FIND TRUE NORTH
Recently named South Africa’s best white wine by Tim Atkin, the 2024 Magnetic North, a single origin Chenin Blanc from Alheit Vineyards, drew ethereal praise from the British Wine Master’s 2025 South Africa Special Report.
While Atkin described how the wine’s ‘beguiling’ character evoked ‘a sense of wonder and longing’, some say there’s pure electricity in the bottle. Vineyard owner Chris Alheit says it ‘makes you want to sit down or steady yourself’, a response to what he describes as ‘a long, bristling arc of sour fruit and citrus oil’. The name Magnetic North hints at Alheit’s instinct for exploration in order to discover unmatched flavours; it also suggests the distance covered by the winemaker to get from his cellar in Hemel-en-Aarde to find precisely these grapes.
He says the vineyards – two dry-farmed ungrafted parcels of bushvines on a ridge at 520 metres above sea level on Citrusdal Mountain (aka Skurfberg) – are hands down the Cape’s best Chenin blocks. In physical reality, Magnetic North is always moving, attesting to Alheit’s philosophy of the unattainable moving target of a wine’s true character. This is absolutely a wine for seekers of something indefinable; some existential poetry or a glimpse of the divine through grapefruit, maybe pear and rooibos, something earthy and saline on the nose.
And, to quote Atkin, a palate of ‘salty intensity’ with ‘flavours of quinine, quince and grapefruit’. (It’s obviously not the easiest wine to procure, so if you’re looking for a more accessible Chenin, consider stocking up on Culture Steen, a beautifully drinkable ‘house white’ made by Alheit exclusively for Matt Manning’s Culture Wine Bar on Bree Street in Cape Town.)
FROM THE LAND OF PEACE
With its fertile soils and vistas of the Simonsberg mountains, Franschhoek’s Terre Paisible – ‘peaceful land’ – is an idyllic estate where winemaking and wellness exist hand in hand. The spa is a sleek sanctuary, while in the cellar, winemaker Adam Mason tries to capture sunshine and terroir in the bottle. His 2019 Vivre Brut Cap Classique scored Double Gold at the Gilbert & Gaillard International Challenge, thanks to its ‘forward aromas of freshly baked brioche and marzipan’, and its bracingly fresh finish. Having matured in bottle for almost three years prior to disgorging, it’s perfect as an aperitif, while its rich, complex aromas and layered, well-balanced palate and finely-textured mousse make it a great match for food.
Mason also created Terre Paisible’s Isabelle Rosé, another summertime winner of which only 1 965 bottles were produced for 2023. With a 60/40 blend of Grenache and Mourvèdre, it’s a sophisticated take on a Provençal-style rosé with hints of marzipan, pomelo zest, fresh almonds, rose petals and stone fruit on the nose. Mason’s real passion is Sauvignon Blanc, expressed in rare fashion in the Les Dames de 1987 Franschhoek Sauvignon Blanc, part of Terre Paisible’s Old Vines range; it’s another Gilbert & Gaillard Double Gold winner and recipient of the Prescient Award’s Old Vines Trophy.
GO YOUR OWN WAY
Unsurprisingly, rosés are often thought of as default summertime sipping wines, often classified as easy-drinking, smooth and not so complex that your instinct is to start analysing what’s on the palate. That default setting doesn’t always apply, however, as evidenced by Sakkie Mouton’s eyebrow-raising outlier: Olifantsrivier Lledoner Pelut Agiorgitiko Rosé 2024. It’s a true wildcard, as vivacious and full of character as its maverick winemaker – he’s among our most under-the-radar producers, but you won’t quickly forget his wines.
His range includes the cheekily bohemian and intensely fruity Revenge of the Crayfish Chenin Blanc, and there’s Dawn of the Salty Tongues, made from Syrah grapes grown 25km from the Atlantic on the West Coast. That’s also where Mouton makes his Greek-inspired rosé, which is an entirely new blend for the South African palate, packed with innovatory grit. Mouton’s winemaking is adventurous to say the least: planted in sandstone soils near Vredendal, the Agiorgitiko (Greece’s most widely planted red varietal) is wild fermented on the lees of Assyrtiko grapes (a white varietal native to Santorini), while juice of the Lledoner pelut (aka ‘hairy Grenache’, a very hardy mutation), which grows near Citrusdal, is fermented with Syrah grapes. After four months, the two wines are blended and bottled, unfined and unfiltered, with very little sulphur.
It’s not only the novelty factor that makes this fascinating concoction worth the higher spend. Floral aromas are followed on the palate by distinctive saltiness, dark fruits lingering in the background. It’s wild. And a truly inventive interpretation of a region where the toughest grapes are the ones that thrive.
THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE
Situated in a steep-sided – and immensely beautiful – valley against the Cape’s Limietberg mountains, the vineyards at topographically varied Doolhof Wine Estate cover differing elevations with exposure to diverse microclimates.
Which also means multiple soil types, terroir so unique in fact that Limietberg enjoys exclusive Wine of Origin status with Doolhof the region’s only producer. Extended morning and afternoon shade means grapes hang longer, ripening slowly. The resulting balance and complexity in its wines is evident in winemaker Rüdger van Wyk’s 2025 XCLUSIV, named the year’s best rosé by Tim Atkin (with 94 points, it’s among the highest-scoring non-sparkling rosés ever to appear on the list).
