but to vasbyt?
The definition of “Extra Brut” for Cap Classique is that residual sugar should be less than 6g/l, the Blanc de Blancs 2017 from Pieter Ferreira coming in at an extraordinarily low 1.6g/l and yet it’s none too lean.
Grapes grown on the limestone soils of Robertson, most of the juice is fermented in stainless steel tank but a small portion is sent to barrel for extra complexity. After secondary fermentation in the bottle, the wine is left on the lees for six years. Alcohol is 12%.
The nose shows apple, peach, citrus, a touch of flinty reduction, some light biscuit character and spice while the palate has dense fruit matched by a great line of acidity, the mousse creamy, an umami-rich quality to the finish. This is a bubbly of power but also focus and detail. Price: R465 a bottle.
CE’s rating: 95/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
Too often pinotage is offered (by journalists and critics and the wine-snifferati more generally) as more controversial than it really is. Malu Lambert’s informative report on an interesting recent discussion about different winemaking approaches to the grape asked if pinotage was “finally” set to “shrug off its image problem”. I reckon that if you asked the average local buyer of bottled wine that question nowadays, the answer would generally be: huh, what image problem? And I reckon it’s likely the same answer you would obtain overseas in countries where the likes of Kanonkop Pinotage, Kanonkop Kadette (blend and straight) and Beyerskloof are available in good numbers.
We continue to love quoting those damn Brit MWs, typically full of arrogance and opinion, who half a century ago invoked the supposed flavour of “rusty nails”. Really – let’s get over that; it’s been a bit boring and irrelevant for a few decades now.
Malu quoted wine distributor David Clarke, who organised the discussion and is a friend of at least the “potential” of the grape, as limiting his comment to a smarter level of wine than what my average buyer drinks. “Pinotage has a horrific reputation in the fine wine world”, David said, and merely repeated the statement when challenged in a comment to the article from Mike Froud, who pointed out that “many wine writers / critics, e.g. in the UK, are impressed with Pinotage these days” and asked in vain for justification of the remark.
I’m not denying a level of controversy about pinotage, but I doubt if “horrific reputation” is anywhere near a correct analysis any more. I’d guess that (where there’s sufficient experience to warrant any useful opinion at all) a blanket condemnation of the variety is these days mostly an internal, South African thing. Many local wine-people are eager to distance themselves from the wine industry’s murky social past, and pinotage suffers from its association with oranje-blanje-blou nationalism and, thus, apartheid. Further, I would hazard that David, for example, mixes substantially with the sort of winemaker and sommelier who, mistakenly in my opinion, think that their beloved cinsault, so well suited to fashionably light wines, is a superior grape to this its offspring (and probably to cabernet sauvignon too, for that matter!).
Anyway, I was grateful to David for inviting me to the Ex Animo discussion between Abrie Beeslaar and Bernhard Bredell. The speakers were thoughtful and illuminating about the problems involved in growing and vinifying pinotage – and the positives (such as its early ripening, its terroir transparency, its responsiveness to different winemaking techniques). If there have been, or still are, problems with much pinotage wine in the Cape, these two winemakers agreed, as Bernhard put it: “Don’t blame the variety” – the problems are with viticulture and location of plantings, and with winemaking. (Of what variety can one not say that? I always think it one sign of the greatness of cabernet sauvignon that it manages to make pretty decent wine almost anyway and in almost any cellar.)
I came away having learnt much – none of it disturbing my established respect for the grape. Nor my established preferences. Abrie articulated an important conclusion, that it is the quality and style of wines, including pinotage, that sells the stuff.
That’s not quite as simple a matter as it sounds, given how often stylistic preference is allowed to govern judgements as to quality. As a professional commentator I try to be objective, but no doubt the troubling quality/style issue does come into play (one reason I prefer not to play with tiny score differences when talking about specific wines). For example, let me tell you briefly how I reacted to the remarkably diverse pinotages that were on offer for sampling during the discussion (the wines were not actually discussed – if they had been I suspect the tone of the evening would have degenerated from one of affable courtesty quite quickly!).
At one extreme was Bernhard’s Atlantikas, which I found too light and insubstatial and lacking vinosity (there are people I respect who think otherwise); I preferred the Scions of Sinai Féniks 2022, which had more body and weight, and lacked none of Atlantikas’s charm while having more depth. I wonder how many years it will develop, but it does seem to me a wine that’s intended for delicious early drinking. At the other extreme were Abri’s two wines on offer: Beeslaar Pinotage 2021 and Kanonkop Estate Pinotage 2021. They have important differences but are essentially made in similar style, with greater ripeness, alcoholic and tannic power, and evident oak from their elevage. (Interestingly to me, I had tasted the Kanonkop the day before alongside other Kanonkops and it seemed much fresher and less oaky to me then – context can be important). These are always wines I can greatly admire, but only really enjoy when they have a decade or so behind them – and even, then, frankly, I would generally prefer a little less wood and too-sweet ripeness.
If I were scoring, I would score Abrie’s wines higher than Féniks, but I would prefer to drink Féniks tonight. In ten years time, I predict, there’d be no contest, and ageability is traditionally, conventionally an important factor when it comes to assessing “quality” in wine. There’s the best I can do in the objective versus subjective stakes. It’s probable of course that others would disagree even on the ostensibly objective judgement, and more would disagree on the subjective one.
