2015 Red Reserve

I heard rumours that Rudiger Gretschel parted ways with Reyneke in Stellenbosch since he took a position as head winemaker at Vinimark. Johan Reyneke assured me that while Gretschel is still officially the winemaker, he will eventually adopt a consultancy role whilst Nuschka de Vos has been doing all the daily work. Reyneke has been one of the Cape’s leading proponents of biodynamics with minimal intervention or sulphur addition. I have been a huge fan of these wines since first encountering them several years ago. Staying on after the tasting to watch the England versus Croatia semi-final (I should have known Johan would not have a TV, so I thank Nuschka for streaming it on a laptop), I noticed how many of these wines, especially the reds, really blossomed with aeration. Do not be afraid to reach for the carafe. Biodynamic aside, there is clever use of foudres at Reyneke so, on the face of it, you achieve a “natural wine” since there is minimal or sometimes no SO2 usage. I can vouchsafe the quality of these wines that are complex and thought-provoking, magically manifesting great fruit intensity when allowed an hour’s or so decanting. The 2015 Reserve Red that sees partial foot-trodden bunches in concrete tanks is utterly beguiling, whilst both 2017 Chenin Blanc with and without SO2 are as good as you will find in the Cape.