Renowned wine critic Tim Atkin has released his most comprehensive South Africa Special Report to date. The 2024 edition spans 332 pages and more than 110,000 words, showcasing the incredible diversity and quality of South African wines. After tasting 2,259 wines from 427 producers, Atkin highlights 1,570 wines that scored over 90 points, with 217 earning a gold-medal equivalent by surpassing 95 points.
One of the stars of the report is Alheit Vineyards Nautical Dawn Chenin Blanc 2023, which earned a perfect 100-point score, making it only the second Cape white to achieve such a rating from Atkin. This accolade is a testament to the growing global recognition of South African wines, particularly in standout categories like Chenin Blanc and Syrah. Atkin emphasizes that the Cape is producing the best wines in its history, with recent vintages like 2017, 2021, and the 2023 whites standing out for their exceptional quality.
In addition to the detailed wine reviews, the report offers a deep analysis of South Africa’s wine industry, a guide to top restaurants, and Atkin’s annual classification of the best 350 producers. Awards for wines, winemakers, viticulturists, and cellar doors of the year round out this indispensable guide for anyone interested in the dynamic and diverse wine scene of South Africa.
Key Wines of the Year:
- Overall White Wine of the Year: 2023 Alheit Vineyards Nautical Dawn Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch
- Joint Red Wines of the Year: 2022 Porseleinberg Syrah, Swartland & 2022 Sadie Family Columella, Swartland
- Best Value White of the Year: 2024 AA Badenhorst Secateurs Chenin Blanc, Swartland
Top-Rated Wines from the Report:
- 100 Points: Alheit Vineyards Nautical Dawn 2023 (Stellenbosch) – A world-class Chenin Blanc with remarkable precision and complexity. Expect notes of kelp, sea breezes, and a dense mineral finish. Only the second Cape white to receive a perfect score from Atkin, it cements its place among the world’s best wines.
- 99 Points: Sadie Family Mev Kirsten 2023 (Stellenbosch) – From South Africa’s oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard, planted in 1905. This vintage offers layers of oatmeal, pear, citrus, and dried honey, showcasing the craftsmanship and history behind this exceptional release.
- 98 Points: Alheit Vineyards Huilkrans 2023 (Citrusdal Mountain) – A beautifully dry-farmed Chenin Blanc with green fig, lime, and a distinctive ferrous undertone. A stunning reflection of Citrusdal’s rugged terroir.
- 98 Points: Sadie Family Rotsbank 2023 (Swartland) – A Grand Cru Chablis-like Chenin Blanc, offering wet stones, rock salt, and lime flavors in an elegant, refined package.
- 97 Points: Alheit Vineyards Magnetic North 2023 (Citrusdal Mountain) – Back after a two-year hiatus, this Chenin Blanc is a favorite among enthusiasts, offering oyster shell, pink grapefruit, and a mineral-driven structure that reflects the essence of its high-altitude origins.
Noteworthy Reds:
- 99 Points: Sadie Family Columella 2022 (Swartland) – A world-renowned red blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, and other varietals. This complex yet elegant wine boasts aromas of lilac, plum, and red cherry, with a stony, focused finish.
- 96 Points: AA Badenhorst Raaigras Grenache 2023 (Swartland) – Made from 71-year-old vines, this ethereal Grenache is floral and concentrated, affirming its status as one of South Africa’s finest expressions of the variety.
- 96 Points: Sadie Family Pofadder 2023 (Swartland) – A graceful and refined Cinsault with aromas of rose petal and Turkish Delight. Vibrant red berry flavors and granular tannins reflect the elegance of Swartland’s unique terroir.
