Aaldering Estate Shiraz 2022 Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Aaldering is as much a destination as a winery, with luxury lodges set among the vines in Stellenbosch’s Devon Valley. Behind the hospitality is a focused cellar under Jaco Parson, who favours slow, careful winemaking. The Shiraz shows the estate stepping beyond its Pinotage comfort zone with real assurance.

These Shiraz grapes are sourced locally in Stellenbosch, off a terroir of Clovelly soils and Hutton clay. The style aims for savoury and spicy rather than sweet and jammy, with oak used to support the fruit rather than mask it. It broadens the estate red range beyond its Cape blends and Pinotage.

The 2022 growing season ran warmer, which favoured concentrated fruit flavours in the grapes. A wide swing between day and night temperatures helped colour form, tannins ripen and acidity hold. Fermentation was slow and steady with extraction watched closely, so the wine carries ripeness without heaviness.

Deep red with a purple rim. Savoury notes weave through dark fruit, leather, black pepper, clove and cinnamon, while the oak lends vanilla, mocha and dark chocolate. Plums, dark chocolate and spice follow on a full-bodied palate, framed by plush tannins that add structure and finesse. Matured 18 months in French oak, it will cellar 10 to 15 years.

In style it leans Northern Rhône, all pepper and savoury spice, with a New World generosity of fruit. Pair it with venison or a fragrant lamb curry, or simply a cold-weather roast. Poised and structured, it is a red that quietly makes an evening feel a little more special.