Two Oceans Shiraz 2016 Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Two Oceans is one of South Africa’s best-known everyday wine brands, named for the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian oceans at the southern tip of the continent. The wines are made in an accessible, easy-going style designed for relaxed, uncomplicated drinking rather than the cellar, and they have introduced many people to Cape wine.

Shiraz is one of the Cape’s most planted red varieties and takes well to this approachable treatment. Sourced across the broad Western Cape, this bottling aims for soft, ripe fruit and a smooth, rounded texture, the kind of red that suits a wide range of tastes and tables without asking much of the drinker. Consistency is the point here, so the wine tends to taste much the same from one year to the next.

This is the 2016 vintage, blended from Western Cape fruit. We hold limited vintage-specific detail for it, so the notes reflect the house style rather than verified harvest data.

Expect soft red and dark berry fruit with a gentle dusting of pepper and spice. The tannins are light and the finish is smooth and easy, so it needs no decanting and shows well at cool room temperature straight from the bottle. It is the sort of wine that asks nothing of the drinker and simply gets on with being pleasant company.

This is a friendly, budget-conscious red made for everyday drinking, at home with pizza, pasta, burgers, grilled sausages or a midweek roast. If you want a dependable, soft South African Shiraz to please a crowd without fuss, Two Oceans is a safe and likeable choice.