All Broadbent Selections South African Producer’s Ratings and Reviews:
100 Alheit Vineyards Nautical Dawn 2023 Stellenbosch (13.5%)
I was fortunate to taste this wine twice over the period of a few days and it really is a world class Chenin Blanc. In fact, this is only the second time I’ve given 100 points to a Cape white. First made as recently as 2017, although it comes from a parcel on the Rustenhof farm that was planted close to False Bay in 1978, it’s a wine that takes South Africa to new heights. Alas, only 50% of normal volumes, but this is all kelp, petrichor and sea breezes, with incredible extract, a note of umami and a dense, refreshing, mineral-rich finish. 2025-35
99 Sadie Family Mev Kirsten 2023 Stellenbosch (14%)
It doesn’t look like much up close – a few vines at the bottom of the Jonkershoek Valley overshadowed by an electricity pylon – but Mev Kirsten is the oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard in the Cape, planted in 1905 on decomposed sandstone and alluvial granite soils. I can’t recall a better release of this wine, which feels like the product of a lifetime’s work. Serious, concentrated and intense, this has layers of oatmeal, pear, citrus, lanolin and dried honey, remarkable focus and vivacity and the concentration to develop beautifully in bottle. 2025-40
98 Alheit Vineyards Huilkrans 2023 Citrusdal Mountain (13.3%) Huilkrans comes from Jozua Visser’s Oudam farm, located at 450 metres in an isolated spot on Citrusdal Mountain, sometimes called the Skurfberg. Planted between 1974 and 1978, the vines are all dry-farmed, producing yields of almost painful paucity. Fermented in old barrels before ageing on lees for 12 months, this sings with what Chris Alheit calls a baritone voice. Green fig, lime and greengage flavours are complemented by a ferrous undertone and a stony finish. 2025-35
98 Sadie Family Rotsbank 2023 Swartland (13.5%) Part of a trilogy of Chenin Blancs – and the only one from Eben Sadie’s base in the Swartland – this is a brilliant second release from very bony, decomposed granite soils on the Paardeberg. Perfumed, elegant, steely and refined, it has a Grand Cru Chablis-like focus and intensity, all wet stones and oyster shell, with rock salt and fresh lime flavours and the seamless concentration of its 39-year-old bush vines. 2026-40
98 Sadie Family ‘T Voetpad 2023 Swartland (13.5%)
Yields were down to a measly 1,800 bottles from this isolated, soulful 1.4-hectare parcel in 2023. Planted between 1887 and 1928, and coaxed back to life in recent years, it’s one of the world’s greatest vineyards, planted with a medley of mostly Semillon and Palomino, with lesser amounts of Chenin Blanc and Muscat d’Alexandrie. Aged in old foudres, it has enticing aromas of jasmine, chamomile and rose petal and a palate of orange peel, elderflower and lemongrass. Hauntingly refined. 2025-35
97 Alheit Vineyards Fire by Night 2023 Swartland (12.5%)
Fire by Night comes from the Alheits’ Newudam farm, made with grapes from parcels planted between 1972 and 1985 on the Paardeberg. You can taste the granite here, as well as the intensity of dry-farmed old vines: focused, taut and concentrated, with fennel, oatmeal and thatch aromas, subtle wood spices and a flinty, mouth-watering finish. 2025-35
97 Alheit Vineyards Magnetic North 2023 Citrusdal Mountain (13.2%)
After a two year break – best not to spend too long discussing why with Chris Alheit – Magnetic North is back to delight its many fans in 2023. Sourced from vines planted in 1981 and 1984 at 520 metres on the Van Lill farm on Citrusdal Mountain, this is a wine that marries power, depth and incredible focus and finesse. Racy, ferrous and very stony, with lots of underlying structure, notes of oyster shell, pink grapefruit and umami, negligible oak and a tapering finish. 2025-35
97 Sadie Family Skerpioen 2023 Swartland (13%)
I’ve been lucky enough to visit this vineyard, weaving through the sand dunes in a 4×4 to get there, so I know what a special, far flung place it is. Pairing equal amounts of Chenin Blanc and Palomino from rare limestone soils, this is an intensely maritime West Coast cuvée that has amazing focus, extract and salinity, with notes of lemon zest, rock pools, almond, sourdough bread and kelp, very little oak and a mouth-watering finish. 2025-40intensely maritime West Coast cuvée that has amazing focus, extract and salinity, with notes of lemon zest, rock pools, almond, sourdough bread and kelp, very little oak and a mouth-watering finish. 2025-40
96 Alheit Vineyards Cartology 2023 Western Cape (13.1%)
