An Informed Opinion… Number 22

South Africa’s top producers released some of the finest vinous expressions they’ve ever produced…

While 2023 remained a challenging year economically for all, it also, as luck would have it, saw South Africa’s top producers release some of the finest vinous expressions they have ever produced, forcing collectors and connoisseurs to dig into their pockets for wines that simply could not be overlooked.

On the ground in Cape Town, the true resilience of the South African people was witnessed as wineries, restaurants, and the wider tourist industry bounced back with a resounding spring in its step after South Africa suffered some of the harshest Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in the entire world. But of course, the 2021 vintage that was primarily responsible for most of my new release wine highlights of 2023, fell right in the midst of the pandemic.

The 2021 vintage was, by most accounts, extremely good. The growing season began with a cooler-than-average winter that saw heavy rains. That definitely helped restore some of the water tables ravaged by the severe drought from 2015 to 2018. The chilly weather continued into the spring, delaying budburst, while the rains raised the risk of rot and disease. Frost also struck several times, nibbling away at the new vine growth, however, the vines were able to bounce back reasonably well, and flowering was largely a success with sufficient yields.

Summer was benign, albeit cooler than normal, grapes were slow to reach phenolic ripeness – although their aromatics and acidity were perfectly preserved – and the harvest was knocked back a couple of weeks. Despite the delay, good conditions prevailed, and the harvest was phenomenal success for most wineries, producing reds that were intense, dark, fruit-forward and spicy, but still well-structured, while the whites had an intense aromatic character with crystalline, refreshing acids.

Starting with the whites, it was fairly poetic that Ian Naude, who vowed that his white blend wine-making days were over, was to finally succumb to the lure of yet more old vine vineyards up the West Coast near Vrendenal. This time, Old Vine Chenin Blanc was blended with Old Vine Colombard to produce his new 2023 Soutbos (saltbush) white (97/100 GSMW), which, for me, represents one of the most exciting white blends created in South Africa since Eben Sadie launched his Skerpioen Chenin Blanc – Palomino Old Vine field blend. Stocks of this delicious wine have just arrived in the UK and will be available to order soon.

We all know that Old Vine Chenin Blanc is one of South Africa’s true trump cards in its hand, so it is no surprise that another pair of this cultivar’s whites made my list. The Tiernes 2021 Old Vine single vineyard Chenin Blanc from Jasper Wickens, made from vines planted in 1983 on deep decomposed granitic soils, is a wine of exceptional focus, depth, and purity that cannot fail to impress anyone who tastes it. My enthusiastic score of 97/100 GSMW was rightfully matched by Winemag.co.za, also making it one of their top-scoring releases of 2023. Another was the similarly impressive Sky Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2022 from Andre Bruyns, who himself is no newcomer to the Swartland, having impressed with his City On A Hill range in the past. Once again, this block-buster white cracked a 97/100 GSMW score, pushing it into the ranks of definite must-buy wines. Only 300 cases were produced, so you’ll need to be quick if you want to enjoy a rare bottle of this single vineyard wine.

The last of my notable whites of 2023 comes from a winery new to the Museum Wines portfolio. Having found instant success with their maiden 2019 Onskuld Chardonnay from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, 2023 saw Draaiboek Wines launch a new Elgin Single Vineyard Chardonnay 2022 called Kinkel. Needless to say, this new wine impressed the critics once again, allowing it to be selected among the John Platter SA Wine Guide’s prestigious 5-Star winners. With an impressive 96/100 GSMW in my own review highlights, what a very special expression of cool climate Chardonnay this wine really is. Newly arrived in the UK, this too is a wine most definitely not to be missed!

For my selection of reds, there just seems to be no holding back the top Stellenbosch expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet-based Cape Bordeaux blends. Starting with my favourite wine release of 2023, the MR de Compostella 2021 is a wine I have followed religiously since its maiden 2004 release, and Bruwer Raats’ latest release cracked my highest new release still wine score ever for a South African wine at 99/100 GSMW. Like the MR de Compostella, the new Vilafonte Series C 2021 Cape Bordeaux blend rated 97+/100 GSMW from me last year, but only recently, in the past weeks, was awarded the highest South African red wine score at 99/100 from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. With the delicious Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 collecting a 98/100 from the Wine Advocate, South African wines are certainly on a roll, and these incredible scores will resonate with buyers in the USA market.

