Ahrens Family Soils of Paarl Red 2023 Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

The Ahrens Family label was started in 2008 by Albert and Heidi Ahrens and runs on one belief: a wine should taste of a specific place. Albert, who trained through vintages in the Rhone, Priorat and Champagne before making his name in the Swartland, sources fruit from carefully chosen sites across the Cape and works with minimal intervention in a small Paarl cellar.

Soils of Paarl belongs to his Ahrens Regional range, wines built to capture the identity of a whole ward rather than a single vineyard. Here the aim was a lighter Cape red. Grenache and Cinsault, both naturally pale and perfumed, suit the warm northern Paarl valley, while a little Carignan adds structure and Syrah lends texture. The fruit comes from several older vineyards on decomposed granite and shale.

The valley sits close enough to the cold Atlantic to catch a cooling afternoon breeze through the hottest months, which keeps the aromatics fresh. The 2023 season helped further, with a dry, warm winter giving way to a cool, slightly wetter ripening spell and no punishing heat spikes. For a light, fragrant red like this, that gentler, more even ripening is exactly what preserves perfume and freshness.

Bright, medium ruby in the glass. The nose is all red cherry, raspberry and dried strawberry, lifted by rose petal, dried herbs and a little white pepper. The palate is light to medium-bodied and juicy, with fresh red fruit, a savoury earthiness and soft, fine tannins. It finishes clean and gently spiced. Serve slightly cool with roast chicken, charcuterie or grilled vegetables, and drink over the next four years.

Ahrens likens his lighter reds to the southern Rhone, and this sits in that gentle, Grenache-led camp, closer to a fresh Cotes du Rhone or a chilled village red than to a big Cape blockbuster. It is the sort of bottle that suits a relaxed supper or an afternoon with friends, served a touch cool. Unforced and genuinely charming, it makes a strong case for lighter South African reds.