As the cool winter weather kisses the coast and seeps across the subcontinent, it’s the perfect time to warm the innards with the delicious new offerings of some of the country’s finest wineries. And, thanks to climate-controlled rooms and the many gloriously sunny days South Africa gets in winter, it’s not only red, red wine on our agenda this issue.
Durbanville Sauvignon Blanc 2022
The 13 wineries of the Durbanville Wine Valley have come together in a rare collaborative effort to craft the inaugural vintage of this milestone Sauvignon Blanc. The cool-climate appellation of Durbanville bears a lofty reputation for Sauvignon Blanc, with its wineries consistently taking home top honours in this category. But the Durbanville Sauvignon Blanc 2022 is significant in that 13 wineries contributed to its creation, with final production being entrusted to veteran winemaker Charles Hopkins and Morgan Steyn of De Grendel. The result is a dry wine full on the palate with ostentatious notes of apple, pear, and jasmine and flavours of tropical citrus, granadilla, and blackcurrant.
R110 per bottle.
Steenberg Five Lives Red Blend 2019
Steenberg praises the legacy of its pioneering (and indomitable) 17th Century founder, Catharina Ras, with its new 2019 Bordeaux-style red blend. Crafted by Cellarmaster Elunda Basson, Steenberg Five Lives is a glorious marriage of silky, elegant Merlot (76%) and powerful, structured Cabernet Sauvignon (24%). Steenberg has long focused its viticulture on traditional Bordeaux varieties, which shows in the lush, velvety texture, structure, and lengthy finish of this wine, which can be cellared for up to 5 years. The nose bursts with blackcurrant cassis, basil, and plum underscored by an earthy character typical of Steenberg’s distinctive terroir.
R175 per bottle.
Pinot Nouveau 2022
From the sea-spray baptized slopes of the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in the southwestern Cape comes this typical Beaujolais Nouveau style wine, courtesy of Hasher Family Estate. With Pinot Noir grapes picked in the afternoon, still warm on the vine, the Pinot Nouveau 2022 is made as a celebratory wine at the end of harvest, intended to be enjoyed immediately after bottling. On the nose, this medium-bodied red boasts vibrant notes of red and blackberries with subtle hints of peach. A refreshing acidity cuts through the abundant fruit of this youthful yet elegant wine, which pairs beautifully with most foods, or, you know, just enjoyed on its own. Recommendation: serve slightly chilled!
R350 per bottle.
Benguela Cove Lighthouse Collection Rosé 2022
The new Benguela Cove Lighthouse Collection Rosé 2022 is a vibrant and mouth-watering Syrah-driven Rosé from the Walker Bay wine region. The Lighthouse Collection wines are characterized by vivid fruit expression, lower acidity, and softer tannins, making them easy drinking and a versatile pairing with food. (This range was named in honour of the estate’s lighthouse, a beacon that historically guided ships to safety in a climate known for its stormy weather; ironically, the same climate that produces the exceptional fruits used to craft its wines!) Benguela Cove’s 2022 Rosé serves up a cornucopia of fruits, florals, and candied aromas, from strawberries, watermelon, and cherry nougat to citrus, pineapple, and lemon verbena.
R115 per bottle.
Tokara Reserve Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Stellenbosch’s undisputed king cultivar, Cabernet Sauvignon, has long been on the agenda at Tokara Wine & Olive Estate, which has, year after year, produced two robust reds of an exceptional calibre: the highly-acclaimed Director’s Reserve Red and Reserve Collection Cabernet Sauvignon. And this year is no different! From its vineyards on the foothills of the Simonsberg, winemaker Stuart Botha has produced an elegant and richly textured expression of this noble varietal with the 2019 vintage of the Tokara Reserve Collection Cabernet Sauvignon. On the palate, an explosion of dark cherry, red currant, and fynbos scrub: the perfect accompaniment to winter evenings and rich, meaty meals.
R270 per bottle.
Constantia White 2020
Following in the hallowed, five-star Platter Guide footsteps of its predecessor vintage, Wade Bales’ Constantia White 2020 is a wine of great texture, tension, and elegance and a stellar showcase of this historical valley’s exceptional terroir. This white blend of 78% Sauvignon Blanc and 22% Semillon is a collaborative effort between the winemakers of the Constantia Valley, with Constantia Glen’s Justin van Wyk taking the reins on this vintage. The Constantia White 2020 delivers bold, tropical fruit on the nose with delicate aromatics of lime, green fig, and orange blossom. The palate is deliciously balanced with fresh citrus, stony mineral nuances, good fruit concentration, and mouth-filling creamy textures.
R220 per bottle.
2018 La Motte Cap Classique
The 2018 La Motte Cap Classique belongs to a great lineage of wines from a Franschhoek estate that, every vintage, proves that South Africans know how to make outstanding traditional method wines! A blend of 91% Chardonnay and 9% Pinot Noir, this classic sparkling wine blend is bone dry with a fine mousse, crisp, mouth-smacking freshness on the palate, and a sophisticated bouquet of citrus, freshly baked bread, and roasted nuts. With age, the “Brut Natural” La Motte Cap Classique 2018, of which only 4,300 bottles were released, is expected to develop richer flavours; truly, a triumph of La Motte Cellarmaster Edmund Terblanche.
R390 per bottle.