While my personal preferences firmly lie with Cabernet and Cape Bordeaux blends, the success of top Syrah in South Africa is undeniable. So, to close out my top wines of the year, I have selected two wines that could not be more different in style, the Porseleinberg 2021 Syrah from the Swartland (98+/100 GSMW) and the Sakkie Mouton Dawn of the Salty Tongues 2022 Syrah (97/100 GSMW) from vineyards in Vredendal. Both drawn on inspiration from the Old-World classics of the Northern Rhone with the Porseleinberg fashioned in the style of a powerful Cornas or St Joseph Syrah while the Dawn of the Salty Tongues Syrah takes inspiration from the cool, elegant, ethereal Syrah reds of Cote Rotie.

Some of these incredible new releases are still available in very limited quantities. So, if you would like to see what all the SA wine industry excitement is about, trying any of my top wine highlights from 2023 will certainly be illuminating!

#AnInformedOpinionNo22

Greg's Top Picks

of 2023

** ONLY AVAILABLE FOR DELIVERY BEGINNING FEBRUARY 2024.
97 Points – Greg Sherwood MW
“A blend of 83% Chenin Blanc from a vineyard planted in 1988 and 17% Colombard from a vineyard planted in 1985, has seen Ian create his first new white blend since 2010 from these two noble West Coast Vredendal vineyards. Crystalline and fresh in the glass, the aromatics show incredibly subtle notes of lemon peel zest, grapefruit, white peach, honeydew melon and Granny Smith apples with underlying hints of dried guava roll, sweet herbs and cream soda rock candy. Fresh, intense and mouth coating, this is an intriguing white blend that combines the vibrancy and exuberance of Old Vine Colombard with the more herbal, mineral and textural aspects of Chenin Blanc. Undoubtedly, the standout features remain the incredible balance, seamless texture and maritime kelpy salinity. Like all of Ian’s red and white wines, his attention to detail is simply extraordinary, marking this white blend as one of the most exciting and thought-provoking new releases on the South African white wine landscape since possibly the launch of Eben Sadie’s Old Vine Skerpioen. Drink and enjoy its freshness on release and revisit over the next 10 to 15+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW.

97 + Points – Greg Sherwood MW
“A visit to the Swartland Waterval farm of Jasper and Franziska Wickens is always enlightening. But it is only when you walk around the upper reaches of the farm, high up in the old vine Tiernes Chenin Blanc vineyard planted in 1983 that you see, smell, and taste the true terroir of the decomposed Granite-rich soils of the Paardeberg. Planted on deep granitic deposits, these vines yield an exceptional expression of Chenin Blanc that in cooler, fresher, more crystalline vintages like 2021, reveals the true majesty of this cultivar. Bright, fragrant and notably mineral on the nose, the aromatics display a complex interwoven array of white blossom, peach stone, green pears, waxy green apple skins, wet hay, sweet baking herbs, fynbos, crushed granite and dried lemon peel nuances. In the mouth this medium-bodied wine simply shimmers, illuminated by its fresh vibrant acids and an intense, concentrated, harmonious melange of nectarine, peach and pear fruits infused with a salty liquid mineral essence that grows incrementally in the glass as the wine continues to unfurl. This is an incredibly special wine graced with a real presence, finesse and stand apart greatness. But you do need an extraordinary vintage like 2021 to realise this kind of exceptional quality and also an agile, skilled, artisanal mastermind like Jasper to capture its essence and bottle it for others to experience. Drink this beauty on release and over the next 10 to 15+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW.

