Our favourite South African wines


Updated on 12 May 2014 | 0 Comments

We pick out our five favourite bottles, both red and white, from South Africa. Have you any others to recommend?

Chamonix Chardonnay

Bright straw yellow in colour, with a velvety texture and super balance between richness and delicacy. You might detect everything from grapefruit to oatmeal, caramel and nutmeg. It’s made from 24-year-old vines, and is fermented/matured for 11 months in French Allier oak.  

Our Matt has given it a taste, and gave this review: “Melony overtones with sharp acid notes of citrus, balanced by a refreshingly sweet and tropical fruity aftertaste. Would pair well with a light seafood or a chicken dish.”

Origin: Franschhoek
Best price we could find: £12 online from WineTrust100

Indaba Chardonnay

A hearty 100% Chardonnay, slightly oaked with soft and rounded flavours. It doesn’t have a particularly strong finish, which makes it a perfect wine for a multitude of foods, but especially creamy pasta dishes. 

‘Indaba’ is the Zulu word for ‘a meeting of minds’ and this brand of wine was created as a celebration of the democratisation process in South Africa, and aims above all for value for money. It's bound to be liked by almost any drinker.

Origin: Stellenbosch, Swartland and Robertson
Best price we could find: £9.50 online from WineTrust100

Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc

A particularly dry Chenin Blanc, with dried apricot and vanilla flavourings. Nice eaten with a seafood risotto or white meat. It’s far more powerful than your average lemony Chenin Blanc, and has a honeyed, creamy texture.

It’s matured for a year in used French oak barrels, and you might detect green apple in there too. This wine is from 35-year-old vineyards on the Helderberg Mountain in the heart of the Stellenbosch region.

Origin: Stellenbosch
Best price we could find: £11 online from WineTrust100 (you can also get it from Morrisons)

Sequillo (red)

Sequillo Cellars is committed to ‘producing wines with a strong regional identity’ and as a result belongs to The Swartland Independent (Swartland is a hot, arid area north east of Cape Town). It’s a pricey bottle, but worth it if you’re out to impress.

This red wine has a clear, spicy and herbal flavour, with a fresh red fruit aroma. An office colleague, Ellen, recently tried a bottle with a roast lamb dinner. “The aroma and first impression was one of blackberries and cherries, which turned into an unexpected spicy finish," she says. "It was easy to drink – not full enough to overpower our meal, but strong enough to stand up to all the flavours of the lamb.”

Origin: Swartland
Best price we could find:
£17 online from WineTrust100 (it’s also available to buy from Fortnum & Mason)

Chakalaka (red)

Spice Route, who make Chakalaka, are known for their robust spicy red wines, rich in character. This wine is a jumble of grape varieties, making it a lively drink full of peppery notes. It won a gold medal and trophy in the 2012 Decanter World Wine Awards.

Victoria, another office colleague, includes Chakalaka among her favourite red wines. Here’s her review: “Fruity, smooth, with a great spicy edge. It goes extraordinarily well with my beef stew, because it can bring out the spice in anything. It tastes slightly oaked and I imagine would go wonderfully with any red meat dish.”

Origin: Swartland
Best price we could find: £12 online from WineTrust100 (you can also buy it ‘per case’ from Tesco Wine)

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