South Africa
At the bottom of its great continent, South Africa is a country of unlimited natural advantages. With the confluence of two oceans at the Cape, the sheltering effect of inland mountain chains and some of the most dynamic soils in the world, every piece is in place for the production of fine wine. The most well-known region has historically been Stellenbosch, but it is the wines of Swartland that have really turned South African wine on its head in recent years.
The wine industry is in the midst of a renaissance with classically styled wines making full advantage of remarkable terroir and an adventurous spirit. As a result, South Africa is producing some truly exceptional wines of great character and value. Striking blockbuster Syrahs and Bordeaux blends to full bodied Chardonnay and crisp Sauvignon Blanc are some of this great nation’s offerings. South Africa’s own grape, Pinotage, leaves critics divided yet can produce excellent single-variety offerings as well as distinguished Cape blends.
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South Africa
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Vinous (90)
From vines planted in 2010, the 2017 Hemelrand Vine Garden was matured in old neutral barrels and cement egg. It has a clean, pure bouquet of lemon curd, albumen and light yellow flowers. The palate is well balanced, with a taut line of acidity, and quite saline in the mouth. The sharp, slightly flinty finish oddly reminds me of a mature Chablis. Very fine.保税价格￥ 2,185.00 -
Vinous (93)
The 2018 Hemelrand Vine Garden is whole-cluster-pressed and matured in oak and foudres. It has a very seductive bouquet of honeysuckle, passion fruit and hints of beeswax that gain intensity with aeration. The palate is well balanced with a saline opening, plus a fine bead of acidity. There is a light saline lick toward the finish that becomes nuttier with aeration, although this does not quite deliver the complexity of Alheit’s best Chenin Blancs. Still, it is a lovely white blend that should age with style.保税价格￥ 1,140.00 -
Vinous (94)
The 2019 Hemelrand Vine Garden was picked early in the morning and fermented over two months (nine for the Roussanne). It has a very well-defined bouquet of red apple, fresh pear, yellow flower and strawberry scents, plus hints of chamomile in the background. The palate is well balanced with crisp acidity and wonderful _mineralité_ on the finish; there’s something Alsace-like about this cuvée. One of Alheit’s more cerebral wines of the vintage.保税价格￥ 2,125.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (95)
You know class when you taste it, and this is certainly that. Deservedly established as one of South Africa's most consistently outstanding Chardonnays, this has the structure and concentration to age, with no malolactic at all, 22% new wood and complex, nuanced, stony flavours of lemon zest, oatmeal and stone fruit – Drinking to 2028保税价格￥ 1,285.00 -
IWSC (97)
Very classy wine with nicely judged oak that adds vanilla spice to the tropical fruit and toffee apple flavours. Perfectly poised with crisp acidity and an elegant, long finish.保税价格￥ 1,665.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Clay Shales is made with fruit purchased from a vineyard in the central part of the Hemelen-Aarde Ridge. Fermented with native yeasts in older wood, it's a nicely worked style with lots of layers and understated power, mixing flavours of oatmeal, toffee fudge and fresh citrus zing. Structured and intense.保税价格￥ 4,020.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (95)
Cuvée Cinéma is sourced from the top end of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley from a clay- shales vineyard planted in 2009. The stems were unusually mature in 2019, so Peter-Allan Finlayson added 70% whole bunches. The result is sappy, spicy and quite dense, with effortless concentration, black cherry and plum fruit, sinewy tannins and good ageing potential. 2022-29保税价格￥ 2,060.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (95)
Part of a brilliant line up of Pinot Noirs from Crystallum in 2020, this is a wine with evident tannin and extraction - more Nuits-St-Georges than Chambolle-Musigny perhaps - with plenty of grip, dark cherry and raspberry fruit, subtle 20% new wood and added complexity from 40% whole bunches.保税价格￥ 2,915.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (95)
Jacob's Vineyard on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge - also the source of Crystallum's Clay Shales Chardonnay - supplies the grapes for Cuvée Cinéma, which sits mid-way between Bona Fide and Mabalel in style. Perfumed, intense and grippy, with orange zest, cranberry and forest floor notes and well-handled 20% new oak.保税价格￥ 2,370.00 -
