Fresh from a tour of the Cape winelands I feel animated as never before about the wines of South Africa. Not only is this the most exciting wine producing country in the “New World” in my view, it is a country with a rich cultural history and heritage unlike any other.

Despite a winemaking legacy that originated in Constantia in the late 1600s, what we consider now as the beginning of the modern era began in 1994 at the end of apartheid and the country’s re-emergence at an international level. Well-established wine estates such as Kanonkop, Meerlust, Vergelegen, Rustenberg, Boschendal, Hamilton Russell, Klein Constantia, Rust en Vrede and others were reinvigorated and set the tone for the new, outward looking wine industry, building more established, consistent brands that became reasonably successful. Unfortunately, that did little to stem the tide of the newly tradeable, poor-quality bulk wine from virus-ridden vineyards that was still to mark South Africa’s card for at least the next decade. The political and economic freedoms in the new South Africa would not herald the rebirth of a truly great wine industry for a few years yet. For in the post-apartheid decade, it’s fair to say that priorities, naturally, laid more in building improved legal and political infrastructures, curbing entrenched racial and economic inequality, and refining the country’s reputation on the world stage; issues that endure to this day and that no other serious wine producing country needs to face up to in quite the same way.

Ten years ago, there were just four single-varietal Cinsaults on the market. Eben Sadie’s Pofadder, from schist soils around Riebeeck Casteel, was the most famous then, and probably still is now. 

However, today there are at least forty straight Cinsaults on the market and based on what I tasted, this feels like a sensible development. Not only is Cinsault accustomed to hot weather and dry conditions, it is a high yielding variety and regarded now as one of the main reasons why the Cape red blends of the mid-twentieth century have aged better than their modern Bordeaux-style counterparts. When delicately handled, Cinsault can be red fruit forward, spicy and succulent, with an authenticity built on tannin rather than acidity. While some examples, such as “Pofadder” manage to straddle complexity and depth with dancing aroma, most are best when produced in a primary, light and fruity style where the natural tannic grip stops short of astringency. A renewed focus on Cinsault in general means that the vineyards are generally either very young or very old (and thus increasingly hard to come by) as the unpopularity of Cinsault in the latter part of the twentieth century meant that new plantings ground to a halt. My preferred examples were Duncan Savage’s silky Follow the Line 2017 from alluvial soils around Darling and Blank Bottle’s My Koffer 2017, produced in homage to Tassenberg – a cheap Cinsault they drank lots of as students. The name My Koffer translates as “my suitcase” and represents the memories of the good-old-days stored within. From a vineyard in the Breedekloof, just outside Paarl, in a region dominated by co-operatives, this Cinsault is a wilder strawberry, herbal-spicy affair. Donovan Rall’s as yet unreleased 2018 from a vineyard on the border between Swartland and Darling is an incredibly satisfying juicy example aged for just 6-7 months in a combination of concrete and barrel.

Since our inception in St James’s in 1749, Justerini & Brooks has always looked to push boundaries and explore new territories in the world of fine wine. Before it found such popularity over the last decade or so, Burgundy had long been at the heart of our illustrious portfolio.  

In 1992 Hew Blair pioneered the introduction of Burgundy En Primeur tastings by becoming the first British merchant to showcase barrel samples from family-owned Burgundy domaines to private customers, fundamentally altering the way the UK bought its Burgundy.  Hew would go on to become our Chairman in 2008, a position he still holds to this day, and served as President of the Royal Warrant Holders Association in 2011. During his 45 years of service to the company Hew has watched the wine world blossom, seeing Burgundy go from the point of near commercial irrelevance to its current position as one of the most coveted wine-producing regions in the world. We now buy from over fifty producers and are immensely proud to be one of the largest domaine-bottled Burgundy importers in the UK.

There were no magic micro-climates in 2018. This simple analysis of the vintage is the same from St Estephe to Castillon. This is one of the great turn-around stories, from despair to elation, but it was anything but straightforward. Nicolas Audebert from Rauzan Segla and Canon coined it the ‘Grand Huit’, or a rollercoaster. Even when summer arrived, this brought its own challenges. Water stress is necessary to make great red wines, however, those without clay subsoils were at risk of hydric stress and the dangers of blocked maturity. 

After a natural crop thinning by virtue of mildew, the vines were not carrying an abundance of fruit. Most vignerons didn’t do much in the way of green harvests and many did minimal canopy thinning. What was on the vine was very healthy with thick skins and wonderful potential. 

Many will remember waiting enthusiastically for the Wine Advocate to drop through the letterbox, or for a poor resolution scan to be emailed from the States, via Bordeaux. The age of the internet has made distribution more equitable and efficient, but maybe some of the romance and thrill has ebbed away. 

Anyway, enough nostalgia, the scores are in and it’s fair to say that Lisa Perrotti-Brown is a big fan. Her report echoes our thoughts on this magical vintage – extreme peaks and a bit of mediocrity. It’s a fascinating read. For those who do not subscribe, we have quoted some of the most salient bits below. We have also listed the 12 potential 100 point wines.

‘In this vintage of extremes, a producer undaunted by flirting with disaster and with a bit of luck on his/her side could well have sailed over the finish line to glory with all the flair and panache of Alain Prost. Or they could have cartwheeled down the track, combusting into a ball of flames. 2018 offers us the thrill of victory for a number of wineries, the agony of defeat for a few and a whole lot of also-rans…