Beaumont Family Wines Mourvèdre 2016 Bot River, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Beaumont Family Wines sits at Compagnes Drift in Bot River, part of South Africa’s cooler Cape South Coast, where the Beaumont family have farmed since 1974. Winemaker Sebastian Beaumont works instinctively and with minimal intervention, using natural yeasts and old concrete kuipe fermenters, and much of the surrounding farm is protected fynbos in the Kogelberg Biosphere.

Mourvèdre is close to the family’s heart: Beaumont bottled the first single-varietal Mourvèdre in the country in 1999 and has made small quantities every year since. A late-ripening southern French grape more familiar from Bandol and the southern Rhône, it suits the warm days and cooling maritime air of Bot River, giving a red with structure, spice and a savoury heart. Only around thirty-four hectares of the four-hundred-hectare farm are under vine, so quantities are small and made with real intent.

The 2016 vintage was a warm, dry and low-yielding year across the Cape, conditions that concentrated flavour in the surviving fruit. Wines of this year tend to be deep and structured, and this Mourvèdre carries that intensity while keeping the freshness the cool Bot River nights help preserve.

Expect dark plum and bramble fruit, black pepper and dried herbs, and a gently earthy, gamey note that is true to the grape. It is full-bodied with firm but ripe tannins and a savoury finish. Decant it and serve with roast lamb, venison, game birds or a herb-laced stew.

For anyone who enjoys southern Rhône reds or Bandol, this pioneering Cape Mourvèdre is a rewarding and characterful detour, made by one of Bot River’s most respected hands.