This pioneering white blend, paying tribute to the diversity and history of the Cape, is a cuvée of Chenin Blanc and 6% Semillon in 2023, using components from the Skurfberg, Piekenierskloof, Malmesbury, the Paardeberg, Bottelary, False Bay and (for the first time) Tygerberg. Mineral, sappy, spicy and effortlessly focused like a rifle site, it has layers of oatmeal, citrus and wet stones and a savoury finish. 2025-35
96 Sadie Family Kokerboom 2023 Olifants River (14%)
Henk Laing’s grape and rooibos tea farm on the Citrusdal Mountain has been taken over by his family after his death, which is a relief to fans of this wine (and others from the property). A co-fermentation of Semillon and 25% Semillon Gris, this is generally the most exotic white in the Sadie Family range, but is a bit more focused in 2023 because of the early pick. Lime, nectarine and lemon zest flavours are underpinned by stony minerality. 2025-32
96 Sadie Family Skurfberg 2023 Olifants River (14%)
“In memory of Basie,” reads the label, which is a nice tribute to the legendary grower, Basie van Lill, from whose farm Eben Sadie sources Skurfberg. Using dry-farmed grapes from a 0.8-hectare parcel on red granite and iron soils, this is pale, floral and comparatively forward for a wine from this terroir, with passion fruit, peach and lemon zest flavours and the minerality that comes with the territory on Citrusdal Mountain. 2025-32
96 Savage Never Been Asked to Dance 2023 Paarl (13.2%)
Located on the border between Paarl and Stellenbosch, this superb Chenin Blanc hails from a 1956 block on the granite soils that the variety loves so much. Fermented and aged in old Stockinger barrels, with full malolactic, it’s a very Burgundian interpretation of the Cape’s signature white grape, with a leesy, creamy palate, subtle wood and a steely, chiseled finish. 2025-33
96 Savage White 2023 Western Cape (13.7%)
Duncan Savage’s superb white uses grapes from two vineyards on sandstone soils in Elandskloof and Villiersdorp and is a cuvée of Sauvignon Blanc and 24% Semillon. Racy and pithy, despite completing full malolactic, it has lovely flinty reduction, notes of brine, blackcurrant leaf and salted almonds and a core of celery, lime and pink grapefruit. 2025-32
95 Sadie Family Palladius 2022 Swartland (13.5%)
Eben Sadie calls Palladius a “complex logarithm” and “the wines I am proudest of”. It’s certainly a sophisticated, layered wine from various Swartland sites, blending Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Semillon Blanc and Gris, Palomino, Verdelho, Colombard, Clairette Blanche and Viognier. It slightly lacks the purity of the single parcel wines, but this is still very impressive, with ageing in concrete and clay amphora, aromas of baking spices, pear, peach and lemon zest and a textured, well-balanced finish. 2025-32
94 AA Badenhorst Kalmoesfontein White 2022 Swartland (13.5%)
Adi Badenhorst’s white blend is a jamboree bag of eight white varieties, dominated by 45% Chenin Blanc with smaller contributions from Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Palomino, Viognier, Roussanne, Muscat d’Alexandrie and Verdelho. Lightly wooded in old foudres, it has subtle reduction, fynbos, earth and rose petal aromas and layers of apple, pear and citrus zest. 2025-32
94 Alheit Vineyards Herafter Here 2023 Western Cape (13.2%)
Hereafter Here is what Chris Alheit calls a “young vineyard wine” although it contains older material from the Paardeberg and Tygerberg too. Blended with a splash of Semillon from Franschhoek, it’s a total bargain in the range, with a nice interplay of lees, beeswax and granite-derived structure and a touch of flinty reduction. 2024-29
94 Beaumont Hope Marguerite OVP Chenin Blanc 2023 Bot River (12.7%)
The two oldest blocks at Beaumont, planted in 1974 and 1978, supply the grapes for this concentrated, low-yielding Chenin Blanc from Sebastian Beaumont. Sweetly wooded in 20% new oak, it’s still quite tight and restrained at the moment, with lots of green apple acidity, undertones of patisserie and aniseed and a stony finish. A wine that will reward patience. 2025-30
94 Beaumont New Baby 2022 Bot River (12.6%) New Baby is not so new these days, as it was first produced in 2015, but it remains as exciting as ever. Made without Chardonnay and Semillon in 2022, it’s a blend of Chenin Blanc, 25% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Colombard showing a touch of flinty reduction, grapefruit and tangerine flavours, stylish 20% new wood and a palate-cleansing finish. 2025-30
94 Delaire Graff Terraced Block Reserve Chardonnay 2023 Stellenbosch (13.8%)
