South African White Wines
We stock top quality South African white wines from Boplaas winery at Calitzdorp plus also Fledge & Co which is the “garage” limited production range from Margaux (the younger daughter) and her husband Leon. These wines are made in very limited quantities and are excellent value as we are working closely with Leon as we love his attitude and passion. We are also fortunate to get a bit of wine from the master of Chenin – Jean Daneel.
South Africa has a wonderful vibrant wine industry. It is considered “new world” by many although actually dates back to the mid 17th century when French Huguenots settled there and planted vines. Historic centres like the beautiful Franschoek valley still bear many French names for the properties and wine farms. It is stunningly beautiful and a fabulous place for a holiday if you are fortunate enough to visit.
The wine industry has gone through something of a revolution since apartheid ended when most South African white wine production was bulk wine run by the state. Now there are many artisan wineries producing excellent wines, with around 600 wineries in Stellenbosch alone. Some are pretty big operations running accomodation and restaurants, some are tiny, literally husband and wife teams.
We import wines directly from some of these tiny artisan family wineries. They are great quality and exceptional value for money. With the South African Rand remaining weak, South African white wine is currently unbeatable value for money.
We no longer source wines from the bigger operators. While some like Chamonix (a boutique winery by most standards but we prefer smaller family wineries) make some very good wine, the prices via established agents just don’t present the same value as buying direct from the artisan wineries themselves, and therefore can’t off the same value for money.
Audacia Chenin Blanc – No Added Sulphites, is a brand new wine from Trevor at Audacia, produced via his patented method of using the native plant Roobois as an anti-oxidant, negating the need for any added sulphites.
It has already been awarded a gold medal (Gilbert & Gilliard).
Full in the mouth with good body while still being clean and fresh. Concentrated flavour of honeydew melon, gentle acidity and a long finish. It is delicious and we expect this to be a big hit!
£14.99
Audacia Chenin Blanc – No Added Sulphites, is a brand new wine from Trevor at Audacia, produced via his patented method of using the native plant Roobois as an anti-oxidant, negating the need for any added sulphites.
It has already been awarded a gold medal (Gilbert & Gilliard).
Full in the mouth with good body while still being clean and fresh. Concentrated flavour of honeydew melon, gentle acidity and a long finish. It is delicious and we expect this to be a big hit!
£14.99
We have a very limited quantity of the 2020 vintage due in first week of December.
Given the huge success with their flagship Gamka red, Margaux opted to produce a classic white Cape Blend too.
It’s a blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, Grenache blanc, Verdelho & Chenin Blanc from different regions – Elgin, Stellenbosch, Swartland and Klein Karro, so pretty much the entire Western Cape.
It was both barrel fermented and barrel matured on the lees for nine months. Bottled unfined and unflitered to retain the goodness.
Pale gold in colour with wonderful clarity. Full in the mouth with a melange of fruit flavours, delicate balanced acidity and a very long bone dry finish. This is a great wine!
Only 1400 bottles produced!
£19.99
We have a very limited quantity of the 2020 vintage due in first week of December.
Given the huge success with their flagship Gamka red, Margaux opted to produce a classic white Cape Blend too.
It’s a blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, Grenache blanc, Verdelho & Chenin Blanc from different regions – Elgin, Stellenbosch, Swartland and Klein Karro, so pretty much the entire Western Cape.
It was both barrel fermented and barrel matured on the lees for nine months. Bottled unfined and unflitered to retain the goodness.
Pale gold in colour with wonderful clarity. Full in the mouth with a melange of fruit flavours, delicate balanced acidity and a very long bone dry finish. This is a great wine!
Only 1400 bottles produced!
£19.99
Jean Daneel is one of South Africa’s finest winemakers, known as “the father of Chenin”.
The grapes were sourced from assorted old vineyards (35 years plus) in Malmesbury, Perdeberg, Stellenbosch and Darling, all dry farmed unirrigated. Barrel fermented and matured for 12 months with 20% new oak.
