Fairly simple cherry and redcurrant aromas lead to blackcurrants and plums in the mouth, with refreshing acidity and a line of bitterness on the back palate. The grapes were whole-bunch pressed, which perhaps adds that greeness underneath the ripe fruit. A more structured, tannic wine than initially expected, but with lovely fruit - delicious wine.

Partly skin contact, partly carbonic maceration, Adi previously used to blend these funkier components into the straight Secateurs, but in the last few vintages, they've chosen to bottle them alone to create Secateurs Riviera Adi highlights that whilst skin contact Chenin can sometimes be quite harsh, tannin dominant and linear, the carbonic maceration creates the most highly aromatic juice, loaded with luscious pineapple and tropical aromas. They layer whole bunches at the bottom of the tank, then destemmed, with the free run juice drawn off daily. A little cloudy in the glass, but no notes of anything too funky or unclean! Bruised peaches, effervescent vitamin c, rhubarb and custard sweets, earl grey tea and lemon barley water. Such fun! Chalky and long in the mouth, we can imagine it would be superb with crudo/ ceviche. Chalky and very long.

A delightful, but serious 100% Mourvedre Rose. You pick up the delightful hints of cranberry, redcurrants and wild roses. A beautiful drink. Delicious with a vegetable tart, salad, bbq fish and chicken. While you don't want to overthink rose, this one is actually quite sophisticated, with its texture, quite a gastronomic example of rose and a good one for drinking in the cooler months. The elegance of the fruit and texture makes us think of a rather stylish white wine as it floats in the mouth, and then you get the delicious notes of cranberry cut in.

Elegant, fresh cherry and red berry nose with undergrowth melange. The palate is pure with lovely texture and sweet cherry fruit dominates with spicy undertones. The wine is fresh and intense with real vibrancy.

Berene Sauls has a very unique story. Growing up in a small village in the Overberg, Berene admits that she came from a beer-drinking community, and wine was never really on her radar. Her first exposure was at the age of 19, when she began working for the trailblazing Hamilton Russell family as an au pair. Lasting only a month, her talents at childcare aside, Anthony Hamilton Russell recognised her drive and thought a job working in the winery office would better suit her. Thrown in at the deep end knowing really nothing about wine, she was soon exposed to every side of the business - assisting with exports, bottling and labelling, driving forklifts and picking during harvest too, as well as on the side, "growing and developing a palate that wasn't there!" Her curiosity kept her rising through the ranks, and fifteen years after starting her career, Anthony offered her the opportunity to make her first wine, aided by proficient head winemaker Emul Ross. She leapt at the opportunity, and the rest is history. She named her business Tesselaarsdal for the small village that she grew up in, and if you look closely at the label, you can make out two people walking across the mountain. This is Berene and her grandmother. From unirrigated vineyards on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, and this is just her third release! Crisp acidity and lean minerality underpin notes of melon and tangerine fruit and accents of lime blossom. A triumphant expression of terroir, this medium-bodied, cool climate wine is both silky and fresh and boasts a long, elegant finish.

One of the most legendary Stellenbosch wines. 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot aged for 24 months in new French oak barrels, rather like a fine classed growth Claret. Complex, layered and intense aromas of cassis, plums, spiced oak and cigar boxon the nose. The palate is rich and supple, with seamless fruit / oak integration, delicate tannins and a fine seam of acidity. Layers and layers of plush fruit explodes in the mouth with concentrated flavours of tomato cocktail, black and red fruits, and stewed meat. A wine of immense purity, depth and freshness. A subtle note of mint on the finish completes a wine filled with detail.

Duncan Savage matriculated at Rondebosch Boys High School in 1995. In 2016. Savage Wines was set up in the heart of Cape Town in Salt River. Vineyards for his wines are leased and grapes sourced from around the Western Cape, maritime in nature where possible. Granitic soil is the focus. From Duncan Savage: Grapes sourced from the Langverwagt farm in Kuils River on the outskirts of Stellenbosch. Decomposed granite soils overlooking Table Bay and False Bay, a perfect home for maritime Stellenbosch Syrah. Three parcels of vines, all trellised but farmed as a sprawl canopy - a trellised bush vine of sorts. Soils are poor, vigour is low and grapes are scarce, all a perfect recipe for classically styled Syrah. All the fruit is sorted as whole bunches before spontaneous fermentation in conical foudre and open top fermenters. 30% of the fruit is fermented as submerged cap with regular aeration, the balance as a normal fermentation with 2-4 aerated pump overs per day. 2-3 weeks on skins is followed by basket pressing and aging in old 500L barrels for 13 months. The wine then spends a further 10 months in foudre prior to bottling. 2021 is a classic vintage. Obviously I’m slightly biased, but I do feel that this wine may be one of the best Savage Reds we have made to date. Plums, lavender, cola, violets and the characteristic Langverwagt white pepper. The palate is taught and focused compliments of the granitic soil tannin structure and a classic vintage. A wine that will drink well for the next 10-15 years

Cool climate freshness and fragrant sweet, ripe cherry and blackberry flavours, with firm, ripe tannins. Blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Mouvedre, Viognier. Drinking well now and suitable for cellaring for at least 10 years.