Terraced Block showcases the quality of a one-hectare vineyard located at 420 metres, all of which is planted with the 277 Champagne clone. Structured, zesty and racy, it has appealing layers of pear and citrus, stylish 40% new wood and a flinty, slightly salty finish. One of the best Banghoek whites. 2025-30
94 Delaire Graff White Reserve 2022 Coastal (13.5%)
Durbanville is the dominant region on this white blend, with additional components from Darling, Elgin and Franschhoek. Pairing Sauvignon Blanc and 27% Semillon, it’s salty, pithy and very mineral, all lemon grass, mangetout and gunflint and very subtle oak. 2025-32
94 Storm Wines Ridge Chardonnay 2023 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge (13.4%)
Ridge comes from a one-hectare block on a south-east facing slope at La Vierge and makes a nice contrast with Hannes Storm’s Vrede Chardonnay. Racy, stony and showing a touch of flinty reduction, it has layers of grapefruit and elderflower, stylish 24% new oak and undertones of beeswax and aniseed. 2025-32
94 Storm Wines Vrede Chardonnay 2023 Hemel-en-Aarde Valley (13.3%)
Grown next to the Pinot Noir from the same block, the Vrede Chardonnay was planted in 2006. Refreshing and well balanced for a wine that completed full malolactic, this has vanilla-scented 35% oak, flavours of pear and nectarine and a fresh, tangy, focused finish. Exotic yet refreshing. 2025-30
93 AA Badenhorst Sout van die Aarde Palomino 2023 Swartland (13%)
Sout van die Aarde – salt of the earth in Afrikaans – is a pure Palomino from a wild, Atlantic Ocean-influenced vineyard on limestone soils. Appropriately salty and intense, it has layers of oatmeal, bruised apple and sourdough bread and top notes of aromatic spices. 2024-28
93 Alheit Vineyards Hemelrand Vine Garden 2023 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge (13.5%)
Hemelrand comes from the vines that are planted around Chris Alheit’s winery on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge and is an intriguing cuvée of Chardonnay, 28% Roussanne, 18% Chenin Blanc, 17% Verdelho and 1% (very perfumed) Muscat. Featuring some botrytis affected grapes caused by the rains in 2023, this has pear, orange zest and fresh grape flavours and some lees-derived texture. 2024-29
93 De Wetshof Bateleur Chardonnay 2022 Robertson (13.4%)
Bateleur hails from the De Wet family’s older parcels and shows corresponding depth and concentration. The new oak is very well handled here, framing rather than dominating the palate. Chalky, tangy and toasty, this has appealing weight and flavours of pear, lemongrass and wet stones. 2025-32
92 De Wetshof Lesca Chardonnay 2023 Robertson (14.1%)
Youthful, pale and appealingly restrained, Lesca has understated power and concentration. Pear, citrus and clementine flavours are complemented by 20% new wood from no fewer than seven coopers, good texture and intensity and the classic focus and freshness of Robertson. 2024-30
92 Delaire Graff Banghoek Chardonnay Reserve 2023 Banghoek (13.8%)
The Chardonnay Reserve hails from five different parcels on the Delaire Graff estate and is a blend of the 95 and 96 clones from Dijon and the 277 clone from Champagne. Stylishly oaked in 40% new barrels, it has layers of pear, cream and ginger, some patisserie sweetness and a backbone of lemon zest acidity. 2025-29
91 AA Badenhorst Secateurs Riviera Skin Contact 2023 Swartland (13%)
A lot of wine and flavour for your money, this is an unusual cuvée of Chenin Blanc with Grenache Blanc, Bukettraube and Roussanne. Skin-fermented in concrete tanks for ten days before ageing in older 500-litre barrels, it combines quince and blood orange flavours with notes of black tea and citrus and a salty undertone. 2024-28
91 De Wetshof Bon Vallon Chardonnay 2023 Robertson (13.95%)
Part of an impressive array of Chardonnays from the youthful Loïc du Toit, this is a bright, focused, mineral driven Chardonnay with slightly more weight and concrete than the Calcrete release. Chiselled, mouth-watering and appealingly salty with a core of lemon and lime fruit. 2024-29
91 Delaire Graff Coastal Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2023 Coastal (13.5%)
Darling, Durbanville and Stellenbosch all supply grapes for this cooler climate style of Sauvignon Blanc, blended with 6% barrel-fermented Semillon. Gooseberry, lime and grapefruit flavours are complemented by some grip from skin contact and a hint of cinnamon spice. 2024-28
90 AA Badenhorst Secateurs Chenin Blanc 2024 Swartland (13%)
