Redamancy Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 Devon Valley, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Redamancy Vineyards began as a private passion for Antoinette Rapitsi and Marc van Uytvanck, who made wine at home to share with friends and their two Golden Retrievers before the volumes grew too big to keep to themselves. Antoinette brings an interior designer’s eye; the pair treat wine as a shared sensory pleasure rather than a business first.

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a neighbouring Devon Valley farm, one of the cooler corners of Stellenbosch where afternoon breezes slow the ripening. As with every Redamancy red, it is hand-crafted and fermented with wild yeasts, keeping the winemaking gentle and the fruit front and centre. The 2022 leans a touch darker and more savoury than the 2021, a natural shift in character from one vintage to the next.

The 2022 season was warm and dry with a late, condensed harvest, a year South African growers fondly called small but mighty. Stellenbosch reds came in intense, dark and spicy while holding onto good structure, and Cabernet in particular did well. You can taste that ripe, concentrated character in the glass.

Leather and prune set a brooding tone on the nose, joined by a floral lift of violet. The palate is grippy and firm, with red cherry fruit and a fresh apple-core tang on a rhubarb-edged finish. At 14.5% it is generous but never heavy. Give it an hour in a decanter and serve with grilled steak, slow-cooked beef or a mature cheese.

Redamancy’s reds have already earned recognition, with the 2021 Cabernet taking four Platter stars and a Wine of the Month Club mention. This 2022 carries the same honest, hand-made stamp and sits comfortably among characterful Stellenbosch Cabernets at friendly prices. It is the kind of bottle you open without ceremony but remember afterwards.