Prescient Fund Services Cabernet Sauvignon Report 2025: Top 10
By Christian Eedes, 17 October 2025
-
Share:
7
Introduction
This year’s Cabernet Sauvignon Report sponsored by Prescient Financial Services is now out. There were 60 entries received from 43 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:
96
Delaire Graff Reserve 2022
Price: R1 100
Wine of Origin: Banghoek
Abv: 14.91%
Winner of a FermTech Solutions organic fermentation kit worth approximately R10 000.
95
Delaire Graff Reserve 2021
Price: R1 100
Wine of Origin: Banghoek
Abv: 14.8%
95
Durbanville Hills Collectors Reserve The Castle of Good Hope 2023
Price: R176
Wine of Origin: Durbanville, Cape Town
Abv: 14.4%
95
Knorhoek 2022
Price: R340
Wine of Origin: Simonsberg-Stellenbosch
Abv: 14.43%
95
Rust en Vrede Estate Vineyards 2023
Price: R450
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 13.85%
94
Stellenzicht 2023
Price: R180
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 13.62%
94
Warwick The Blue Lady 2022
Price: R616
Wine of Origin: Simonsberg-Stellenbosch
Abv: 14%
93
Groot Phesantekraal 2023
Price: R186
Wine of Origin: Cape Town
Abv: 14%
93
La Petite Ferme 2023
Price: R250
Wine of Origin: Western Cape
Abv: 13%
93
Zevenwacht 2022
Price: R200
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 14.59%
Shop online
Online wine shop Getwine is offering all of the top wines for sale – buy wine.
About the category
The traditional home of Cabernet Sauvignon is Bordeaux, particularly the so-called Left Bank vineyards situated west of the Gironde river and incorporating such famous appelations as Margaux, Pauillac, St-Estèphe, St-Julien and, further south, Graves.
Because Cabernet Sauvignon can be difficult to ripen fully, making for lean and astringent wines, it is often blended with plumper Merlot. However, the best wines from this variety display exceptionally deep colour, the characteristic aroma of blackcurrants (cassis) and a high level of tannins. In addition, they have an almost unequalled capacity to age in bottle.
In South Africa, Cabernet Sauvignon is the fourth most widely planted variety overall, making up 10.1% of the total area under vineyard at the end of 2024.
What does top Cabernet Sauvignon go for?
The average price of the 32 wines to rate 90-plus is R396 a bottle and of the Top 10 is R460.
Best buy
Offering the best quality relative to price is Durbanville Hills with a rating of 90 and selling for R100 a bottle.
Red and black berries, rose, herbs and touch of graphite on the nose while the palate is well balanced with succulent fruit and a savoury finish.
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 Cabernet Sauvignon Report 2025
-
Share:
Kwispedoor | 18 October 2025
Knorhoek 2022: 95 points
Knorhoek 2021: 89 points
Warwick The Blue Lady 2022: 94 points
Warwick The Blue Lady 2021: 89 points
So, what’s the takeaway – to avoid these wines in good vintages? 😜
Some 2021s might still be a little tight, but it was a great modern vintage – surely better than 2022 in most places. And these are huge points differences, indicating a significant chasm in quality between these two vintages. But not in favour of the vintage one would expect…
Care to offer your view on this, Christian?
Josua | 18 October 2025
It’s especially baffling with Knorhoek given how well the 2021 has scored with critics all over the world. Even Neal Martin, who is notoriously hard on our Cab’s, gave it a very positive review.
James | 19 October 2025
Blind tasting woes?
Christian Eedes | 20 October 2025
Hi Kwispedoor, Josua and James, As always, the results are what they are: all wines tasted blind, labels out of sight, and no vintage preconceptions in play.
I’m beginning to think that 2022 may have been under-rated as a vintage for Stellenbosch Cab and Cab-based blends– there’s clearly plenty to get excited about. The 2021s might ultimately prove longer lived, but the 2022s are already showing impressive charm and completeness. Having tasted both Paul Sauer and MR de Compostella from 2021 and 2022 side by side, I actually prefer the 2022s in both cases.
Josua | 20 October 2025
Hi Christian, doesn’t the benefits of blind tasting get outweighed by the negatives when it comes to these types of tastings? I feel like it shines when you have similar wines where tasting blind removes producer bias. It’s not perfect as some producers want a more accessible wine, while others make wines to age. But at least if the vintage is the same you can judge the wines on a similar foundation.
When you do multiple vintages from very different types of producers, too much necessary context gets removed in a blind tasting. If I want a wine to drink in the next few months then absolutely agree 2022 makes more sense, but if I’m looking for wines to cellar for the next decade then this is biased against those types of wines as they are more likely to show poorly next to an accessable wine when blind.
I suppose there is no perfect solution…
Donald Griffiths | 26 October 2025
I bought a case of the Durbanville Hills off the back of its 95 score and had a bottle a few nights ago. Happy to report its the best R165 I’ve spent for a while (the vinoteque price is slightly less than the price published). Possibly still a little young it ticks all the boxes a more than decent Cabernet should. Better value for money will be almost impossible to find.
Wessel Strydom | 27 October 2025
Hi Donald, I have reached the same conclusion as you. The wine will just get better and better after some bottle maturation. As a matter of fact I enjoyed it so much I bought another case. Serious value for money.