£23.99
Jean Daneel is one of South Africa’s finest winemakers, known as “the father of Chenin”.
The grapes were sourced from assorted old vineyards (35 years plus) in Malmesbury, Perdeberg, Stellenbosch and Darling, all dry farmed unirrigated. Barrel fermented and matured for 12 months with 20% new oak.
£23.99
Platter 4 Stars
The Fledge & Co is the fabulous winemaking venture from Margaux Nel (younger daughter of Carel Nel and winemaker at the family winery, Boplaas) and her husband Leon Coetzee. They handcraft tiny quantities of different wines from specific vineyard sites all over the Cape winelands. Often using exciting “experimental” techniques like extended skin contact, whole bunch pressing etc. They travel 20,000km to hand harvest the grapes from 35 different vineyards.
This Jikken Barreru (Japanese for “experimental barrels”) Sauvignon is from two different sites, one at Simonsberg, the best site for Sauvignon in Stellenbosch, blended with wine from Elgin, well known as the best cool climate zone in SA due to it’s altitude and location right above False Bay.
Very pale, almost clear in the glass. It has an intense nose with typical big Sauvignon aromas. Then big fruit on the palate finishing absolutely bone dry. This is very good wine for the money.
Please note for anybody with a full blown sulphite allergy, we gave it a medium low sulphite rating as Jane had a very mild reaction and we prefer to err on the side of caution. If you have a sulphite allergy try Leon’s other Sauvignon Blanc – “Fume Blanc” which has just 4mg/l free SO2.
£11.50
Platter 4 Stars
The Fledge & Co is the fabulous winemaking venture from Margaux Nel (younger daughter of Carel Nel and winemaker at the family winery, Boplaas) and her husband Leon Coetzee. They handcraft tiny quantities of different wines from specific vineyard sites all over the Cape winelands. Often using exciting “experimental” techniques like extended skin contact, whole bunch pressing etc. They travel 20,000km to hand harvest the grapes from 35 different vineyards.
This Jikken Barreru (Japanese for “experimental barrels”) Sauvignon is from two different sites, one at Simonsberg, the best site for Sauvignon in Stellenbosch, blended with wine from Elgin, well known as the best cool climate zone in SA due to it’s altitude and location right above False Bay.
Very pale, almost clear in the glass. It has an intense nose with typical big Sauvignon aromas. Then big fruit on the palate finishing absolutely bone dry. This is very good wine for the money.
Please note for anybody with a full blown sulphite allergy, we gave it a medium low sulphite rating as Jane had a very mild reaction and we prefer to err on the side of caution. If you have a sulphite allergy try Leon’s other Sauvignon Blanc – “Fume Blanc” which has just 4mg/l free SO2.
£11.50
The 2022 vintage is arriving first week of December.
Below are the notes of the previous vintage.
Tim Atkin 93 Points
Platter 4 Stars
Neal Martin 91 Points
James Suckling 90 Points
Winemag.co.za 90 Points
The Fledge & Co is the fabulous winemaking venture from Margaux Nel (younger daughter of Carel Nel and winemaker at the family winery, Boplaas) and her husband Leon Coetzee. They handcraft tiny quantities of different wines from specific vineyard sites all over the Cape winelands. Often using exciting “experimental” techniques like extended skin contact, whole bunch pressing etc. They travel 20,000km to hand harvest the grapes from 35 different vineyards.
This “Fume Blanc” is a blend of hand harvested Sauvignon grapes from two sites, one in Stellenbosch overlooking False Bay and the other up at Gansbaai north of Cape Town on the Atlantic coast. It was both barrel fermented and barrel matured, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.
This is a complex wine, a big hit with their customers in South Africa and clearly well liked by Tim Atkin MW too. Big and round for a Sauvignon with bags of flavour, yet gentle natural acidity. This is a sophisticated wine suited to buttered seafood.
All the Fledge wines are low sulphite, but we also wanted to mention that all the free SO2 readings were at bottling which will have reduced significantly since, so they will in fact be even lower than stated now.