A delicious blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Cinsault produced from mostly mountain sloped, rain-fed bush vines, grown on a variety of granite soils and naturally low yielding. Perfumed on the nose with pepper, spice and ripe red fruit character. Supple and smooth on the palate with enough grip and freshness to finish dry and refreshing.

Husband and wife team (their name is Storm!) farming two small parcels with exceptional soils in the superb "Heaven on Earth" region. Expressive, admirable, lovable Pinot and Chardonnay from probably South Africa's most exciting wine region and a world-class winery. Small production, rare wines, worth cellaring. All the expert reviews are positive, this really is a top notch, world-class estate on epic form. jancisrobinson.com 17.5/20 In 2021 they produced around 1,125 litres. In 2022 it was about 4,650 litres. Nature gave back. Eight months in French oak, 30% new. Spontaneous fermentation. I love the nose on this – it's so vivid and mouth-watering. Dried apricots. Peaches, peach skin, quince. So much texture! Like ruched silk. So many layers. Dusty, intense, yuzu and fragrant. It reminds me, somehow, of an apple orchard – the freshness, the sweetness, light and unshowy beauty. (TC) Parker 94+ With a fresh and mineral-driven nose, the 2022 Vrede Chardonnay opens with gorgeous lemon pastry cream essences, oak spices and hints of yellow apples and Meyer lemon. Medium-bodied, the wine expands on the palate with surprising weight and freshness that remains constant as it uncoils and opens with elegance and finesse that has me coming back for more. Lingering with succulently sweet citrus and yellow apple tones, this beautiful Chardonnay ends with a spicy, food-friendly finish. Chardonnay lovers, you'll want to add this to your cellar.

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Duncan Savage matriculated at Rondebosch Boys High School in 1995. In 2016. Savage Wines was set up in the heart of Cape Town in Salt River. Vineyards for his wines are leased and grapes sourced from around the Western Cape, maritime in nature where possible. Granitic soil is the focus. "This blend of 76% Sauvignon Blanc and 24% Sémillon, matured in 20% new oak, offers a complex bouquet with beeswax, wild mint, and fennel. The Sémillon beautifully complements the Sauvignon Blanc, and the palate is well-balanced with acidity and impressive weight. The pretty, floral finish makes this a standout wine from the vintage". 93/100 Vinous Neil Martn

Mostly Chenin, old vine low yield, unoaked. Limpid, whistle-clean, green apple, elderflower. Fine-textured fish wine. Super value.

91/100 Parker Dark-fruited and stemmy on the nose, the 2021 Syrah displays meaty and savory notes with dark cherry and black raspberry before aromas of potpourri with pink peppercorn sway from the glass. Medium to full-bodied, this Syrah is fresh and precise and offers seductive flavors of sausage and cranberry compote before dusty flowers and fine-grained tannins appear over the food-friendly finish. Enjoy with food.

Cool climate freshness and fragrant sweet, ripe cherry and blackberry flavours, with firm, ripe tannins. Blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Mouvedre, Viognier. Drinking well now and suitable for cellaring for at least 10 years.

A refreshingly crisp and fresh wine, with an aromatic vibrant style and concentrated flavours of gooseberry, passion fruit and zesty citrus. Flavoursome ripe acidity provides a wine of great balance and harmony.

Ripe plums, mulberry, cherry blossom, and violet aroma while infused with subtle hints of cinnamon and sweet spices. The palate is gentle and the tannins fresh but rounded.

Rustenberg is a well-known producer of high quality Chardonnays; the Stellenbosch Chardonnay embodies their house style. Apricot, coconut and orange peel aromas followed by flavours of marzipan, sponge cake and citrus rounded off with carefully-judged oak and balanced, fresh acidity.

Both Organic and Fairtrade. The Sauvignon brings herbaceous and lime notes, and a zingy citrus acidity. The Chenin Blanc adds a fruity mid palate of stone fruit and guava.

The nose shows dark, sour cherry. Dark berries, spiciness & herbs linger on the palate. The wine has great purity of fruit with a hint of wet-stone minerality and a velvet soft finish. Great with Game Bird with Red Wine Sauce, Beef Fillet and Pork Loin.

Cool climate freshness and fragrant sweet, ripe cherry and blackberry flavours, with firm, ripe tannins. Blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Mouvedre, Viognier. Drinking well now and suitable for cellaring for at least 10 years.

