4 ½  Stars 2022 Platter’s South African Wine Guide

Rhone-style blend, shiraz with 2 others, mainly French oak, 16 months, which 18 (93 pts) carries with aplomb: spicy, smoky, charcuterie nuances alongside plush dark fruit. There’s musculature for long ageing under the curvaceous body. Well crafted.

91 pts Tim Atkin MW 20 22

Creative Block 3 is an SMV blend, produced from Syrah with 5% Mourvèdre and 1% co-fermented Viognier skins. Sweet, smoky and toasty, with a mix of 50% new French and American oak, it has bramble, blackberry and white peach flavours, good structure and a hint of dried coconut. 2023-28

91 pts Tim Atkin MW 2022

Made with the help of Master of Wine Richard Kershaw, this is a serious, well-structured Sauvignon Blanc that outperforms many of its peers. Blackcurrant leaf and elderflower flavours provide lots of crunch and focus, with some added structure from partial skin contact before fermentation. 2022-25

4 ½ Stars 2023 Platter’s South African Wine Guide

Similar unwooded tropical tones (gooseberry & passionfruit) in 21 (90 pts), from clay/shale soils. Some extra breadth from naturally fermented, lees-enriched portion. Succulent & flavoursome, with fine citrus seam.

4 ½ Stars 2022 Platter’s South African wine Guide

Stellenbosch & Paarl grapes picked in 3 batches & fermented in conical-shaped tanks for gentle extraction. The result, floral violet perfume, dark mulberry & savoury meat flavours on a bed of supple tannin in 19 (94 pts). 20 % new oak, 13 months.

5 Stars 2023 Platter’s South African Wine Guide

Cinsault, grenache noir & syrah (56/22/22), 21 ***** (95 pts) dark & red plum, raspberry, exotic spice & wisp of smoke in the lithe body, crunchy cranberry finish. Like 20 (94 pts), mostly wholebunch, carbonic maceration & 8 months in older oak for the best-ever vintage in this tribute wine.

92 pts Tim Atkin Mw 2022

Rebecca May is a GCS blend of Grenache with 22% each of Cinsault and Syrah. Floral, scented and appealing, with potpourri and rose petal notes, lots of clove and pepper spices from 80% whole bunches, pomegranate and cranberry fruit and a kiss of oak. 2022-27

4 ½ Stars 2023 Platter’s South African Wine Guide

Rich & robust chardonnay, showing prominent oak mid-2022, 21 (92 pts) has extravagantly layered fruit & spice, with mineral texture & lift. Sweetly ripe citrus with creamy vanilla custard note, should integrate with year/2.

91 pts Tim Atkin MW 2022

Six different sites supply the grapes for this good-value Chardonnay from La Vierge. Fermented in 20% new 500-litre barrels, with half of the wine going on to complete malolactic, this has notes of crème fraîche, cashew and beeswax, layers of fresh lemon and tangerine and a bright, refreshing finish. 2022-28

4 ½ Stars 2023 Platter’s South African Wine Guide

Wild yeast-fermented in barrel, 21 (94 pts) from 1960’s vines is nuanced & stately, with sumptuous stonefruit, lees minerality & creaminess. Rounded & polished by year in older-oak.

92 points Tim Atkin MW 2022

David Finlayson uses bush vine Chenin Blanc blocks planted in the 1960s and 1970s to make this naturally fermented, old oak-matured white. Rich and textured, with pear and nectarine flavours, medium-body and a finish that's driven by acidity and minerality. 2023-28

90 points James Suckling Dec 2022

Notes of fennel, apples and ripe lemons with hints of acacia. Medium- to full-bodied with crisp acidity and a round texture. Shows freshness and richness at the same time. Floral finish. Sustainable. Drink now. Screw cap.

92 pts Tim Atkin MW 2022

Guillermo is a 70/30 blend of grapes from the Kasteelsig and Leeuwenkuil farms and is aged in a combination of French, American and Eastern European oak. Smoky, spicy and intense, it partners Pinotage with a splash of Syrah and shows plum and summer pudding flavours, serious tannins and stony minerality. 2023-28

4 ½ Stars 2023 Platter’s South African Wine Guide

Always-excellent pinotage honouring longtime grower Billy ‘Guillermo’ Hughes. 20 (90 pts) vibrant & juicy with subtle spice & soft tannins. Blended from BH’s Kasteelsig, with 10% syrah & other Swartland fruit. Wild yeasts, year in 20% new oak, 40% American.

5 Stars 2023 Platter’s South African Wine Guide

From Helderberg granite & Bottelary gravels, rewarding 19 ***** (95 pts) ups bar (& merlot) on 18 (92 pts), partners cab & cab franc (43/16) create suave, confident 3-wy blend. Supple, seamless & integrated savoury mouthful. Dark fruit & spice mingle with oak, 24 months, 30% new.

4 ½ Stars 2023 Platter’s South African Wine Guide

Sophisticated crafting of the flagship grape, with compelling earthy minerality, brooding blackcurrant fruit laced with tealeaf & liquorice, 20 (94 pts) maintains impressive standard. Sleek, textured & supple, polished 14 months in oak barrels.

90 points James Suckling Dec 2022
A perfumed nose of crushed blackcurrants, blackberries, gravel and toasted herbs. Full-bodied with creamy tannins. Black-fruited and rather salty on the palate. Even balance with a mouthwatering finish. Drink now.

93 pts James Suckling Top 100 2022 #43

An inviting nose of red cherry, plum, rose stem and baking spice. Medium- to full-bodied with fine, silky tannins. Lovely depth and intensity here, with layers of nicely ripened fruit blending with leafy herbs and savory spice. Very nicely balanced. Drink or hold.

93 pts Tim Atkin MW 2022

A wine that has benefited hugely from what David van Velden calls his "leaf roll eradication programme", this is a dense, perfumed, structured Merlot made with a French and an Italian clone. Plum, cassis and dark chocolate flavours are framed by 20% new oak and underpinned by acidity and polished tannins. 2024-32

93 pts Wine Mag

Attractive aromatics of red and black berries, floral fragrance, fresh herbs, pencil shavings and oak spice precede a palate that has great fruit definition, bright acidity and fine tannins, the finish nicely dry. Not insubstantial at 14.73% alcohol but wonderfully clean-cut and well-weighted (maturation lasted 12 months in 300-litre French oak barrels, of which 23% were new).

4 ½ Stars Platter's South African Wine Guide

Fulsome body, sleek but active tannins, piercing black cherry fruit, 20 (90 pts) appealing violet scent & spice from year in mostly older barrels, solid mineral core showing better ripeness than 19.

4 ½ Stars 2023 Platter’s South African Wine Guide

Standout varietal example, 20 (94 pts) focused & precise, ticks all the boxes. Lean & mineral, with chalky tannins yet packed with inky, earthy black fruit, promising great rewards with cellaring.

90 pts Tim Atkin MW 2023

Bernard Le Roux blends 6% Merlot into this Cabernet Franc to give it an extra layer of complexity. Handling its 20% new oak well, it's a glossy, full-bodied red with rocket and bay leaf aromas, chocolate, raspberry and black cherry flavours and tangy, refreshing finish.
2024-30