2023 may have been a rainy vintage in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley but we think Restless River’s new releases show just how talented Craig Wessels and his team are. The wines are superb, fresh and beautifully concentrated. It’s exactly what we have come to expect from this property.
Le Luc Pinot Noir gets more impressive each year. The 2023 is no exception, with finesse and regal elegance, it’s a wine that continues to outshine premier and grand cru Burgundies – but at a quarter of the price. This wine is a no brainer if you’re a Pinot lover.
The Ava Marie Chardonnay is one of our favourite Chardonnay’s in the world for a reason. The 2023 is a wine of power and finesse with deeply concentrated florals and citrus. It’s vibrant, elegant and boasts that classic flinty reduction. Honestly, if Chardonnay is your thing, this is a banker.
We were awe-struck by the 2022 Main Rd & Dignity Cabernet Sauvignon. With succulent, ripe fruit and earthy complexity, it’s a wine that walks the line perfectly between Stellenbosch and Pauillac. The tannins are velvety with a signature citric acidity that leaves your mouth watering for more. If you’ve always wanted to try this wine, this is the vintage to buy.
The Klein Hemel wines are part of the project the Wessels are working on to plant vines for the future. They’re making an awesome Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and releasing them sooner for early enjoyment. Don’t let this fool you, these wines are properly serious. Both 94-pointers, the Pinot 2024 ‘is precise – medium bodied with good clarity of fruit, fresh acidity and super-fine tannins, the finish persistent’, notes Eedes. The Chardonnay 2024 is ‘well balanced and focused, it’s taut and driven without being overly angular or austere’, continues Eedes.
Tasting Notes:
‘Good growers – and Craig Wesels is one of them – managed to overcome the challenges of the 2023 vintage in the Cape. Made with clones 113, 115 and 777, Le Luc has some granite derived tension, subtle spices from 30% whole clusters, gentle, lacy tannins and sappy raspberry coulis and goji berry fruit. 2025-30’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report, 95/100
‘From a single vineyard planted in 2013 on granite. 20% whole-bunch fermentation. Matured for 12 months in 228-litre barrels, 30% new. Red cherry and red currant with a touch of orange, complemented by subtle notes of musk, mushroom, and cured meat. Light-bodied, with lemon-like acidity and silky tannins, the wine displays finesse and elegance – no small feat given the challenging weather conditions. Alc: 13.3%.’ – Christian Eedes, 94/100
‘Now in its sixteenth vintage, Ava Maria has established itself as one of the Cape’s greatest Chardonnays. Sourced from the oldest block of the variety in the Hemel-en-Aarde area, it has amazing tension and granitic focus, refined 10% new wood, notes of macadamia nut, beeswax, oyster shell and lemon butter and a lingering, palate-cleansing finish. Sublime.’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report, 97/100
‘From a single vineyard planted in 1998 on granite. Matured for 12 months, predominantly in 500-litre barrels (10% new) with a small portion in amphora. Captivating aromatics of floral perfume atop citrus and subtle waxy complexity. The palate shows concentrated fruit matched by vibrant acidity, finishing properly dry. Well delineated and creamy in the best sense, it is a wine of both breadth and depth, savoury and well balanced. Alc: 13.03%.’ – Christian Eedes, 96/100
Main Road & Dignity Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
‘Picked between mid-March and May – such are the demands of growing Cabernet Sauvignon in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley – this is the best young release of Main Road & Dignity I’ve tasted. Judged both blind against its peers and sighted, it seduces you with graphite, fynbos and cut grass aromas, leading you into a structured, layered palate of red cherry and cassis embellished by 30% new oak. 2028-35’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report, 96/100
‘Now includes 20% of a vineyard planted in 2017 on Cederberg shale in addition to older blocks on granite. Matured for 24 months in 225-litre barrels, 30% new. Red, blue and black berries, musk, violets, the merest hint of leafiness, vanilla and earth on the nose. The palate shows good fruit depth and velvet-like tannins – succulent and fleshy rather than overtly plush. Alc: 13.7%.’ – Christian Eedes, 94/100
‘Vineyard Selection uses three clones (113, 115 and 777) planted on three different soil types in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Curated in 30% new wood, it’s a sappy, juicy, refined Pinot Noir that’s all about grace and perfume rather than power, showing subtle wood spices, plum and wild strawberry fruit and a waft of rose petal. 2026-30’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report, 94/100
‘From vineyards planted from 2017 to 2020 on both granite and Cederberg shale. 10% whole-bunch fermentation. Matured for 12 months in 228-litre barrels, 30% new. The nose is still very primary with notes of red cherry, rose, musk and a hint of vanilla. The palate is precise – medium bodied with good clarity of fruit, fresh acidity and super-fine tannins, the finish persistent. Alc: 13.6%.’ – Christian Eedes, 93/100
‘Vineyard Selection is the entry-point Chardonnay from Craig and Ann Wessels, sourced from younger vineyards planted with the 95, 96 and 271 clones. Fermented with 40% malolactic in 10% new oak, it’s steely, stony and saline, with a granitic core, a waft of toast and a chiselled, lemon and lime juice finish. 2025-30’ ’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report, 94/100
‘From vineyards planted from 2017 to 2020 on granite soils. Matured for 12 months in 500-litre barrels, 10% new. A touch of struck-match reduction precedes aromas of lemon, oatmeal, and fresh bread. The palate shows a dense core of fruit and bright acidity, leading to a pithy finish. Well balanced and focused, it’s taut and driven without being overly angular or austere. Alc: 13.55%.’ – Christian Eedes, 94/100