Kanonkop's Pinotage comes from 63-year-old unirrigated bush vines grown on the estate. Bright ruby-red hues. A textbook Stellenbosch Pinotage with aromatic and spicy aromas of mulberry, raspberry and cinnamon. Muscular, well-integrated tannins add great structure. Flavours of bramble, violets, plums and black berries are balanced by scented new oak. An elegant wine with savoury notes on the lengthy finish, and a lifting underlying freshness.

Kloovenburg's Village White is a new, good-value Cape white blend of Chenin Blanc, 30% Roussanne and 10% Verdelho from Kloovenburg's own vines. Pear, citrus and greengage fruit flavours are embellished by a bitter twist from partial skin contact. Fresh, focused and unwooded.

Le Général is a suitably serious, even patrician blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 8% each of Malbec and Petit Verdot from the cooler Jonkershoek Valley. Framed by 40% new French oak, it has ample colour and concentration, damson, blueberry and blackcurrant fruit and a firm, brooding finish.

Pinot Gris is rare in Stellenbosch. The fruit comes from the Newlands Farm planted on granite and sand with chunks of 'koffieflip'. Grapes are fermented like a red wine to preserve the colour and flavour trapped in the skins. Fully destemmed and fermented in open top fermenters with 6 days on the skins. Watermelon pink in colour with pink rose petals, violets, fennel and hints of pickled ginger, rhubarb and red plums. Tangy red berries and Moroccan spice on the palate. Fresh and crunchy with just the right amount of tannin to clean the palate.

Duncan Savage matriculated at Rondebosch Boys High School in 1995. In 2016. Savage Wines was set up in the heart of Cape Town in Salt River. Vineyards for his wines are leased and grapes sourced from around the Western Cape, maritime in nature where possible. Granitic soil is the focus. Sourced from a wind-exposed site in Polkadraai on granitic soils, this blend spends two years aging—first in old 500-liter barrels and then in foudres and conical tanks. The bouquet expresses brambly red fruit and light tertiary scents, while the medium-bodied palate offers a pliant entry, with white pepper and fennel spices lifting the finish. A sophisticated, harmonious wine of wonder. 94/100 Vinous Neil Martin

Duncan Savage matriculated at Rondebosch Boys High School in 1995. In 2016. Savage Wines was set up in the heart of Cape Town in Salt River. Vineyards for his wines are leased and grapes sourced from around the Western Cape, maritime in nature where possible. Granitic soil is the focus.

This classic Cabernet shows inviting flavours of blackberry, with hints of cocoa, almond and cedar. A full-bodied wine with excellent balance on the palate and a smooth lingering aftertaste, it just cries out for some lamb or beef steak. Really delicious.

The 2021 Pinotage boasts an excellent deep colour, ripe berries and plums, smoky eucalyptus and gentle leather on the nose. Intensely ripe brambles and brioche with a good mouth-feel and lingering aftertaste. Lovely. And will improve. Great value for money. Nobody's been bottling Pinotage longer than Lanzerac and this wine shows a wealth of experience with this proudly South African variety. With 5 to 10 years' maturation this wine will start to acquire the velvet density and luxurious chocolate and caramel flavours of its very early Lanzerac predecessors. A full-bodied, complex wine with a beautiful balance between fruit and wood showcasing a good tannin structure that will allow it to age extremely well.

The label used for the 2023 vintage refers to the dictum of Pliny the Elder, a Roman philosopher of the first century: ex Africa semper aliquid novi (“something new always comes out of Africa”). So Aliquid Novi (’something new’) quite naturally presented itself as very fitting description of the wine. Nobody's been bottling Pinotage longer than Lanzerac and this wine shows a wealth of experience with this proudly South African variety. With 5 to 10 years' maturation this wine will start to acquire the velvet density and luxurious chocolate and caramel flavours of its very early Lanzerac predecessors. A full-bodied, complex wine with a beautiful balance between fruit and wood showcasing a good tannin structure that will allow it to age extremely well.

Aromatic guava and orange blossom jump from the glass - this Chenin Blanc is dry with ripe apples, peaches and a hint of orange peel on the palate. The elegant crisp finish makes this a fantastic wine for all occasions. The fruit for Aloe Tree hails from the increasingly fashionable west coast of the Cape. Cool nights and sea breezes combine to extend the growing season, resulting in perfectly balanced, ripe grapes. The iconic Aloe Tree image is sure to be familiar to anyone who has travelled widely through the Cape and is an important part of the biodiversity which South Africa is famous for. The characteristic silhouette provides a backdrop to one of the most spectacular wine regions in the world where wines grow in harmony with the thousands of plant species that make up the Cape Floral Kingdom. Chenin blanc is well adapted for various soil types, but our premium grapes are grown on medium to lower potential soils. Yield levels are limited by winter pruning and by removing shoots and leaving two or three shoots per spur during early spring. Canopy management is required as it plays a major role in yield and quality to ensure an optimum microclimate within the canopy. With its vigorous growth, medium-sized trellises are required and shoot positioning are done to maximize canopy surface. Grapes are harvested at a minimum of 21.5°Brix, but we aim for 22°Brix. Once the Chenin Blanc grapes are harvested, they arrive at the winery where the fruit is gently pressed and only the free run juice is used. Using selected yeasts the juice then undergoes cold fermentation at 14 degrees Celsius for 2 weeks before lying on the lees for 3 months.