One thing occurred to me in the course of the evening, when Bernhard spoke of the influences on his approach, including Beaujolais (and I imagine he was thinking at least partly of the radical “natural” winemakers there). Pinotage suffered, I think, from its patriotic importance not least because many winemakers thought it needed to be treated like great cabernet from Bordeaux – hence the overuse of wood, for example. Many of the new wave, whose knowledge of Bordeaux is often lamentably small, prefer to invoke the likes of Beaujolais and Burgundy (the latter of which they try to imagine as lighter, less oaked and altogether more peasant-like than it has been for quite a while now). Happily, Cape winemaking is growing in self-confidence and responding to its own conditions (and best traditions), and that is affecting pinotage too.
Let me conclude with praise for an intermediate style of pinotage, one that has freshness without sacrificing the vinosity, depth and complexity that comes with what I consider proper grape maturity; one that eschews lavish oaking but is not scared of even some new wood and even of some extraction; one that is deliciously approachable in moderate youth but is likely to develop over at least the middle term.
I was pleased to see Christian Eedes recently amply rewarding one of my favourites in this style, Bruwer Vintners Liberté Pinotage 2021. Maturation in oak, 10% of it new; 13% alcohol. Neither new wave or old-style – probably a bit closer to the former, which I confess I would also prefer, if it were a choice forced on me. Angus Paul Transient Land is in a similar space. Tilting slightly in the other direction, the two Spioenkop versions. Springfontein pinotages can be quite big, but are always fresh and light-feeling, with little oakiness, and there are also some fascinating, innovative blends from them including pinotage (a category that is very important, I think). Radford Dale Frankenstein was one of the earliest modern pinotages (along with the sadly abandoned Lam from Lammershoek made by Craig Hawkins). Sun Spider from Giant Periwinkle I haven’t had for a while, but it too has belonged to the category. Thomas se Dolland, from Pella, is another firm favourite of mine, one that fits nicely between the extremes in terms of oaking and alcohol level.
There are not a lot of such pinotages about – no doubt more than occur to me right now – but I do hope it is a growing category. As the recent public discussion, and commentary on it, has further made clear, there’s a range of valid responses to pinotage. That’s great, and let’s air our preferences, but let’s not raise the stakes by making difference of approach mean more than it does with regard to other grape varieties and insist on invoking controversiality.
Mark Stephens, Stanford-based regenerative farming consultant, also makes his own small-batch wines under the collective name of Deep Rooted Wines. Tasting notes and ratings for the new releases as follows:
Journey to the Centre of the Universe Blanc Fumé 2022
Price: R230
Grapes from Klein River Lagoon (Maanschijn), Stanford and Sondagskloof. Spontanteously fermented and matured for 10 months in old 500-litre barrels. No added sulphur. Kiwi fruit, green melon, a hint of blackcurrant and a herbal undertone on the nose while the palate is rich and broad with layers of flavour, coated acidity and a gently savoury finish. Alc: 12.9%.
CE’s rating: 93/100.
Touch Me Verdelho 2022
Price: R280
Grapes from Bot River. Made using carbonic maceration, skin contact lasting 12 days. Evocative aromatics of pear, peach, citrus, potpourri, dried herbs and spice. The palate is not massive, but fruit expression is pleasing, the acidity fresh, the texture lightly grippy, the finish super-dry. Alc: 12.5%.
CE’s rating: 93/100.
Hinterlands Syrah 2022
Price: TBC
From three Stanford vineyards, each on a different soils. 20% whole-bunch fermentation before maturation lasting 11 months in old oak. A touch of reduction before red berries, olive, fynbos and pepper. The palate is light and fresh with fine tannins – already quite approachable. Alc: 13%.
CE’s rating: 90/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
The announcement that Stellenbosch property Kanonkop had acquired its neighbour Laibach came early last year, the vineyards and production facilities largely set to be used for the production of Kanonkop’s everyday-drinking range Kadette. Long-serving winemaker Francois van Zyl will however continue to make a Cape Bordeaux red plus two reserve wines, namely Sur Lie Chenin Blanc and Claypot Merlot. Tasting notes and ratings for new releases of the latter two as follows:
Ladybird Sur Lie Chenin Blanc 2021
Price: R145
30% carbonic maceration, 21 days skin contact. 50% matured in concrete tank and 50% in barrels, 5% new. Top notes of potpourri, ginger and other spice before peach, orange and cut-apple. Rich and broad with tangy acidity, the finish slightly grippy A particular, deeply flavourful example of the variety.
CE’s rating: 95/100.
Ladybird Claypot Merlot 2020
Price: R320
Matured for 24 months, 80% in new oak, 10% in old oak and 10% in clay pots. The nose initially shows red and black berries, olive, chocolate, pencil shavings and spice while lighter notes of floral perfume and dried herbs emerge with time in the glass. The palate is rich and broad, although not short of freshness, and the tannins are well managed with a velvet-like texture, the finish long and dry. A wine with a balanced plushness about it.
CE’s rating: 94/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
Spookfontein winemaker Nelis Uys has made a wine from 1989 Chenin Blanc vineyard on Bot River property Barton under his amusingly named own label The Uys of Spades: two days of skin contact, fermented and matured for 10 months, 60% in barrel and 40% plastic egg. Alc: 13%.
It’s another great example of this variety from the same part of the world that gives us Beaumont Hope Marguerite. Top notes of hay and dried herbs before pear, quince, peach and apricot while the palate has good fruit expression, punchy acidity and that slightly bitter finish that makes top-end examples of this variety so grown-up. Full of personality and well balanced. Price: R322 a bottle.
CE’s rating: 94/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
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