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“South Africa’s visceral attachment to the land is key to its rising wine success,” asserts Tim Atkin MW in his annual South Africa Special Report, in partnership with Private Wealth by Old Mutual, released earlier today (2 September).

“The majority of the country’s best winegrowers and winemakers are closely attuned to nature and deeply respectful of their vineyards. Acknowledging that the land, the vines and the vintage have the final say is letting winemakers create wines that express a place and a time, as much as their own personalities. Place is arguably more important than style or grape variety. Producers are telling the story of the land, guiding it carefully into bottle. They are also happy to express different growing vintages, whatever the challenges. In fact, flexibility is a vital feature of the new post-modern Cape wine scene.”

He observes that currently “the overwhelming majority of the Cape’s best wines are single- vineyard or single-estate bottlings.”

Atkin has scored two wines 100 points, or full marks, in this year’s report, now in its 13th edition. They are the 2024 Alheit Magnetic North, a single-vineyard Chenin Blanc sourced from two parcels of dry-farmed bush vines in Citrusdal; and the 2023 Porseleinberg Syrah sourced from organic vineyards established in schist soils in the Swartland. This is the second time that Porseleinberg has received 100 points, following in the footsteps of the 2018 release. Chris Alheit’s 2023 Nautical Dawn from Stellenbosch achieved a perfect score last year.

Two wines have earned 99 points. They are the 2024 Sadie Family Wines Skerpioen, a Swartland blend of old vine Chenin Blanc, co-fermented with Palomino; and the 2023 Boschkloof Epilogue Syrah from Stellenbosch vines. All four of these producers have featured on Atkin’s roll of honour in past years for producing what he regards as the country’s top wines.

For the 2025 report, Atkin tasted 2,000 wines from close to 400 producers over two visits to the country, funded and organised by Wines of South Africa (WoSA). “WoSA’s support has been invaluable since the report’s inception in 2013,” he says.

Donovan Rall of Rall Wines is this year’s Winemaker of the Year. He often sources from previously neglected vineyards that he helps to nurture and preserve, working with local communities in doing so. The title of Young Winemaker of the Year goes to Stuart Botha of Tokara and that of Rising Star of the Year to Megan van der Merwe of Beau Constantia.

Danie Carinus of Bluegum Grove in Stellenbosch is Viticulturist of the Year. Apart from his own highly respected wines, he also supplies grapes to some of the country’s foremost winemakers.

The 2025 Winemaking Legend crown goes to Dr Paul Clüver, who as far back as the 1980s was instrumental in establishing Elgin as a cool-climate wine-growing area.

Gabriëlskloof in Bot River features as the winner of the Best Cellar Door Experience.

Chenin Blanc remains the star performer this year, with 34 wines scoring 95 or more. “The Cape has definitively eclipsed the Loire Valley as the source of the planet’s best dry Chenin Blancs.” He adds that the grape also “reflects different soil types and terroirs more faithfully than any other South African variety” and he highlights how it still features disproportionately in the country’s top blends.

Chardonnay, he considers to be “increasingly good”, and this year has 23 wines attracting scores of at least 95.

The country’s best reds, he says, “are every bit as good as its world-class whites” as “new wave” producers revert to the “old style” that pursues freshness and balance at lower alcohols and where “natural acidity rather than sugar levels is the current focus, the backbone and spinal cord”.

Syrah is the best-performing red, with 21 wines achieving 95 points or more.

With 47 of his 212 wines of the year sourced from certified Old Vine Project vineyards, he suggests that “old heritage vineyards should be protected by law, like historical buildings”.

The national vineyard, that has fallen to just below 88,000 ha, continues to shrink in the face of declining profitability and climate chaos, he writes, having lost almost 13,000 ha over the past decade. Yet producers are responding to these challenges with resilience and innovation and a focus on the higher end of the market. There are now 111 grape varieties deemed suitable for wine growing in the country, with the accent on Mediterranean grapes, from Albariño to Xinomavro. Several of the country’s foremost winegrowers are experimenting with grapes known to perform well in countries such as Portugal and Greece.

Atkin lauds industrywide efforts to build soil health through regenerative agriculture, the greater application of integrated pest management, the use of precision tools to address virus infection in vineyards and strategies to increase vine metabolism. He also backs steps outlined by leading viticulturist Rosa Kruger that the industry can take, including planting higher and cooler and on south- or east-facing slopes to make the most of cooling winds, and by “working with the natural contours of the land to channel rainwater and fight against erosion from occasional flash-flooding”.

All these measures will play a vital role in mitigating climate change that could see temperatures rise between 1°C and 2.5°C by 2060, according to the Western Cape Department of Agriculture.

THE PODIUM 2025

Winemaker of the Year: Donovan Rall of Rall Wines

Young Winemaker of the Year: Stuart Botha of Tokara

Rising Star of the Year: Megan van der Merwe of Beau Constantia

Viticulturist of the Year: Danie Carinus of Bluegum Grove

Producers’ Cellar of the Year: Riebeek Valley Wine Company

Winemaking Legend: Dr Paul Clüver

Best Cellar Door Experience: Gabriëlskloof

Overall White Wine of the Year: 2024 Alheit Vineyards Magnetic North Chenin Blanc, Citrusdal Mountain

Overall Red Wine of the Year: 2023 Porseleinberg Syrah, Swartland
                                                          
Overall Rosé of the Year: 2025 Doolhof XCLUSIV Rosé, Limietberg

Overall Sparkling Wine of the Year: 2019 Graham Beck Cuvée Clive Cap Classique, Western Cape

Overall Sweet Wine of the Year: 2022 Boekenhoutskloof Noble Late Harvest, Franschhoek

Overall Fortified Wine of the Year: 2005 Boplaas Colheita 20-Year-Old Cape Tawny, Calitzdorp

Red Wine Discovery of the Year: 2022 Beeslaar The Sacrament, Stellenbosch

White Wine Discovery of the Year: 2024 Sadie Family Twiswind, Swartland

Rosé Wine Discovery of the Year: 2024 Lost Boy Latigo, Cape Agulhas

Fortified Wine Discovery of the Year: NV Saldanha Oloroso N° 3, Swartland

Sparkling Wine Discovery of the Year: 2020 Boschendal Mountain Rose Pinot Noir Rosé Cap Classique, Coastal

Best Value White of the Year: 2023 Windmeul OVP Chenin Blanc Reserve, Paarl

Best Value Red of the Year: 2024 Kloovenburg Village Red, Swartland

Best Value Rosé of the Year: 2024 Le Sueur Grenache Rosé, Klein Karoo

Best Value Sparkling Wine of the Year: 2024 Rebel Rebel Cinsault Méthode Ancestrale, Bottelary

Best Value Sweet Wine of the Year: 2024 Van Loveren VRL Special Late Harvest Gewürztraminer, Robertson

Best Value Fortified Wine of the Year: NV KWV Classic Collection Cape Tawny, Western Cape

To purchase the report, where more detail can be found, visit www.timatkin.com.