Gabb Family ‘The Grape White’ Pinot Gris 2016 Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

The Gabb family have built their name in South Africa’s Coastal Region, drawing on long experience in growing and shaping recognised wine brands. Their Stellenbosch base gives the settled, maritime-influenced conditions that suit clean, fruit-forward whites, and Pinot Gris is a variety that repays a cooler-edged, carefully tended site.

‘The Grape White’ is a pure Pinot Gris, a variety still relatively uncommon in the Cape and more often associated with northern Italy and Alsace. Picked to keep freshness front and centre, it is made in an approachable, unoaked style that lets the fruit speak. The aim here is charm and drinkability rather than weight or complexity, a white to reach for without a second thought.

This is a 2016, now showing the softer, more settled character that a few years in bottle bring to an aromatic white. Any youthful sharpness has eased, leaving a rounder, gentler feel while the core of orchard fruit holds. It is drinking in its easy, mellow window rather than asking to be kept.

Expect ripe pear and white peach on the nose, with a squeeze of lemon and lime keeping it lively. The palate is light to medium in body, dry and refreshing, with a soft texture and a clean, quietly fruity finish. Serve it well chilled and it shows at its most inviting.

If you enjoy an unoaked Pinot Grigio or a gentle Chenin, this sits naturally alongside them. It is an everyday, uncomplicated white for relaxed meals and easy sharing, happy with lighter lunches, salads and soft cheeses, or simply poured on its own on a warm afternoon.