Vin d'Afrique du Sud : du Swartland à l'océan
154 bouteilles, à partir de 9,50 €The Cape has been pressing wine since 1659, but the country you taste today is less than thirty years old. It took the end of apartheid, the return of export markets and a generation of winemakers who went looking for forgotten old plots for the vineyards to finally find their style.
A Swartland Chenin, a Hemel-en-Aarde Pinot Noir and a Stellenbosch Bordeaux blend have almost nothing in common, apart from two oceans and a mountain range. The regions table shows what is planted where, and what it gives in the glass.
Stark-Conde - The Field Blend 2023
A blend of Rhône and Portuguese grape varieties that combines freshness, texture and aromatic complexity.
Stark-Conde - Three Pines Syrah 2018
A high-altitude Syrah combining aromatic depth, freshness and elegance, emblematic of the Jonkershoek valley.
Par où commencer
Chacune mène directement à sa sélection.
Le chenin blanc du Cap
The most widely planted grape variety in the country, often on old, unirrigated vines. It ranges from bone-dry to sweet without ever losing its acidity.
Le cépage signatureLe pinotage, croisé sur place
Born in 1925 from Pinot Noir and Cinsaut, it is not grown in quantity anywhere else. Long rustic, it is now made with far greater precision.
Une exclusivité du paysThe old vines of the Swartland
Eben Sadie led the way in the late 1990s: dry farming, bush vines, granite and schist. Two emblematic blends and six single-plot wines.
The Sadie FamilyPinot Noirs from the ocean
In Hemel-en-Aarde, the Atlantic blows a few kilometres from the vines. This is where South African Pinot Noir comes into its own, at alcohol levels you would think were Burgundian.
Hemel-en-AardeConstantia, le vignoble fondateur
Planted in 1685 on the slopes of Table Mountain, it supplied 18th-century Europe with its most sought-after sweet wine. Grand Constance is still made there.
Depuis 1685Blends of plots
Chris and Suzaan Alheit seek out forgotten rows of Chenin from one end of the Western Cape to the other, then bring them together in a single wine.
Alheit VineyardsThe whites, where the Cape is strongest
Chenin, chardonnay, sauvignon et sémillon. C'est la couleur qui a fait revenir la critique internationale, et la moins chère à goûter.
Près d'une bouteille sur deuxRester sous 20 €
Le rayon commence à 9,50 €. C'est le vignoble où l'écart entre ce qu'on paie et ce qu'on boit reste le plus large de toute la cave.
Un quart du rayon
Où pousse la vigne au Cap
The entire vineyard lies in the Western Cape, wedged between two oceans and a mountain range. Over a hundred and fifty kilometres, you go from a windy, cool climate to Mediterranean summers, and that explains the difference in style from one bottle to the next.
| Région | Estates in our cellar | Cépage roi | What it means in the glass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stellenbosch Derrière Le Cap, au pied du Simonsberg | Kanonkop, Glenelly, Hartenberg, Stark-Conde, Jordan, Scions of Sinai | Cabernet sauvignon | The historic and most classic heart of the country. Firm Bordeaux blends, upright Cabernets, old-vine Pinotages: these are the Cape's wines for ageing. |
| Swartland Au nord, autour de Malmesbury et du Paardeberg | The Sadie Family, David & Nadia, A.A. Badenhorst, Porseleinberg | Chenin blanc | Bush vines, grown without a drop of irrigation on granite and schist. Peppery reds without make-up, taut and saline Chenins. |
| Hemel-en-Aarde et Walker Bay Au sud, à deux pas de l'Atlantique | Hamilton Russell, Creation, Bouchard Finlayson, Crystallum, Storm, Beaumont | Pinot noir | Sea fog and clay soils give elegant Pinots and taut Chardonnays, at moderate alcohol levels. It is the coolest region in our cellar. |
| Constantia On the slopes of Table Mountain | Groot Constantia, Buitenverwachting | Sauvignon blanc | The oldest vineyard in the country, cooled by the south-easterly wind. Lively whites, and the sweet Muscat wine that made its name throughout Europe. |
| Paarl, Wellington et Franschhoek L'arrière-pays, plus chaud et plus abrité | Diemersfontein, Joostenberg, Boekenhoutskloof, Wildeberg, Colmant | Syrah | Dry summers that give generous, fleshy reds. Franschhoek is also where our Cap Classique sparkling wines come from, made as in Champagne. |
| Elgin, Tulbagh et Piekenierskloof The cool pockets of the interior, up to a thousand metres | Paul Cluver, Rijk's, Lourens Family, Savage Wines | Cinsault | Ici la fraîcheur vient du relief plutôt que de la mer. Rieslings secs, cinsaults légers à servir frais et syrahs poivrées à faible degré. |
The region appears on the label under the WO abbreviation, from the broadest to the most precise. The Producer filter at the top of the page remains the quickest way to find a particular house.
