Bellevue Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

Bellevue Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Bottelary, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2023

Grape: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, oak matured

Producer Tasting Note:

Elegant, with exceptional complexity, depth, length and ageing potential. Rich dark plum and cassis fruit with cedarwood undertones balanced by clean minerality and smooth tannins.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Perfumed violets and ripe cassis thread through dark chocolate, mocha and roasted herbs, leading to dusty, fine tannins and vibrant energy."

94/100 points, Decanter World Wine Awards, January 2025

"Roasted herbs, black fruit and barbecue smoke on the nose of this full-bodied red. It’s chewy and smoky on the palate with firm, slightly grainy tannins. Lightly astringent. Try in 2026."

James Suckling, September 2025

Also awarded DOUBLE GOLD,  Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards, 2025

Vineyard: Planted in 1999, on a southern slope, with east-west row orientation, these vines thrive in fertile soils of sand, clay and loam. Trellised and cultivated under dryland conditions.

Winemaking: The grapes were cold-soaked for four days, before inoculation, and then tank fermented, with three aerated pump-overs daily during alcoholic fermentation. Once fermentation was complete the skins were pressed and the wine settled and racked off the fermentation lees into 300-litre French oak barrels. It underwent spontaneous malolactic fermentation, and the wine was matured in 60% new and the rest in third-fill French oak for 22 months.

Food Match: This wine calls for hearty beef rib-eye steak, braised short ribs or succulent lamb chops