South Africa 2024 - Full List of Wines

The 2021 Secateurs Chenin is the best example we've tried. Loads of fresh, crunchy apple fruit and a lovely lick of spice, with a hint of oatmeal make this an awful lot of wine for the price. And if you forget a few bottles in the back of the cellar, you might just be surprised.

It's hard to explain just how easy this is to drink. A blend of Shiraz, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Mourvedre and Grenache, it's juicy, supple, and fresh with ease and joyfulness in the glass.

From the vineyard next door to the cellar - Kelder in Afrikaans - this is a quintessential Paardeberg Chenin Blanc. Planted in 1974, the vines are now considerable in size, and this has orchard fruit and lots of spice.

The 2020 Raaigras is a beautiful Grenache, coming from just twelve long rows of the vineyard in front of the estate, planted in 1952, making it the oldest Grenache in the Cape. It’s delicate and floral on the nose, with a power and intensity that builds over the palate. There’s stunning freshness here, and a long and mineral finish. Beautifully done.

Planted in 1954, this old block of Cinsault gives an intense and refined expression of the grape. There’s real energy here, and there’s also notes of fynbos, negroni, and very fine but almost Nebbiolo-like tannins.

The Grensloos is a new wine this year and is a blend of all of Adi Badenhorst's single vineyard sites. It offers incredible value for money, knowing the quality of fruit here, it shows superb intensity on the palate with flavours of white flowers, white peach and white grapefruit. There are characteristic flavours of beeswax, a little miso as well as wild honey and citrus pith on the finish. A brilliant Chenin, but it was always going to be thus!

The style that Andre has made his own, this is an ageworthy white, with lots of bright yellow fruit, a savoury character to the palate, and also lots of energy. This is surely a match for Andre's old baby, the GVB from Vergelegen.

From grapes from the Vergelegen estate, this is an impressive Bordeaux blend. Notes of graphite and a core of dark fruit, with lots of spice and a hint of smokiness. Already approachable and delicious, this will surely age well, too.

A Chenin that would make many German GG producers blush. Electric on the palate, this is pure, crystalline and saline. Primarily a mineral wine, there are notes of white peach, pear and stone fruit with white flowers and verbena. This is a wonderful effort from Sebastien Beaumont in the Bot River.

12 different varieties in the blend but Verdelho and Clairette Blanc based. This offers floral notes of white flowers, jasmine and white tea. Very delicate and finessed, the palate delivers fresh stone fruit, white peach, and little white grapefruit. Very pure and saline on the finish.

A single vineyard Chardonnay from Stellenbosch taken on in 2022 making this the second vintage for Pieter. The wine sees 40% untoasted new oak giving a faint acacia and vanilla pod note with fresh stone fruit. The vineyard faces into False Bay accounting for the real purity and salinity on the finish.

A Cinsault Shiraz blend with the Cinsault sourced from a 72 year old vineyard in Darling. This is supple and vibrant showing fresh summer berries, cola and crushed violets. Some wild herbs, fresh earth, and a little white pepper spice on the finish which is wonderfully long.

From Somerset West, with 60% Cabernet Franc this year. This is utter class, not overdone in the slightest with aromas of white pepper, violets, fresh strawberry and cherry. Grilled herbs and cocoa dust linger on this detailed, finessed Bordeaux blend.

Saline, long, and with a mouthwatering texture, Boekenhoutskloof’s Semillon stands out as one of South Africa’s highly lauded white wines. It’s sourced from three different old vine vineyards, planted in 1902, 1936, and 1942. This has lots of orange blossom on the nose, with plenty of drive. And on the palate, the wine displays a touch of smokiness, and plenty of complexity and spice. The 2021 vintage is not to be missed.

The 2021 Syrah is a brilliant iteration of this legendary wine from Boekenhoutskloof. This outstanding vintage has resulted in a wine that has delicacy and focus, but also incredible structure. Notes of violet and dark fruit, and lots of energy on the finish. Spectacular.

This is fermented in barrel, and has a decent dollop of Cabernet Franc in the blend. The incredibly intensive winemaking gives this a precision and finesse that marks it out as surely Franschhoek’s best red? The tannins are just so refined and pure. Wonderful.

Quickly gaining cult status, this is a spicy, peppery, elegant style of Syrah with an almost ethereal lift. Focus and supple on the palate with notes of wild herbs, iris, blood orange, and black cherry it offers just a little ferrous twist on the finish. Extremely fine.

Hard to resist when a wine tastes this good at this price, the Kottabos Chenin offers white flowers, notes of apricot skin, white grapefruit with a crystalline focus. Subtle notes of green mango and a hint of beeswax here with a delicious texture and salinity on the finish.

A blend of 73% Grenache that was whole bunch fermented and 27% of Syrah that was destemmed. This is a highly perfumed red with notes of violets, wild herbs, blood orange and black cherry. This is dangerously easy to enjoy.

A brilliant Chenin from the young Kiara Scott. From old vine Chenin Blanc, planted in 1985, which is grown on decomposed shale and granite. It offers restrained aromatics of pear skin, honeycomb and golden citrus with just a hint of toast. The palate is deep and concentrated. Yellow apples, kumquat and peaches sing above the chalky texture and fine, crystalline finish.

A blend of parcels of younger vines, from the Swartland's Malmesbury Hills and the Paardeberg, as well as sites throughout Stellenbosch. 2022's selection also meant that some serious old vine fruit made it into the blend, making it even better than usual. Complex yet approachable, this is the best example yet.

This is a restrained and saline Chardonnay from Mick and Jeanine Craven, from the Helderberg, that balances white pear and citrus pith with hints of anis and sea spray. Refined, and brilliant value: a wine for any night of the week.

Pinot Gris is rare in Stellenbosch, and this rust-coloured example is simply brilliant. There's lots of phenolics here, from time on the skins, with notes of peach and also a smokiness. A brilliant food wine, or a wine for summer.

This comes from a vineyard that's from incredibly close to the sea: the old Bredell farm, that's the source of many of the Scions of Sinai wines, among others. This is just so joyful and fresh, with a real sense of purity and energy on the palate. Beautifully balanced, and very long indeed.