Ce que dit l'étiquette
Unlike European bottles, those from the Cape state the grape variety before the origin. It is the first thing to read, and the most reliable way to guess what is in the glass.
| Cépage | Ce que ça donne | Régions de prédilection | Ce qu'il faut savoir | Au catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chenin blancSteen, on old labels | Coing, pomme jaune, et une acidité qui tient tout | Swartland, Stellenbosch | South Africa grows more of it than France. Many of these plots are over thirty-five years old, which explains the concentration at such low prices. | 37 |
| Pinotage | Mûre, prune et une note fumée | Stellenbosch, Wellington | Crossed in 1925 at Stellenbosch University from Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. The best come from bush vines planted in the 1950s. | 17 |
| SyrahShiraz sur certaines étiquettes | Poivre, olive noire, fruit noir sans lourdeur | Swartland, Paarl | Deux écoles cohabitent : la version chaude et confite de Wellington, et celle du Swartland, poivrée et à faible degré, plus proche du nord du Rhône. | 21 |
| Chardonnay | Agrume, noisette, un boisé mesuré | Hemel-en-Aarde, Elgin | This is the white where the gap with Burgundy narrows most, for a fraction of the price. The best grow on clay soils close to the sea. | 20 |
| Pinot noir | Cerise, sous-bois, tanins fins | Hemel-en-Aarde, Elgin | The grape variety cannot stand heat: it only succeeds a few kilometres from the ocean or at altitude. That is why it remains rare and expensive. | 15 |
| Cabernet sauvignonSeul ou en assemblage bordelais | Cassis, cèdre, tanins fermes | Stellenbosch, Simonsberg | Blending with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot is Stellenbosch's speciality. These are the bottles that age best in the country. | 8 |
| Cinsault | Strawberry, grenadine, very little tannin | Swartland, Piekenierskloof | The leading red grape variety in the 1960s, then grubbed up, and replanted over the past ten years. It gives light reds served at around fourteen degrees. | 6 |
Sémillon, grenache, mourvèdre et muscat complètent la liste sur quelques bouteilles. Un vin sur douze porte ici la mention bio.
À ce niveau de qualité, aucun vignoble ne coûte aussi peu
A bottle from the Cape costs two to three times less than a Burgundy or Bordeaux of comparable standing. That is not a sales pitch; it is what blind tasters have been finding for some fifteen years. It is also why this is the largest section in our cellar outside Europe.
We built the selection around independent houses rather than volume brands, and around some fifty estates rather than complete coverage of the country. The Swartland and Hemel-en-Aarde carry a lot of weight, Stellenbosch provides the wines for ageing, and we would rather own this imbalance than pad out the range.
Lire une étiquette sud-africaine
WO, for Wine of Origin, guarantees the stated origin. The designation goes from general to precise: Western Cape, then the region, then the district such as Stellenbosch, then the ward.
Estate Wine means the grapes were grown and vinified on the property, with no outside purchases.
Cap Classique refers to sparkling wines made by second fermentation in the bottle, using the traditional method.
Old Vine Certified is a seal reserved for plots over thirty-five years old, with the planting year printed on it.
L'équipe du Baroudeur du Vin
What people ask us about Cape wines
What are South Africa's great wines?
Four names come up time and again: Kanonkop's Paul Sauer and Black Label Pinotage in Stellenbosch, the Columella and Palladius from The Sadie Family in the Swartland, the Pinot Noir from Hamilton Russell in Hemel-en-Aarde, and the sweet wine of Constantia. These are the bottles where the country plays at world level, between €80 and €260 in our shop.
Qu'est-ce que le pinotage ?
A red grape variety created in 1925 at Stellenbosch University by Abraham Perold, by crossing Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. It is not grown in quantity anywhere else. Its reputation suffered from the industrial versions of the 1990s and their paint-like note; today's bottles, from old bush vines, are a different world.
Un chenin du Cap ressemble-t-il à un vouvray ?
Same grape variety, two climates. The Cape gives riper wines, with quince and yellow fruit, and acidity that stays high thanks to the age of the vines and early harvests. The Loire plays more on green apple and tension. The best Swartland Chenins stand up to the comparison, often at half the price.
Pourquoi parle-t-on autant du Swartland ?
Because a generation of winemakers changed how the country is understood there from the late 1990s. Eben Sadie first, then David & Nadia, Badenhorst and Porseleinberg: unirrigated bush vines, granite and schist, fermentations with no added yeast. The result is saline Chenins and peppery Syrahs, at much lower alcohol levels than you would expect from a warm region.
Which South African wine should I serve with a barbecue?
The braai is the national meal and Pinotage was made for it: its smoky note echoes that of the grilled meat. A Swartland Syrah works just as well, especially with lamb. For wood-fired fish or grilled vegetables, an old-vine Chenin holds up to the smoke better than a neutral white.
How much should I spend on a good South African wine?
The section starts at €9.50 and half the bottles stay under thirty-seven euros. Between €15 and €25 is probably the best value for pleasure in the whole cellar. Above seventy euros, you enter the world of Sadie, Kanonkop and Hamilton Russell, up to €264 for the Black Label.
Are Cape Pinot Noirs as good as Burgundy's?
In terms of finesse, the best get there, in Hemel-en-Aarde and Elgin, where sea air and altitude keep alcohol levels moderate. The difference lies mainly in the age of the vines and centuries of observing the plots. Yet at forty or fifty euros, a Crystallum offers what can no longer be found at that price in the Côte de Nuits.
Qu'est-ce que le vin de Constance ?
A sweet Muscat wine made in Constantia since the 18th century, from grapes dried on the vine and with no added alcohol. It was served at the French court, Jane Austen mentions it, and Napoleon had it sent to Saint Helena. Two estates in our cellar still make it, under the names Grand Constance and Vin de Constantia.
Do South African wines age well?
Stellenbosch Bordeaux blends and the great Pinotages easily keep for fifteen to twenty years. Almost all old-vine Chenins benefit from five years' wait, and the best go well beyond that. Conversely, entry-level whites and light Cinsaults are made to be drunk within two years.
Que veulent dire WO, Estate et Old Vine sur l'étiquette ?
WO stands for Wine of Origin: the system introduced in 1973, which guarantees the stated origin, vintage and grape variety. Estate Wine indicates that the grapes come from the property and were vinified there. Old Vine Certified is a more recent seal, reserved for plots over thirty-five years old, with the planting year shown on the bottle.