The Le Riche Reserve 2022 is world-class. Sultry, hedonistic and synonymous with the best Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon in the country, it’s a wine that offers seamless approachability without losing that signature freshness and structure.
The consistency of their releases since 2017 has been impressive, and the 2022 follows an exceptional set of vintages that flirt with perfection. Offering the ‘weightless concentration of the 2017 vintage and the bold fleshy opulence of the 2020 vintage’ (Greg Sherwood), this release embodies everything we’ve come to expect from Le Riche – from pure fruit and great structure to flavour in spades.
The Le Riche 2022 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is from Helderberg (68%), Simonsberg (25%), and Jonkershoek Valley (7%) fruit and is matured for 24 months in 225-litre barrels, 75% of which are new French oak. The wine is brimming with cassis, red and dark fruit and a very attractive perfume. Tobacco and seductive oak follow, and the palate is fresh with a coiled mineral core and notes of freshly tilled earth. Fine-grained tannins offer support for decades of ageing.
Stellenbosch is among the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon terroirs in the world, and there’s no other producer in the region that’s as focused and dedicated to the ‘King of Grapes’ as Le Riche. As with previous vintages, their latest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is set to be a benchmark for years to come.
Please note that this wine will be available for collection/delivery from 4 June 2025.
Tasting Notes:
Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
‘This is another ambitious example of benchmark Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon from the self-proclaimed “Kingdom of Cabernet.” Christo Le Riche was super excited by this new release with its opulence, ripe tannins, and hedonistic texture. Opened and decanted for two hours, this serious effort is initially incredibly saline and mineral driven with intense notes of graphite, cedar spice and iodine over wet tobacco, salty crème de cassis and oystershell nuances. With time in glass, the dark broody black currant, blueberry, and black cherry notes unfurl, following on to the palate that is texturally a hybrid style between the silky, weightless concentration of the 2017 vintage and the bold fleshy opulence of the 2020 vintage. But the Le Riche Reserve is always deceptively easy to drink when young, with its incredibly pure, intense, voluptuous fruit concentration masking its true tannin structure hiding beneath. Wonderfully fresh and tangy in the mouth, this is another majestic effort from one of South Africa’s finest premium wineries. Drink from 2026 to 2040+.’ – Greg Sherwood MW, 96+/100
