Ridgeback Reserve 10 2018 Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

The Reserve 10 is the top of Ridgeback’s tree, a wine the northern Paarl estate makes only from its finest barrels in the years that deserve it. It is the estate’s fullest statement, a Bordeaux style blend given the time and the oak to match its ambition.

Cabernet Franc leads a blend filled out with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and a little Petit Verdot, drawn from specially selected barrels. Nineteen months in French oak frame the fruit without swamping it. This is a wine built to reward patience, the bottle you keep for a milestone rather than a midweek supper.

2018 was a hard won vintage in the Cape, the depth of a three year drought that cut the crop to its smallest in over a decade. The vines gave little, but what they gave was intense, small berries with real concentration. In a wine of this seriousness, that density is an asset rather than a burden.

Expect ripe, polished black fruit with a savoury, gravelly edge and a lift of dried herb on a long finish. The tannins are firm but supple, and for all the ripeness there is freshness underneath that keeps it balanced. It is drinking beautifully now with years in hand. Decant it and serve with roast beef, venison or a mature hard cheese.

This is Ridgeback at full stretch, closer to a serious Bordeaux than a fruit forward Cape red. If you enjoy a structured Left Bank blend or a top Stellenbosch flagship, the Reserve 10 sits comfortably in that company. Presented in a gift box, it is a wine for an occasion that matters, and one to give or cellar with confidence.