According to recently revealed statistics, over a third of the wines exported from South Africa are brands, made to measure for a particular market profile, rather than being a product of passion and dedication. Not so the wines from the producers with whom we work, who can all be considered at the other end of the scale, with minute attention to every detail, from the vineyard to the end consumer.

Springfontein was the first South African winery to feature in our Private Cellar selection, when both companies were freshly minted, and we have watched their evolution closely from their delicious first bottles to the award winning, high profile wines they are making today. Johst Weber has given winemaker, Tariro Masayiti, a particularly free hand which has seen the farm move to biodynamic viticulture and to making wines which challenge established orthodoxy in order to make ever-purer, more precise wines – and it works.

New this year are the wines from Glenelly. Long before May-Eliane de Lencquesaing (pictured) sold Pichon Lalande to Louis Roederer, she had already invested in a vineyard on the northern fringes of Stellenbosch where she had seen the potential of both the soil and the climate to make something special. Her Glass Collection range is highly recommended, and it is worth keeping an eye open for our offer of her premium wines, Lady May and the Estate Reserve, early in 2019.

Owning no vineyards of their own, Aristea has joined the band of elite producers who buy only the best fruit from top producers in order to make a very limited production – the polar opposite of the brand makers. In Aristea’s case, they have set a maximum of 6,000 bottles of each wine in any one year, but they buy in enough fruit to make three times that in order to give themselves the choice at the time of blending. This year we have added their Sauvignon / Semillon and two Méthode Cap Classiques – sparkling wines made by the traditional method.