A Stellenbosch Cabernet kind of year

Wine writer and presenter Tom Surgey re-evaluates his relationship with a South African classic

In January, my renaissance with what I perceived to be a classic began with a winemaker-led Zoom tasting It opened my eyes to potential I had previously overlooked Far from being staid traditional wines, there is dynamism, exploration and pure drinking-joy to be found in Stellenbosch Cabernet and I want you to know about it

South Africa's new wave of producers has dominated headlines in recent years, and rightly so. Across the Western Cape a young generation of producers have been crafting incredible premium wines without pomp

Stellenbosch is, in many ways, a traditional region: the home of the rich, Bordeaux style red blends that put SA on the map. The country's largest Wine of Origin region, it boasts a third of all of the Western Cape's wineries

A coalition of producers, the Stellenbosch Cabernet Collective, seeks to showcase the great terroirs of this region and is collaborating in the messaging Their line is that it's modern, connected stuff, akin to the new-wave movement They're not taking us somewhere new, they're doing something more difficult: showing us the glittering potential of something we thought we already knew ? and took for granted.

Cabernet is the perfect messenger Whether grown in the comparatively cool kloofs (valleys) of the Polkadraai Hills close to the ocean, on the sunny foothills of the Simonsberg or 600m up in the Banghoek Valley, the wines are distinctly of their place.

They always contain a concentration of bright, bold fruit (blackberry, cassis, black cherry, plum, raspberry) and a tension of acidity and strong, chewy tannin. Stellenbosch Cab's nuances of place are detected via the intensity of flavour (hotter areas are riper, richer and more raspberry) and texture (cooler sites are finer structured, tighter and aromatic). There are also variations in the always-present aromatics that linger over the top: cooler sites show Coca-Cola herbs and green leaf, while warmer sites move to more bitter chocolate and espresso

It's a region of extraordinary quality and value; these are wines with the finesse, depth and ageing potential for which the wine-writing generation before me loved Bordeaux.

In my experience, they are brighter, more generous, fun wines with all the potential for seriousness and contemplation, but built to give immediate pleasure As the Cabernet Collective like to say:

?Think world-class Cabernet, think Stellenbosch?

Robertson

De Wetshof Estate

Western Cape

Boutinot South Africa

Meet the Winemaker JD Roussouw

JD was destined to be a winemaker Whilst pregnant, his mother helped in the family winery, enriching JDs formative senses. His earliest memories are of the ?floral aromas in the winery while the fermentations were happening? JD always wanted to be a winemaker and it all came so naturally whilst helping his father in their Paarl winery