People rightly get excited about Adi Badenhorst’s single parcel wines, but the man is also a master at producing value-for-money offerings like this Swartland Chenin Blanc from low yielding vines. Pear, citrus and boiled sweet flavours are lifted by acidity from splashes of Semillon and Grenache Blanc. 2024-27
99 Sadie Family Columella 2022 Swartland (13.5%)
This is the lightest bodied Columella ever, according to Eben Sadie, but he’s not lost any concentration or intensity at the lower alcohol level. Sourced from 12 different vineyards, seven of which are on the Paardeberg, this features components from slate, gravel, granite and sandstone soils and is a brilliant vintage of one of the world’s greatest reds. Partnering Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault, Tinta Barocca and Pinotage, this is an almost indecently perfumed cuvée with lilac, fynbos and rose petal aromas, plum, red cherry and blackberry fruit, subtle 5% new wood and a focused, grippy, stony finish. Wonderful stuff. 2025-40
96 AA Badenhorst Raaigras Grenache 2023 Swartland (13%)
Raaigras is one of the best Grenaches in the Cape, sourced from a cooler, south-east facing parcel of 0.86 hectares on decomposed granite. Showing the concentration of its 71-year old vines, it’s floral, ethereal and sappy, with fine-boned tannins, raspberry, red cherry and pomegranate fruit and a stony, mineral core. Adi Badenhorst’s love of the variety shines through here. 2025-38
96 AA Badenhorst Ramnasgras Cinsault 2023 Swartland (13%)
This superb Cinsault showcases the quality of a 1.6-hectare parcel planted on decomposed granite in 1954. Remarkably elegant and graceful for a Swartland red, it beguiles your palate with layers of rose petal, goji berry and redcurrant, complemented by detailed tannins and plenty of stony minerality. 2025-35
96 AA Badenhorst Ringmuur Cinsault 2023 Swartland (12%)
Ringmuur illustrates Adi Badenhorst’s ability to make elegant, refined reds in a hot climate. Sourced from a 0.6-hectare parcel planted in the 1960s, it uses 70% whole bunch fermentation to good effect, offering a palate of subtle, stony reduction, granitic freshness, summer pudding and kitchen spices flavours and fine tannins. 2025-35
96 Beeslaar Pinotage 2022 Stellenbosch (14.5%)
Beeslaar comes from a comparatively large, four-hectare parcel on shale soils and makes an interesting contrast with Kanonkop’s Black Label Pinotage. Pure, floral, ethereal and hauntingly perfumed, it has stylish, scented 50% new wood, fine-grained tannins, plum, strawberry and goji berry flavours and a lingering finish. 2025-35
96 Delaire Graff Laurence Graff Reserve 2020 Stellenbosch (14.5%)
While we await the release of the 2021, one of the best recent vintages in the Cape, we should be more than happy with the 2020. Made entirely with the 169 Cabernet Sauvignon clone, aged in 80% new oak, it’s a forward, but supremely elegant red, all detail, layers and nuances, with violet and fynbos aromas, notes of toast and five spice and cassis and blueberry fruit. 2025-35
96 Sadie Family Pofadder 2023 Swartland (13%)
Eben Sadie sources this delightful Swartland Cinsault from the Anthonij Rupert farm in Riebeeksrivier, using grapes grown on schist. Fermented with 30% whole bunches in concrete and foudres, it’s a graceful, elegant, refined expression of Cinsault with potpourri and Turkish Delight aromas, lots of zip and energy, succulent red berry fruit and granular tannins. 2025-40
96 Savage Follow The Line 2023 Darling (13%)
Follow The Line is a deceptively forward Cinsault that’s good to drink on release, but ages remarkably well too. Alluringly ethereal and perfumed, it has what Duncan Savage terms “the purity of 2023”, layers of goji berry, plum and pomegranate and more tannic presence than you appreciate at first. Very refined. 2026-35
96 Savage Red 2022 Stellenbosch (13.6%)
Labelled as the Savage Red, this has been a varietal Syrah since 2017, using grapes from a single site in Kuils River on granite soils. Made using the submerged cap technique for the f irst time, this has impressive grip and depth, muscular tannins, tapenade and fynbos top notes, savoury undertones from 50% whole bunches and a core of damson, squid ink and blackberry. 2025-32
96 Storm Wines Ignis Pinot Noir 2023 Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley (13.7%)
Ignis hails from a warmer, comparatively free draining 2.4-hectare block on decomposed granite that’s planted with four different Burgundian clones (113, 115, 667 and 777). Floral, ethereal and layered, it has some spice and texture from 15% whole clusters, subtle 28% new oak, a slightly salty top note, caressing wild strawberry, pomegranate and goji berry flavours, savoury tannins and mouth-watering acidity. 2025-32