96 Points – Greg Sherwood MW | 5 Stars – Platters | 94 Points – Tim Atkin MW
“This fantastic maiden release wine from Draaiboek Wines draws on the very finest elements of the cool climate terroir of Elgin to create a wine from a dry-farmed eight-year-old single vineyard situated on south westerly facing slopes, 255 metres above the coast. Fermented in French oak using 25% new barrels, the wine was aged for 10 months on its fine lees before being bottled unfiltered and unfined. The Kinkel shows a slightly tighter, more restrained aromatic profile on the nose, with subtle hints of lime blossom, lemon peel, Granny Smith apples, dusty limestone, lemon grass and white stone fruits. For all its reserve and wound spring tension, you can sense the electricity pulsing below the surface, waiting to explode on the racy, energetic, saline palate that shows subtle hints of flinty reduction. Once again, like its sibling Onskuld, the oaking is extremely elegant, pinpoint and precise, in no way obscuring the beautiful white citrus zest and liquid minerality that bristles on the taut palate. Seamless, crystalline and delightfully focused, this is a thoroughly exhilarating expression of cool climate Chardonnay and definitely a new release not to be missed! Drink from 2024 to 2034+.” – Greg Sherwood MW.

97 Points – Decanter | 97 Points – Greg Sherwood MW | 93 Points – Neal Martin
“The Series C 2021 is another sumptuous Cape Bordeaux Blend made up of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 10% Malbec and 7% Cabernet Franc that was aged for 22 months in 81% new French oak 225 litre barriques, with the balance aged in used French oak barrels. Winemaker Chris de Vries was very excited by the berry flavour complexity at harvest time and when you pull the cork on this wine, the 2021 vintage displays an incredibly vivid, overt, beautifully lifted, piercing array of perfumed sweet violets, iris, cherry blossom, potpourri and incense with a delicate dusting of cocoa powder and vanilla pod spice. With the cool fruited aromatic ebb and flow, delicious notes of saline black currant, black cherry, crème de cassis, sandalwood, cigar wrapper, and cinnamon spice slowly develop, all pristinely pure and fabulously intense. Medium bodied, tightly wound and layered, the sleek supple mouthfeel truly typifies the very finest premium reds produced in this classically cooler vintage. Indeed, I cannot quite recall another vintage in the past two decades quite like it, with such sweet well-rounded tannins, fresh piercing acidities and magnificently weightless, crystalline tart red and black berry fruits on the velvety, seamless palate. The jury is out on whether this is the greatest Series C produced by Vilafonte to date simply because the astounding 2016 was such a uniquely brilliant creation. Needless to say, a wine of this beauty and precision will undoubtedly be counted as one of the finest reds of the vintage. Drink on release and enjoy over the next 20+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW.

97 Points – Neal Martin | 97 Points – Greg Sherwood MW | 96 Points – Tim Atkin MW
“The 2018 MR de Compostella is a blend of 54% Cabernet Franc, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec, 5% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in colour, one sniff of the bouquet reveals another truly towering effort with incredible perfume lift, a complex melange of red and black berry fruits and the most fabulously integrated oaking imaginable. The nose is loaded with black cherry kirsch liquor, black truffle, crushed violets, crème de cassis, mulberries, graphite and freshly tilled earth nuances. Despite an extensive elevage in French oak barriques, the sweet cedary wood spice and vanilla pod notes play very much a subtle supporting role allowing the bold multi-dimensional fruit intensity to take centre stage. While only medium-bodied, the palate is super sleek, laser focused and intense, washing over the senses in energetic waves of saline cassis, black cherries, black plum and baked blueberries. This is classical winemaking at its very best where a harmonious freshness combines with beautifully silky poised tannins to deliver a wine with not only overt mouth-watering appeal but also plenty of latent structural depth. Undoubtedly another individually monumental wine that displays the brilliance of the special Mvemve-Raats winemaking partnership clearly for all to see. Old School and New World all at the same time, this is a wine that will appeal to the classicists as much as to the New World connoisseurs. Drink it on release or bury it in your cellar for 25+ years for further rewards.” – Greg Sherwood MW.

An Informed Opinion… Number 22

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