Glenelly Lady May 2020

“Living legend” is a much-abused term, but in the case of May de Lencquesaing, it hardly seems an overstatement. She inherited Château Pichon-Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Pauillac in 1978, elevating it to global renown. Then, in 2003 at the age of 78, she founded Glenelly in Stellenbosch, with it increasingly becoming one of the more admired properties in the district (see a review of her autobiography by Tim James here).

Lady May is Glenelly’s top-tier wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon-led Bordeaux-style red blend, and the newly released 2020 vintage bears a commemorative label inscribed “Celebrating a Century of Life” in honour of de Lencquesaing’s 100th birthday on 17 May this year.

The vintage itself was far from straightforward – warm weather conditions and the challenges of lockdown made for a testing season – but then-winemaker Luke O’Cuinnegan, now at Vergelegen, seems to have managed adversity with aplomb. Cabernet Sauvignon is at its lowest ever in the blend at 59%, complemented by 23% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The components were matured separately for 12 months in 30 – 40% new oak, then blended and returned to barrel (75% new) for another 12 months.

While some 2020s can appear clumsy, this is relatively elegant. The nose is inviting with notes of red and black berries, fynbos, a touch of mint, floral perfume and pencil shavings. The palate is medium-bodied (alc: 14.43%) with fruit to the fore, bright acidity and fine, tightly packed tannins, the finish pleasantly austere. Price: R980 a bottle.

CE’s rating: 94/100.

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