Van Wyk says it’s true to form for ‘the exceptional soils and cool-climate terroir that characterise the Limietberg, giving the wines purity, freshness and elegance’. Blended from a roughly even mix of Grenache and Syrah grapes, all hand-harvested, whole-bunch pressed and cold fermented, three months of lees-contact ageing has produced a delicate bouquet (candyfloss, rose petals and grapefruit), with hints of white chocolate, Turkish delight and chalky minerality on the palate.
The estate is worth a visit – not only is the tucked-away setting enchanting, but the five-star Doolhof Country House is exquisite and there’s a cellar restaurant worth booking at for lunch.
NO BLUNT INSTRUMENT
Dragonflies, prehistoric stones, happy cows and grapes harvested from vines planted in soil that was once considered unsuitable for growing, Stellenzicht is one of those surprisingly innovative estates where many of the rules are turned upside down. Those happy cows allow the viticulturists to farm regeneratively, so, instead of chemicals and tractors, they’re achieving their sustainability goals; since dragonflies will only inhabit a balanced ecosystem, they’re indicative of a healthy biome.
The ancient stones, meanwhile, are actually Acheulean hand axes, rare evidence of early human habitation. Just as rare is the Stellenzicht Acheulean Chardonnay 2024, a dry, elegant wine with subtle stone fruit and citrus flavours, and a touch of apricot on the nose. Just 3 110 bottles were produced.
ALL THAT BUBBLES…
La Lude’s bottle-fermented MCCs mature horizontally in cool, dark cellars for a minimum of 12 months. Their custom-designed Franschhoek winery is among the few in the country used exclusively to create Cap Classique, and they’re relentless about sourcing grapes from specific blocks within select vineyards to produce the perfect cuvée for their distinctive Le Lude Reservé style of bubbly, aged sur lie for at least 36 months before disgorging.
Grown in Robertson, Bonnievale and Franschhoek, their Brut Rosé Reservé – Pinot Noir (57%) and Chardonnay (41%) with a tiny hit of Pinot Meunier – produces bubbles that ‘dance on the palate’ with aromas of white peaches and Granny Smith apples. Cold maceration extracts not only colour from the Pinot skins over 10 days (longer than typical rosés) but also add some serious flavour: you’ll pick up pomegranate, fig, grapefruit and rose petal. Even bolder testament to the elegance of a longer aged Cap Classique is Le Lude’s ultra-premium Madáme Brut Nature Millésimé.
The 2015 edition is an immaculate, bone-dry Blanc de Blanc-style MCC produced from Chardonnay with a dash of Pinot Noir. Kept on the lees in the bottle for a total of nine years, you get balance, complexity and fresh lemon, lime and naartjie flavours. The 2016 edition, made entirely from Chardonnay grapes, was released in October and is a stunner.
UNRELENTING HERITAGE
At Alvi’s Drift, they’ve had an exceptional 2025 season, full of awards. The Albertus Viljoen Chenin Blanc 2023 was named White Wine of the Year at the National Wine Challenge and garnered a Great Gold medal at the 2024 International Wine & Spirits Awards in Spain. Produced from 25- to 48-year-old heritage vines from a forgotten block in the Scherpenheuvel ward, a cooler-climate pocket of the Breede River Valley, the resulting wine is distinctive, powerfully expressing the uniqueness of the estate’s commitment to detailed winemaking.
The range is a homage to winemaker Alvi van der Merwe’s grandfather (Albertus Viljoen), who in 1930 built the low-water bridge (the drift) over the Breede, which cuts through the family farm. The Chenin represents the pinnacle of Van der Merwe’s unhurried, minimal-intervention winemaking, with low-extraction techniques, wild fermentation and oak-barrel ageing. Distinctive, too, are the wine’s vivid wild buchu and honeysuckle aromas, with hints of passion fruit and spice. Just 500 cases were produced, but Van der Merwe also makes a beautiful Brut Cap Classique, which won the Trophy for Best Cap Classique at the Lumo Awards.
A WILD CHILD FROM PAARL
A thick layer of cool mist is sometimes draped over the Hawequa Mountains, evidence of a distinct microclimate, often much cooler than is typical of the Drakenstein district, and responsible for some wonderfully atypical vintages from Brookdale, a farm that, since its relatively recent revival has gone from strength to strength. The vineyard’s overhaul included an extensive replanting programme, with only three blocks of 36-year-old vines retained and nursed back to health.
Grapes from those heritage blocks are used to produce Brookdale’s natural-ferment whole-bunch-pressed Chenin Blanc Old Vine, a rare and special classic sipper. But there’s innovation afoot here, too.
To underscore the principle of letting the vines tell the terroir’s story, Brookdale has a pair of novel field-blend projects underway, including a 16-varietal white, made from bush vines planted ‘completely deurmekaar’. ‘You don’t know what you’re picking,’ says winemaker Xander Sadie (son of Swartland oeno-legend, Eben Sadie), ‘but all those interplanted grapes are harvested together to create a style of wine that’s a total expression of terroir.’ These experimental vintages – the white is simply called Sixteen – pays homage to a winemaking art that’s been virtually lost. ‘It’s among our best summer wines,’ says Sadie. ‘There’s such freshness – and because of that incredible nature-dictated diversity, it’s ever-changing in the glass, so with every sip you get a new aspect of the wine. A lot of complex layers and depth, and yet there’s balance.’ Bottles can be purchased from the cellar door, a good reason to turn up in person as you might want to check in for a few nights or stay for dinner and sunset-with-a-view at the Bistro.