96 Storm Wines Ridge Pinot Noir 2023 Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge (13.7%)
Hannes Storm’s Ridge Pinot Noir uses grapes from a dry-farmed, 1.1-hectare parcel at La Vierge that’s planted with 7,500 vines per hectare. Firmer and more backward than his other two Pinots, it has flavours of plum and orange zest, a hint of clove spice and the concentration and intensity to age beautifully in bottle. The finish goes on for a minute. 2025-32
96 Storm Wines Vrede Pinot Noir 2023 Hemel-en-Aarde Valley (13.7%)
Picking before the rain was very important in 2023 and Hannes Storm did just that. Vrede comes from a 3.6-hectare block planted with the 113, 115 and 777 clones on Bokkeveld shale and is generally the most opulent of his three single-site Pinots. Savoury fleshy and slightly ferrous, it has layers of rose petal, wild strawberry and orange zest and refined, detailed tannins. 2024-31
95 Sadie Family Treinspoor 2023 Swartland (13%)
Treinspoor is a pure Tinta Barocca from red clay soils close to Malmesbury. Eben Sadie reckons it’s the “most elegant” expression of the vineyard yet, but this is still a wine that’s built for the long haul, with classic damson, fig and cranberry flavours, chewy, stubble chinned tannins, a ferrous, steak tartare undertone and enough acidity to drive and freshen the finish. 2025-35
95 Savage Are We There Yet? 2023 Malgas (13.9%)
It’s a long way from Cape Town to Malgas, hence the name of this superb Rhône-meets Portugal cuvée of Touriga Nacional and 31% Syrah. Tarry, bloody and dense, it has a heady mix of violet and Mediterranean herb aromas, dense, well-integrated tannins and layers of f ig, blackberry and damson and supporting acidity. 2026-32
95 Savage Girl Next Door 2023 Cape Town (13%)
The good news for wine lovers is that Girl Next Door now comes from two instead of one parcel, totalling 0.58 hectares in Cape Town and Noordhoek. “Wind and salt” is Duncan Savage’s accurate description of the wine, which has Cornas-like concentration and grip, black olive, steak tartare and garrigue flavours and the clove spice of 50% whole clusters. 2026-32
95 Savage Thief in the Night 2023 Piekenierskloof (14%)
Thief in the Night comes from two parcels between 600 and 680 metres on Billie and Erasmus van Zyl’s farm in Piekenierskloof and is a typically graceful Grenache from a winemaker with the lightest of touches. Fermented and aged in concrete eggs and foudres, it has layers of Campari spices, blood orange and red cherry and some clove spice from 10% whole clusters. 2026-32
94 AA Badenhorst Kalmoesfontein Red 2022 Swartland (14%)
Seven parcels and six varieties make up this impressive co-fermentation from Adi Badenhorst’s home base, featuring mostly Syrah, Grenache and Tinta Barocca, with lesser amounts of Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga Nacional. Grippy, dense and stony, it has layers of fynbos, tobacco leaf and garrigue, damson, fig and blackberry fruit and the backbone to age. 2026-30
94 Delaire Graff Botmaskop 2021 Stellenbosch (14.5%)
Botmaskop is the biggest volume red at Delaire Graff and it’s a corker in 2021. Partnering Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Cabernet Franc, 11% Petit Verdot and 8% Merlot, it’s floral, leafy and nicely textured, with top notes of graphite and bay leaf and a palate of blackberry and liquorice. It should age gracefully too. 2025-35
91 AA Badenhorst Secateurs Red 2023 Swartland (13%)
Like the Secateurs White, this is a delicious, mass-market blend from Adi Badenhorst, made with Syrah, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cinsault and “tiny bits of other grapes”. Blackberry, tapenade and summer pudding flavours are complemented by stony grip, bright acidity and a waft of garrigue herbs. 2024-28
91 Beaumont Far Side Mourvèdre 2021 Bot River (12.2%)
The Beaumonts have been making a varietal Mourvèdre since 1999, which gives them a long association with the grape. Picked early for freshness, this combines pepper and fynbos perfume with a meaty, savoury, slightly earthy palate of damson and cranberry supported by stubble-chinned tannins. 2024-29
91 Vilafonté Seriously Old Dirt 2021 Western Cape (13.5%)
One of South Africa’s smartest brands, this is a pan-Cape cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon with 8% Malbec and 2.5% each of Cabernet Franc and Merlot that uses grapes from mostly Bonnievale as well as components from Paarl and Stellenbosch. Violet and Christmas cake aromas segue into a palate of green herbs, cassis, bramble, date and ginger spice. 2024-29
