SOUTH AFRICA
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
94 Boekenhoutskloof 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon (Stellenbosch). For full review see page 109.
abv: 14.5% Price: $69
94 Reyneke 2017 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Stellenbosch). From biodynamic/organic producer Reyneke comes this special-release wine that’s sourced from a single block and made only in exceptional vintages. This is just about everything you’d want a Cab to be—concentrated in ripe but not overly done black fruit, with earthy elements of turned soil, woodsy spice, pressed purple flowers and singed tobacco leaf, all framed by boldly structuring yet somehow simultaneously elegant tannins. Long and evolving on the finish, this is beautiful from start to finish and will age well through 2036. Vineyard Brands. Cellar Selection. —L.B.
abv: 14.1% Price: $136
A lifted, mentholated top note wafts from the glass of this red, with initial tones of balsamic herbs, black currant leaf, licorice root and fresh rooibos riding atop a grounded core of ripe black plum and cherry. Medium-plus in weight, the tannins are firm and gripping at present, though there is ample fruity intensity and acidity to keep it all in balance and with the promise of good maturation in
