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We're now working with some of the top wineries in South Africa, and several boutique importers, to bring many of the very best South African wines to the UK market. These wines are beautifully crafted, often in tiny quantities and represent excellent value for money. Please give them a try, you will be blown away by the quality.

Now here's a country which has suffered at the hands of unscrupulous wine merchants and the large factory produced brands. I've tasted virtually hundreds of frankly awful South African wines wondering what all the fuss was about in the media. How could a nation have such a large wine industry if it was all such poor quality? The truth is, there are good South African wines, we just have to search very hard to find them in the UK amongst the mass of cheap plonk that's swamping the supermarkets and the greedy pub companies. The secret, as with most wine regions, is to search out family owned wineries where the emphasis is on quality and the owners are passionate about what they produce.
 
 

Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2004 75cl

Extremely rare, Boekenhoutskloof's prize Semillon 2004. We only have 6 bottles available. Below is text taken from their website:

Our prize Semillon from a combination of 45 year, 60 year old and 100 year old Franschhoek vines grown on the sandy valley floor just outside the town of Franschhoek is acquired from a grower on a long term contract. The wine was cool fermented using selected yeast in 100% new Dargaud & Jaegle, Allier & Vosges barrels. No malolactic fermentation occurred and the wine was matured in our cold room at 8°C and left for 13 months without either batonnage or the addition of sulphur. The first sulphur was added at the final racking after 13 months in barriques. We blended approximately 5% of our own Sauvignon Blanc to the blend and this certainly lifts the tail of the wine. The wine was bottled in July 2005 with filtration and without cold stabilization; therefore tartrates may appear. The wine is kept back for a further 15 months after bottling prior to release.

TASTING NOTES:

Despite the extended time in oak, the cool temperature of maturation has allowed for complete integration of the wood. The wine exhibits very full, ripe, fruit character with a waxy, lanolin nose and palate. A delicious citrus profile is also evident on the palate. As with the previous vintage, our 2004 vintage is already very expressive and can be approached now, but it could be expected to develop further over the next five years, after which the wine will take on a developed nuttiness and expressive terpenols.

Boekenhoutskloof Website



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Price: £19.00


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John's Rating

92 Points




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Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2004 75cl
 
 

Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2003 Late Harvest in Gift Box 375ml

Extremely rare, Boekenhoutskloof's dessert wine Semillon 2003. We only have 18 bottles available. They only make 3 barrels per vintage of this wine and it is so rare they don't even put it on their website.

Boekenhoutskloof Website



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Price: £19.00


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92 Points

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Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2003 Late Harvest in Gift Box 375ml
 
 

Kleinood Tamboerskloof Viognier 2010

Platter 4.5 Stars and voted South Africa's best Viognier for the last two consecutive years!

Owned by Gerard de Villiers, with viticulturist Alberto Antonini of Tuscany having substantial input into the grape growing, and Gunter Schultz actually making the wine.

We're delighted to have got our hands on a few cases of their exceptionally limited Viognier. It's so rare there isn't even any left in South Africa. It's on a very strict allocation globally as they make so little. The grapes were hand picked and fermented with only the natural yeast. The wine has flavours of peach and apricot with full body and a lively acidity. Delicious with food.

Kleinood Website

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Price: £17.35


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90 Points

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Kleinood Tamboerskloof Viognier 2010
 
 

Clouds Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Stellenbosch 75cl

John Platter - 4 stars

This is a tiny production wine. Bernard and Petro Immelmann bought a property to run as a very small boutique hotel between Stellenbosch and Franschoek, which happened to come with 4.5 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc vines. Being avid Sauv Blanc fans anyway, they began producing this wine - which is excellent! The hotel has a spectacular setting and caters for small weddings - check out their website for some beautiful pictures. The wine itself is cool fermented, producing a crisp, fresh sauvignon with strong tropical fruit flavours. It's very good, earning a 4 star rating from Platter.

Clouds Website

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Clouds Sauvignon Blanc 2010 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 
Zevenwacht

As all our regular customers know, we personally select every wine on this site on it's own merits, we don't simply list every wine from each producer. Very occassionally we happen across an outstanding winery where virtually every wine they produce is something special, and that's what has happened here with Zevenwacht. We're very fortunate to have formed a good relationship with Denise and have the opportunity to exclusively offer our customers some of their very limited production top end wines. I urge you to give them a try, they're fantastic.

Zevenwacht, owned and run by Denise & Harold Johnson, is an independent estate of 500 hectares with 200 hectares under vine, mostly noble varieties. Their winemaker, Jacques Viljoen, takes a bold approach to winemaking, using modern technology as well as traditional cellaring techniques to produce elegant premium wines. We're now having some of their top wines shipped over, due in mid October including their extremely limited Bordeaux blend the 'Z'.

The estate comprises as well as the winery, of a cheese factory, a chef school, top restaurant with banquetting and conferencing facilities, as well as an inn and guest cottages, and is a fully licensed wedding venue all set in stunning surroundings! On top of all this they make fantastic wines too!

