Tim James: A handful of reds under R175 – with a few triumphs

I could say that this little exercise was purely because I thought there must be people out there who’d welcome some recommendations at comfortably below R200, willing to slum it while saving up to pay for their Sadie and Alheit allocations. But that wouldn’t be entirely true. I have a rack in my kitchen for drinkable stuff that’s for early and decent but not particularly thoughtful drinking (when I’m lucky, the red side has a new load of Boschkloof special offers, for example). A small wine fridge not far away is stocked with a selection of more serious stuff brought in from storage to be readily available. But when the kitchen rack is pretty empty, I’m tempted to raid the wine fridge more often than I should.

So, in brief, it seemed time to experiment for myself with the upper depths – that is, the lower shelves – of my local wine shop. Fortunately it is an excellent one with an amazing range: Constantia Wine and Craft, which is actually in Plumstead, but Constantia sounds more suitable for the clientèle it aims at. Some single-bottle experiments in hopes that there will be some good finds worth going back for, and worth sharing with you – or worth warning you against. With one or two from supermarkets also, but aiming to discover bargains with a touch more character than the big brands tend to offer.

Here’s the first part of this report. Not offering tasting notes or scores – basically, I want to report whether I, as a discriminating but not exclusively fancy wine-drinker, find the wines drinkable. And, indeed, some I did.

Most I selected (with an element of randomness, but also with a bit of searching) were blends and, quite by accident, four of the half dozen included cinsault. Two of those would not be easy to find, I later realised, as they seem to be intended for export only and ended up on Constantia Wine and Craft’s shelves (and possibly elsewhere) because, I guess, at least some of the export didn’t make it, given Europe’s depressed wine market. But if you can get hold of The Liberator’s Telegram Sam 2023, made by the cultish Sam Lambson at a mere R130, you’ll get a succulent, fresh, red-fruited mouthful that no-one would sneer at. Made up of disparate redundant parcels of grapes, mostly syrah with dollops of mourvèdre, cinsault and viognier, destined for importer Richard Kelley’s The Liberator label in the UK. Grab it if and while you can.

Another apparently “failed export”, this one intended for the USA via importer Pascal Schildt, is Reigning Sun 2023 (R164). Made by Tremayne Smith of The Blacksmith, from cinsault, carignan and grenache and bottled in clear glass under a crown cap, with a very hard-to-read label. It’s notably light (just 12% alcohol), quite fruity and charming, but with only just enough stuffing to keep it from insipidity. Perfectly drinkable, but don’t be distraught if you can’t find it.

A more easily findable label is the Smiley Fresh red (NV, but mostly from 2023; R165) from cinsault with syrah and carignan. Bright, wholebunch-fresh, and not as funky as this label used to be – but I suspect it might be pushing the volatile acid limit somewhat. (I’m reminded that Max Schubert, legendary creator of Grange in Australia, when someone said that his wine surely had some vinegary VA present, allegedly said that yes, and if it didn’t he would put some in!). Pretty decent drinking.

For the best in this cinsaultish group you’ll only need to spend a little more for McFarlane’s Capitoline Wolf Red 2024 (R173). Beautifully built, with 12.5% alcohol in excellent balance with the fruit, it’s polished yet with a rustic edge, and a lightly firm bit of grip. You’d have to be a serious snob to sneer at this totally enjoyable but unpretentious wine. Alexandra McFarlane is a fine, interesting winemaker and we can be grateful that she’s so generous with pricing her second-label Capitoline Wolf range.

Segueing to grenache then takes us to Ken Forrester Grenache Reserve from Woolworths. It’s a big jump-down in price, to R110 (and in fact I got it on a promo with a 25% discount). At that price one can’t really complain, as it’s pleasant enough, but I don’t think it’s worth the saving. I was rather disappointed, expecting more; there’s really rather little to it.

Just about escaping insipidity – but only just – is another of the wines intended for export as far as I can tell. The Curator Red Blend 2024 bears the Badenhorst Family Wines name and logo and thereby borrows rather than brings glory. Presumably it’s just a money thing for Adi – slap a well-reputed name on some indifferent wine and don’t worry about possible collateral damage. Pity. This claims to be a blend of cab, shiraz and pinotage, so I suppose it is. It’s not unpleasant, but not really worth bothering about, even at something like R80.

Rather spend R150 on a wine that perhaps even pips Capitoline Wolf as my happiest discovery on this little jaunt. (Both wines are naturally fermented, incidentally.) Field Atlas 2025 comes from that excellent Simonsberg-Paarl producer Noble Hill that makes invariably considerable, interesting wines in a spirit of elegant modesty  (I last visited in 2020, and I’m reminded that I must do so again). Field Atlas, behind its beautiful label, is an estate wine from syrah, mourvèdre, viognier and grenache. It’s handsome, well structured, dry, lipsmacking and with some depth of flavour. Of all this handful, it’s the one that really could do with another few years to show its best.

There really is considerable wine life closer to R150 than R200. I confess I’ve been a bit surprised, but I clearly shouldn’t have needed reminding. Probably many wine lovers without bottomless pockets have made the same discovery; it would be good to hear of some favourite bargains.

• Tim James is one of South Africa’s leading wine commentators, contributing to various local and international wine publications. His book Wines of the New South Africa – Tradition and Revolution appeared in 2013.