Wine of the Month - May 2021

An elegant and ‘seriously cool’ wine from the coastal routes of South Africa made by Waterkloof Wines’ winemaker Nadia Barnard–Langenegger. This wine is made biodynamically and with very minimal intervention; it’s also vegan friendly.

The wine is packed with fresh crunchy red and black fruit notes and shows a great deal of earthiness, which is often not the case with the Cinsault grape. The wine expresses a true sense of its terroir; a sense of place, aspect, soils, climate. This is a perfect drink for a sunny afternoon, which would even benefit from chilling slightly.

Waterkloof isn’t just a winery and a vineyard, though. They are also a fully self-sustainable farm awarded Champion Status by the World’s Wildlife Fund’s Biodiversity & Wine Initiative in 2008. If this is not enough, there is also a fine dining restaurant on-site with a beautiful ocean view to the picturesque False Bay.

In a nutshell:
One of our favourite South African summer reds, best served slightly chilled.

The lowdown:
From old bush vines grown in the cool Helderberg region, not that far from the ocean, and made with minimal human intervention. Cinsault is an often under-rated variety, but here it really thrives. The wine has fresh and crunchy flavours of blackcurrant, raspberry and spice mix with mild earthy notes and soft tannins.

When to drink:
Serve with game or rack of lamb, or put it in the fridge for half an hour before drinking on a summers afternoon.

Founded by Paul Boutinot in 2004, Waterkloof is a family-owned, organic, biodynamic and WWF Biodiversity Champion farm perched high up on the windswept Schapenberg, overlooking False Bay and The Atlantic Ocean.

Living soils, naturally low yields and a long growing season help provide talented young Cellarmaster Nadia Barnard with naturally balanced grapes that are imbued with a truly defining sense of origin. Those grapes are then transformed into wine with a minimum of intervention. The resulting wines are fine, inimitable and best enjoyed with food.