South Africa’s New Horizons

PREVIOUS TASTING ARCHIVE – APRIL 2023

Having just returned from my tenth visit to South Africa since 2001, I am once again bowled over by the country’s wines and winemakers. Three years ago we tasted ‘New Wave South Africa’, but it definitely feels like time to revisit this amazing country – where the waves just keep on coming!

Since the end of apartheid in the early 1990s, nothing has stood still for South Africa’s grape varieties, winemaking, wineries and wine regions. An influx of ambitious and savvy young winemakers has joined the Cape’s celebrated ‘old guard’, exploring new terroirs and new approaches to wine.

Nothing is off the table in the resurgent South Africa, which in my opinion is one of the world’s most exciting wine countries.

The Wines

A good example is our white wine from Gedeelte, whose barren and sandy coastal vineyards are way up north of the established winelands. It’s a table wine made from the Palomino variety, and raised under a ‘veil’ of yeast, just like the wines of Jura in Eastern France. Joining it in our white wine line-up are two more expected varieties perhaps, a barrel-fermented Chardonnay and classy Sauvignon Blanc, coming from the Swartland and Franschhoek respectively.

There’s a bit of Rhône varieties focus with our reds. We’ve a cool climate-style Syrah from cult winemaker Lukas van Loggerenberg, a Cinsault from unirrigated bush vines, and a Shiraz/Cabernet blend… in a tin! (trust me, this is quality stuff, part of Master of Wine Richard Kelley’s ‘The Liberator’ series of limited editions, also selling in bottles at £20+). 

The case of six high-quality wines is priced £70, which is a discount of £9 on the selection, and is available only to ticket holders for this tasting.

The tasting is split over two consecutive Thursday evenings. We’ll open three bottles per night, but they’ll drink well through the weekend, so nothing will be wasted. And remember: if you cannot join us live for any session, our ‘catch-up’ service allows you to taste along to the recordings at your leisure.

How does it work?

• Tasting tickets and wines are purchased separately
• The ticket price is per household, not per person
• The ticket covers both sessions
• After you purchase your ticket, you’ll see a link to buy the wines
• We’ll make a recording of each session in case you miss one
• You may attend without buying the wines.