Please note - we're awaiting stocks of these new wines from South Africa. Due in mid October.
zevenwacht
 
 

Zevenwacht Sauvignon Blanc 360 2011 Stellenbosch 75cl

Cybercellar 5 Stars for this 2011 - Platter hasn't rated this vintage yet but awarded 5 Stars for the 2010. We're quietly confident this 2011 will get 5 stars from him and his team again!

Only 6000 bottles of this top Sauvignon Blanc are produced annually. It's sourced from their highest single vineyard, south facing from the top of which there's a 360 degree view of the entire estate, hence the name. The grapes are harvested by hand at night to retain maximum freshness, with 5% barrel fermented to increase richness, body and complexity. It has strong, ripe fruit flavours, rich on the palate with great balancing acidity and tremendous length. Great wine.

Zevenwacht Website

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Price: £12.00


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Zevenwacht Sauvignon Blanc 360 2011 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Zevenwacht Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Stellenbosch 75cl

Decanter Bronze Medal 2010 for the 09 vintage. Michael Angelo Awards - Gold Medal, Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 08 - Bronze, Wine Magazine 4 Stars for the 07 vintage.

13.5% abv. Another superb wine from Jacques Viljoen. A lovely, crisp, fresh Sauvignon. Bags of fruit with very good balance and length. It seems Jacques really does get the best out of any varietal. He's an expert wine maker who takes enormous pride in producing superior quality wines.

Zevenwacht Website

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Price: £9.14


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Zevenwacht Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Zevenwacht The Tin Mine White Blend 2010 Stellenbosch 75cl

This is a lovely wine, rich and exotic with plenty of body, tropical fruit flavours and palate cleansing acidity. It's a blend of three grapes - Sauvignon Blanc, cool fermeted to retain freshness, Chardonnay lightly oaked for body, richness and texture, and Viognier again lightly oaked. Ideal as 'a glass of wine' but also pairs well with food. Highly recommended.

Zevenwacht Website

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Price: £9.60


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Zevenwacht The Tin Mine White Blend 2010 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Zevenwacht Z Gewurztraminer 2010 Stellenbosch 75cl

Awards info pending, but the 2010 is superb so should be highly rated. John Platter 4 Stars for the 09

Zevenwacht Z Gewurztraminer Stellenbosch is produced in tiny quantities of only 1200 bottles per vintage. It's made from grapes from 25 year old vines, which underwent 'rigorous selection' before being picked by hand in the early hours of Saturday morning, March the 8th! Now that's what I call a hand crafted wine! I can't praise this wine enough. Zevenwacht describe it as 'sumptuously fragrant... beautiful mouthfeel....seductive mid palate and a lingering finish'. This really is an exceptional wine, and a real bargain at this price, but be quick it's extremely limited. It's gained popularity in SA and is hugely oversubscribed, so we now get an annual allowance from Denise of ony 15 cases of 6.

Zevenwacht Website

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Price: £13.49


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92 Points

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Zevenwacht Z Gewurztraminer 2010 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Eikendal Sauvignon Blanc Stellenbosch 2009 75cl

Eikendal's vineyards are cooled by breezes from the Atlantic giving them the ideal terroir to produce cool climate wines, which is fantastic for Sauvignon. This one is a cracker. Tasting notes to follow.

Eikendal Website

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Price: £11.18


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Eikendal Sauvignon Blanc Stellenbosch 2009 75cl
 
 
Jean Daneel

Jean Daneel has been making top class wines in South Africa since 1983 when he was winemaker for Buitenverwachting where he began winning awards. In 1992 he moved onto Morgenhof for several years where he also picked up the trophy for best Chenin Blanc in 1997. He then set up his own small winery in Franschoek. In 2004 he moved further south out of the recognised wine producing regions to Napier close to Cape Agulhas, the continent's most southerly point. Here he built a small winery and planted his own small vineyard. In 2003 he won Wine Magazine's Chenin of the year and went from strength to strength being awarded 5 stars by John Platter in 2005, followed by a consistent string of awards and acknowledgements. But it's not just his Chenin that he's famous for, he also makes some sensational red blends too. Jean operates the winery himself with his son, Jean Pierre, and makes his wines in tiny quantities. They are very good indeed and we consider ourselves fortunate to be able to offer some for sale.

Jean Daneel
 
 

Jean Daneel Initial White Blend 2008 75cl

3.5 Stars John Platter!

13% abv. A blend of Jean's famous Chenin with Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Tropical fruit - Jane said pink grapefruit - and honey flavours, with plenty of body. There's also good acidity and a mineral edge which cleans the palate nicely, making it ideal with food. We tried it with some canapes, and we had two other wines open as well (for research purposes obviously!). This 'Initial' was simply in a different class, it just kept getting better and better. I couldn't identify exactly why - a combination of intense fuit and the ability to cleanse and refresh the palate after each sip. The bigger the sip the better it got!



