Franco Lourens deserves your attention. 2024 marks a decade of working on his own wines and his excitement of this release is palpable. ‘The wines are alive!’, boasts Lourens, ‘precise, fresh and represent where they’re from like never before’, he continues. Already receiving high acclaim, we think these wines should be in your cellar and on your table.
Franco says blending is like a puzzle – he loves joining incredible vineyards to produce wines that still speak of their terroir. We think he’s a modern-day blending master and his dexterity shines through in the latest release. The wines are refined yet layered and bursting with complexity and length.
The 2024 Lindi Carien is more aromatically enticing and savoury than 2023. I particularly love the green mango note on the wine, which gives so much freshness and brightness to the core. A wine of pure, delineated fruit, with texture in spades. Drink it with food, with friends and everything in between.
‘High elevation, sandstone soils and a pretty dodgy trellised system gives you something so unique’, says Franco about the 95-point Skuinskap Steen 2023. From a vineyard planted in 1977, the sheer concentration and complexity of this wine is thrilling. Franco really has a way with Chenin blanc and this wine is far too special to pass up the opportunity of making it a part of your collection.
The new 97-point Mathias Chenin Blanc is a powerful and ‘riveting’ wine. From a tiny vineyard in Paardeberg planted in 1981, it is a love letter to Swartland Chenin. Lemon pith, hay, spice, concentrated stone fruit and leesy complexity all add to the sheer beauty of this wine. Also new is the 100% Verdelho from Stellenbosch, Proefkonyn 2024. It is salty, laced with lemon and leads to bloodorange pith, a wine of density, but not lacking tension. Enjoy with richer food.
His rare 95-point Lua Grenache is superb in 2024. From a block planted in 1988 at 680m ASL in the Piekenierskloof, it’s one of our favourite Grenaches out there. The aromatics are arresting – deep, bright and so pretty. It’s the elegance and flavour layered on top of a super structured palette that guarantees a long life ahead.
The precision of the Howard John in 2024 is remarkable. Personally, it’s my go-to on restaurant lists and family get togethers because of its juicy fruit, chalky tannins and verve. A wine bursting with flavour and showcasing the Swartland in the most elegant way. Approachable now but balanced and structured enough to drink well until at least 2030, remarks Eedes.
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Tasting Notes:
Lourens Family Wines Lindi Carien White Blend 2024
‘66% Chenin Blanc, 23% Verdelho, 11% Colombar (seven days skin contact). Grapes sourced from across the Western Cape; Colombar replaces Grenache Blanc in this vintage. Exotic aromatics of pear, peach, orange, pineapple with potpourri and spice in the background. The palate is rich and flavourful with tangy acidity and finish that is savoury and lightly grippy. Alc: 13.27%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 94/100
‘Lindi Carien is a brilliant three-way blend of Chenin Blanc, 23% Verdelho and 11% Colombard from the Piekenierskloof, the Swartland and Stellenbosch. Lightly skin macerated for a portion of the wine, it has texture from full malolactic, lime, quince and yellow apple flavours and a whisper of old oak. 2026-31’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2025, 94/100
Lourens Family Wines Skuinskap Steen 2024
‘From a Piekenierskloof vineyard planted on sandstone at 750m above sea level in 1977. Smoky reduction precedes pear, peach, a hint of citrus and straw on the nose. Light yet intensely flavoured with crisp acidity and an ultra-dry finish. Elegant, linear and taut. Alc: 13.32%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 95/100
‘Skuinskap comes from one of the highest vineyards in Piekenierskloof, located at 750 metres on sandstone soils. Correspondingly focused, subtle and intense, it has some underlying waxy weight, green apple and lemon zest flavours and hints of fennel and celery. 2026-33’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2025, 94/100
Lourens Family Wines Mathias Steen 2024
‘NEW. From a 0.9ha Paardeberg vineyard planted in 1981. Lime, lemon, green apple, peach, herbs, a hint of ginger and some leesy complexity. Super-concentrated with punchy acidity, the finish long and savoury, slightly pithy in texture. A riveting wine – great focus with plenty of hidden power. Al: 13.34%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 97/100
‘Mathias is a spectacular new release from Franco Lourens, cropped at a miniscule 1.3 tons per hectare from a 1980 vineyard on the Paardeberg. Showing intriguing aromas of Japanese green tea and agave, it’s a pure, mouth-wateringly intense Chenin Blanc with impressive line and length and stony minerality. 2026-31’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2025, 95/100
Lourens Family Wines Lua Grenache 2024
‘Grapes for a Piekenierskloof vineyard planted in 1998. 25% whole-bunch fermentation. Black berries, wilted rose, fynbos, earth and spice on the nose while the palate shows dense fruit, big acidity and firm but not coarse tannins. Pure and deep with no impression of sweetness – substantial but not ponderous, powerful yet precise. Alc: 14.2%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 95/100
‘”Grenache can run away with you if you work it too hard,” says Franco Lourens, but that’s not the case on this elegant, yet well-structured example from a sandstone-dominated vineyard at 650 metres in Piekenierskloof. Fermented with 25% stems, it’s a graceful, energetic red with layers of wild strawberry, plum and rooibos tea and some savoury intrigue. 2026-33’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2025, 95/100
Lourens Family Wines Howard John Red Blend 2024
‘44% Grenache, 39% Cinsault and 17% Syrah sourced from Swartland. 30% whole-bunch fermentation. Enticing aromatics of red berries, pomegranate, rose, fynbos and a hint of white pepper. With succulent fruit, lively acidity and chalky tannins. Approachable now but balanced and structured enough to drink well until at least 2030. Alc: 13.82%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 94/100
‘A nice tribute to Franco Lourens’ father, who appears on the label, this is a finely judged blend of Grenache, 39% Cinsault and 17% Syrah, all of them sourced from the Swartland. Fermented with around 30% stems, it has ample granitic intensity, aromas of fynbos, thyme and hot stones, plenty of energy and zip and tangy strawberry, bramble and red cherry flavours. 2026-32′ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2025, 93/100
Lourens Family Wines Proefkonyn White 2024
‘This is the second vintage of a stand-alone Verdelho from Franco Lourens, all sourced from Cavali’s extensive estate in Stellenbosch. Fermented and aged in older barrels, with maturation on fine lees, it’s sappy, focused and bone dry, showing pear and subtle stone fruit flavours and a savoury finish. 2026-30’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2025, 93/100
‘From Cavalli grapes. Peach, apricot, pineapple and earth on the nose. The palate is generous, even weighty – dense fruit, well integrated acidity and a gently savoury finish. Alc: 13.78%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 91/100
