Le Riche has been synonymous with the best Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon for more than two decades. The region is among the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon terroirs in the world, and there’s no other producer in Stellenbosch that’s as focused and dedicated to the ‘King of Grapes’ as Le Riche.
The consistency of their releases since 2017 has been impressive, and the 2021 follows a trilogy of vintages that flirt with perfect scores. The latest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, from the sensational 2021 vintage, is set to be a benchmark for years to come. It has the refinement of 2017 but with more nuance and layers – it’s a wine that’s perfectly dialled in.
‘Simply sublime, awesome even, and most definitely a vintage that will come to define premium quality Cabernet for years to come.’
– Greg Sherwood MW
The Le Riche 2021 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is from Helderberg (67%), Simonsberg (22%), and Jonkershoek Valley (11%) fruit and is matured for 24 months in 225-litre barrels, 75% of which are new French oak.
‘If 2019 had the muscle and power and 2020 the seductive elegance, balance, and accessibility, the 2021 is a stand apart expression, as unique as the vintage itself,’ enthuses Greg Sherwood MW. The wine is red and dark fruited with attractive perfume, tobacco and seductive oak, and the palate is fresh – shy even – with a coiled mineral core and notes of freshly tilled earth. Fine-grained tannins offer loads of support for decades of ageing.
There’s no doubt that Le Riche’s legacy, started by Etienne le Riche, has reached a new level of excellence.
Tasting Notes:
Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
‘This highly anticipated 2021 release comes hard on the heels of the highly rated 2020 and 2019 from Christo Le Riche, and the impressive 2021 completes the trilogy of block-buster vintages from this Cabernet specialist. Unwinding in the glass, the aromatics show delicately musky, perfumed notes of white flowers, crème de cassis, blueberries, blackberries and freshly tilled earth hints that mingle with notions of dried herbs, thyme and fresh mint leaf, dried peach skins over graphite, granite dust and delicate dark chocolate cocoa spice nuances. The palate is beautifully silky and creamy, full and broad yet velvety soft and plush, voluminous but delicately elegant, finely detailed and weightlessly concentrated. Tight and compact, seductively seamless in the truest sense with an incredibly integrated acid fruit balance, a lively purity, and supple sweet tannins on the long, piercing finish. If 2019 had the muscle and power and 2020 the seductive elegance, balance, and accessibility, the 2021 is a stand apart expression, as unique as the vintage itself. Simply sublime, awesome even, and most definitely a vintage that will come to define premium quality Cabernet for years to come. A true classic that will richly reward bottle ageing. Drink on release and over the next 20 to 30+ years.’ – Greg Sherwood MW, 98+/100
‘From Helderberg (67%) Simonsberg (22%) and Jonkershoek Valley (11%). Matured for 24 months in 225-litre barrels, 75% new. Red and black berries, some leafiness, violets and pencil shavings on the nose. The palate has great fruit definition, fresh acidity and chalky, mouth-coating tannins. Forceful but simultaneously not short of energy.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 96/100