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Jean Daneel Initial White Blend 2008 75cl
 
 
Strandveld Winery

Strandveld is the most southerly vineyard in Africa, about 9kms from Cape Agulhas. The region has been awarded it's own state of origin 'Elim' and is ideally suited to producing top class wines. This region will see great success in the coming years. Strandveld is a new venture set up by a group of wine loving friends, who in 2001 decided they wanted to make their own wine. You can read their story at their website. Their wines are very good, particularly their signature white the Adamastor!

Strandveld
 
 

Strandveld Adamastor 2008 75cl

SA Terroir Wine Awards - Best Regional Blend, Old Mutual Wine Show Silver Medal, Veritas Awards Silver Medal

13% abv. My tasting notes on this one simply say 'absolutely fabulous, big, rich and full' (as I only had a tiny space to write in!). It's a blend of 56% Sauvignon Blanc fermented in stainless steel for freshness, with 44% Semillon fermented and aged in oak casks for body and complexity. This is a fantastic wine - please give it a try! Very limited production of only 5700 bottles. I originally tasted the 2007 and we're now on the 2008. It's still full and rich but has a sharper mineral finish which will soften with time. Platter has listed Strandveld Adamastor 08 in his 2010 guide as one of only two white blends to 'buy now and drink later'.

Only 3 bottles remaining.

Strandveld Website

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Price: £12.74


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SAT
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90 Points




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Strandveld Adamastor 2008 75cl
 
 
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The Jordan winery today is run by Gary and Kathy Jordan making some outstanding world class wines. The 300 year old 146 hectare farm was purchased by Gary's parents - Ted and Sheelagh - back in 1982, when they undertook an extensive replanting programme of all the vineyards. Gary and Kathy spent a couple of years abroad learning their wine making skills then returned home in 1992 and began producing quality wines from 1993 onwards, once the vines were mature.

Gary and Kathy are 'next door neighbours' and close friends with Harold and Denise of Zevenwacht - although I wouldn't like to walk from one house to the other! The secret to both estates' success is largely due to the same factors - yes, you need wine making skill and experience as well as a dedication to producing the best quality wine possible, but both these estates also have an array of different terroirs. Here lies the real skill of matching each grape variety to it's ideal terroir. Because of the specific landscape both estates have slopes facing to all four points of the compass, all at different altitudes, different degrees of slope and aspect to the sun, and all on 600 million year old soils with unique qualities. Add to this the cooling Atlantic and Indian oceans and the mediteranean climate and there's a myriad of different combinations.

The Jordans have got it right - and so have Zevenwacht - with each variety in it's ideal location producing optimum fruit. Their wines are highly recommended.
 
 

Jordan Chenin Blanc 2007 Stellenbosch 75cl

14.5% abv. The Jordan winery is owned and run by Gary and Kathy Jordan, both qualified winemakers having studied at the Davis institute in California. They are now well known for producing world class wines. This Chenin is barrel fermented, pale gold in colour with a clean fresh nose. There's plenty of delicious fruit upfront and a nice finish - a little drier than the typical Chenin. A good wine to enjoy on it's own on a sunny afternoon.

Jordan Website

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Price: £9.95


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Jordan Chenin Blanc 2007 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Jordan Chardonnay 2009 Stellenbosch 75cl

Yes, this is the 'wooded one' at this price, not to be confused with Jordan's cheaper unwooded offering.

Decanter Silver Medal 2011, Veritas Awards Silver Medal 2011, Top 100 SA Wines.. John Platter 4 Stars. Pale gold in colour with plenty of fruit on the nose. Concentrated fruit on the palate with some balanced oak toward the long finish. This wine's not as full bodied or as buttery as typical new world Chardonnays say from Australia. More a combination of new world and old world in style. We've just retasted it (April 2011) and it's delicious, drinking really well. It's now opened up with a little more buttery flavour.

Jordan Website

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Price: £10.80


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Jordan Chardonnay 2009 Stellenbosch 75cl
 
 

Jordan Nine Yards Chardonnay Reserve 2009 Stellenbosch 75cl

John Platter 4.5 Stars. Decanter - Gold Medal. The 2007 won Gold Medal Best in Class at the IWSC.

This is a great wine. Big rich buttery flavours on the palate initially, then the oak shows through on the finish. This is a full bodied, luscious wine which would be lovely to enjoy on it's own, but we also paired it with a cheese tasting we were doing, including a spicy chile cheese - Snowdonia Cheese Company's Red Devil - and it stood up to the heat and strong flavours really well. I've tasted a lot of Chardonnays but I can't recall any that balanced the fruit and the oak so superbly. Great length too. Highly recommended.

Jordan Website

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Price: £18.98


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91 Points




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Jordan Nine Yards Chardonnay Reserve 2009 Stellenbosch 75cl