£14.99
The 2022 vintage is arriving first week of December.
Below are the notes of the previous vintage.
Tim Atkin 93 Points
Platter 4 Stars
Neal Martin 91 Points
James Suckling 90 Points
Winemag.co.za 90 Points
The Fledge & Co is the fabulous winemaking venture from Margaux Nel (younger daughter of Carel Nel and winemaker at the family winery, Boplaas) and her husband Leon Coetzee. They handcraft tiny quantities of different wines from specific vineyard sites all over the Cape winelands. Often using exciting “experimental” techniques like extended skin contact, whole bunch pressing etc. They travel 20,000km to hand harvest the grapes from 35 different vineyards.
This “Fume Blanc” is a blend of hand harvested Sauvignon grapes from two sites, one in Stellenbosch overlooking False Bay and the other up at Gansbaai north of Cape Town on the Atlantic coast. It was both barrel fermented and barrel matured, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.
This is a complex wine, a big hit with their customers in South Africa and clearly well liked by Tim Atkin MW too. Big and round for a Sauvignon with bags of flavour, yet gentle natural acidity. This is a sophisticated wine suited to buttered seafood.
All the Fledge wines are low sulphite, but we also wanted to mention that all the free SO2 readings were at bottling which will have reduced significantly since, so they will in fact be even lower than stated now.
£14.99
Tim Atkin 92 Points
Platter 4 Stars
Winemag.co.za 93 Points
The Fledge & Co is the fabulous winemaking venture from Margaux Nel (younger daughter of Carel Nel and winemaker at the family winery, Boplaas) and her husband Leon Coetzee. They handcraft tiny quantities of different wines from specific vineyard sites all over the Cape winelands. Often using exciting “experimental” techniques like extended skin contact, whole bunch pressing etc. They travel 20,000km to hand harvest the grapes from 35 different vineyards.
Part barrel fermented and matured on the lees to produce a complex wine with real ageing potential. Plale gold in colour with amazing clarity, some legs sticking to the glass. Lovely flavours, yet fairly delicate. Fine palate weight and a crisp cleansing natural acidity on the finish. This is very good wine, particularly suited to food such as grilled fish or chicken dishes. Be careful not to over chill it though. We chose not to use an ice bucket and let the wine relax a bit, and it just got better and better.
£15.95
Tim Atkin 92 Points
Platter 4 Stars
Winemag.co.za 93 Points
The Fledge & Co is the fabulous winemaking venture from Margaux Nel (younger daughter of Carel Nel and winemaker at the family winery, Boplaas) and her husband Leon Coetzee. They handcraft tiny quantities of different wines from specific vineyard sites all over the Cape winelands. Often using exciting “experimental” techniques like extended skin contact, whole bunch pressing etc. They travel 20,000km to hand harvest the grapes from 35 different vineyards.
Part barrel fermented and matured on the lees to produce a complex wine with real ageing potential. Plale gold in colour with amazing clarity, some legs sticking to the glass. Lovely flavours, yet fairly delicate. Fine palate weight and a crisp cleansing natural acidity on the finish. This is very good wine, particularly suited to food such as grilled fish or chicken dishes. Be careful not to over chill it though. We chose not to use an ice bucket and let the wine relax a bit, and it just got better and better.
£15.95
A very limited quantity arriving first week of December.
Leon assures me this 2021 is a real beauty! The previous vintage Vagabond gained a real following with our regular customers. Best be quick as this wont hang around.
All the Fledge wines are low sulphite, but we also wanted to mention that all the free SO2 readings were at bottling which will have reduced significantly since, so they will in fact be even lower than stated now.
£17.50
A very limited quantity arriving first week of December.
Leon assures me this 2021 is a real beauty! The previous vintage Vagabond gained a real following with our regular customers. Best be quick as this wont hang around.
All the Fledge wines are low sulphite, but we also wanted to mention that all the free SO2 readings were at bottling which will have reduced significantly since, so they will in fact be even lower than stated now.
£17.50
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