This is a brilliant take on Mourvedre, which can be dense and chewy but here is almost ethereal. The extraction shows some sort of wizardry as the fruit lingers and the tannins are there but are somehow playful and certainly elegant. Well done winemaker Duncan Stuart for this wonderful wine. Because it has power and gracve you can pair it with many mediterranean style dishes. Tim Atkin "Made for the first time as a stand-alone wine in 2024, this is a small but very interesting release of just 1,200 bottles. Fermented with 40% whole bunches, it's a comparatively elegant expression of what can be a tannic grape, showing flavours of clove, pepper, plum and blood orange, a floral top note and savoury tannins." All grapes are handpicked during the early morning hours and then cooled overnight in a temperature - controlled room at 5°C. 40% of these grapes are then crushed and destemmed, whilst the remaining 60% is fermented as whole cluster. Natural fermentation takes place in open fermenters. Extraction is obtained by light punch - downs twice a day. After fermentation is completed, the wine is left on the skins for another seven days and then pressed to neutral oak barrels. Malolactic fermentation is completed in the barrel. The wine is then racked from the lees and given a low dose of sulphur. The wine spends a total of 10 months in the barrel before it is bottled.

Adi Badenhorst has created three canned versions of his good-value, entry-level Curator wines, of which this is the pick. Aromas of juicy apricots, pineapples, bananas, nectarines and wild strawberry hints too. The palate is rich, intense and flavoursome with ripe stone and some tropical fruit, bound in a creamy mouthfeel, like a mouthful of peach yoghurt. A little jasmine freshness tickles the finish. "Canned wine has gone seriously next-level". Victoria Moore, The Telegraph

On our hunt for decent alcohol-free wines this came out as a winner. Great light salmon pink colour with ripe strawberries and sweet candyfloss on the nose following through to a balanced pallet with a lingering finish. Alcohol Free wines have just natural ingredients but techniques to ensure it is alcohol free vary. This includes removing sugar pre fermentation to more sophisticated techniques of spinning the alcohol out through cones. In the UK drinks that are between 0.05% and 0.5% ABV are classed as non-alcoholic.

On our hunt for decent alcohol-free wines this came out as a winner. A light yellow with green tint in colour, aromas of ripe tropical fruit, flavours of yellow peaches and gooseberries complimented by a fresh acidity. This wine will pair well with most seafood, and of course drinks well on its own. Alcohol Free wines have just natural ingredients but techniques to ensure it is alcohol free vary. This includes removing sugar pre fermentation to more sophisticated techniques of spinning the alcohol out through cones. In the UK drinks that are between 0.05% and 0.5% ABV are classed as non-alcoholic.

Apple, melon, a drizzle of honey and something floral too. Gorgeously caramelised palate, giving an impression of sweetness. The fruit is really charming, ripe and tropical without any confection. Savoury finish with a long, lightly smoky aftertaste. South Africa at its best.

Refreshing dry rosé from South Africa. Hugely quaffable.

White grapefruit, intense tropical fruit, ripe gooseberry and fleshy kiwi fruit over-lay Iona's distinctive herbal and floral undertones. The palate is keenly balanced showing cut green apples and lime marmalade followed by great minerality and length. Vegan.

75% Chenin Blanc and 25% Viognier. Grapes are grown on 30+ year old trellised Chenin and 15 year old Viognier from hidden corners of the Cape. Vibrant and aromatic with delicious subtle perfumed aromas with white peach and hints of jasmine on the nose. On the palate it has tight, white, fleshy stone fruit and fresh apricot flavours that balances the sandy texture. Bright acidity and minerality helps to deliver a delicious flavoursome and characteristic wine.

Duncan Savage matriculated at Rondebosch Boys High School in 1995. In 2016. Savage Wines was set up in the heart of Cape Town in Salt River. Vineyards for his wines are leased and grapes sourced from around the Western Cape, maritime in nature where possible. Granitic soil is the focus. "This blend of 76% Sauvignon Blanc and 24% Sémillon, matured in 20% new oak, offers a complex bouquet with beeswax, wild mint, and fennel. The Sémillon beautifully complements the Sauvignon Blanc, and the palate is well-balanced with acidity and impressive weight. The pretty, floral finish makes this a standout wine from the vintage". 93/100 Vinous Neil Martn