保税价格￥ 1,960.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Bona Fide comes from the Vrede vineyard, which also supplies fruit for Hannes Storm's top Pinot Noir. There was no 2019 release, but this is a roaring return to form: a medium-weight red with a haunting combination of perfume and structure. Complete, layered and nuanced with 50% whole bunch spices and layers of plum and summer berry fruit, 2023-28保税价格￥ 2,775.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Bona Fide comes from the lower, clay-rich part of the Vrede Vineyard in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, a site that produces two of the Cape's best Pinot Noirs. Brooding, herbal and earthy, with notes of tobacco leaf and forest floor, dense plum and dark cherry fruit and some clove spice from 70% whole bunches.保税价格￥ 4,020.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Bouncing back from the fires in 2019 - and then some - this is the best young Pinot Noir release I've tasted from Hamilton Russell. Representing a subtle shift in style towards greater perfume and fruit, this is a detailed, finely judged blend of clones 113, 115 and 667, with svelte tannins, tidy acidity, rose petal top notes and skilfully integrated oak.保税价格￥ 1,730.00 -
保税价格￥ 1,775.00 -
Christian Eedes (97)
A challenging vintage that compelled Wessels to undertake nine passes through his 2ha vineyard as opposed to the usual five to seven. This attention to detail has paid off as this is the best vintage of Ava Marie yet. On the nose, a hint of flinty reduction before citrus, almond and leesy complexity while the palate shows great fruit concentration without being too weighty or thick-textured. The fruit is pure but there is already remarkable detail, the wine possessing a silky feel in the mouth, the finish super-dry. Matured for 11 months in mainly 500-litre barrels, some 10% new. Alcohol: 13%.保税价格￥ 1,640.00 -
Vinous (92)
The 2016 Ridge Pinot Noir comes from vines located at 325 meters, the highest that Hannes Storm farms, east-facing with a prevailing southeasterly wind that creates a cooler site and longer hangtime. It was matured in 25% new oak for 11 months. It is more youthful in appearance compared to the Ignis, the nose very cohesive with black cherry, raspberry preserve, crushed stone and light wilted rose petal aromas. The fresh, poised palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity and perhaps the edgiest tannins of Storm’s 2016s. Long with a touch of spice on the finish, this is an excellent Pinot Noir. It’s a shame only 250 cases were produced.保税价格￥ 1,805.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (94)
Block 1 at La Vierge is the source of this Ridge Pinot Noir, planted in 2010 with clones 113 and 115. It’s the lightest, tautest and most aromatic of Hannes’ Storm’s enviable range, with herbal, scented, wild strawberry fruit and a dusting of whole bunch spices.保税价格￥ 1,610.00 -
保税价格￥ 3,005.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (94)
Hannes Storm's whites have shifted up a gear in 2022 and are fast approaching the same level as his lauded Pinot Noirs. This stylish Chardonnay showcases grapes from a south-east facing parcel at 330 metres on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. Fermented in a combination of 32% new barrels and 10% clay amphoras, it's a chiselled, pithy, focused white with lots of zip, lemongrass and orange zest flavours and subtle aromatic spices.保税价格￥ 1,815.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (95)
As its name suggests, this hails from a cool shale site on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, planted as recently as 2009. It combines the density of Vrede with the perfume of Ignis, making it Hannes Storm’s most complete Pinot, with floral scents, red cherry and raspberry fruit, savoury tannins and focused acidity.保税价格￥ 2,275.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Ridge is often the most backward of Hannes Storm's trio of remarkable single vineyard Pinot Noirs, sourced from an east-facing, high-density planting at 330 metres at La Vierge on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. Plum, black cherry and a hint of graphite are underpinned by plenty of grip, backbone and intensity. One to tuck away for a while.保税价格￥ 2,495.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (94)
The Vrede Chardonnay uses grapes from the same site in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley as the Pinot Noir of the same name. Made with the popular CY95 clone, this shows none of the heat of the 2022 vintage, reflecting the subtlety of Hannes Storm's winemaking. Sappy, mineral and refreshing, it combines scented 25% new oak with citrus, oatmeal and pear flavours and a lingering finish.保税价格￥ 3,255.00 -
Decanter (95)
Hannes Storm makes three distinctive and very different Pinot Noirs from estate-grown fruit in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near Hermanus. The Vrede Pinot comes from an elevated vineyard site on shale soils and is very Burgundian in style but with a new world flair. Lush red fruit dominates the nose and palate with cherries and violets dominating before a lick of oak leads to more tertiary characters of soil and tomato leaf. Long and delicious.保税价格￥ 1,875.00
