Radford Dale’s organic Elgin farm was acquired in 2021, and these 2024’s mark the first truly complete expression of the site under Alex Dale’s stewardship. The wait has been worth it. These wines are poised, detailed and deeply expressive — the kind of bottles you’ll want in your cellar, not just on your table.
Not yet available to the wider public, this is a rare opportunity to secure one of the most exciting organic releases from a top cool-climate estate.
Cabernet Franc is having a moment, and the Radford Dale Higher Purpose Cabernet Franc 2024 is firmly among the finest examples in South Africa right now. Tamlyn Currin (JancisRobinson.com) captures it perfectly:
‘You can smell and feel the cool climate of Elgin in this long, cherry-scented, fynbos-fragrant wine of limber tannins… a serenity of deep red fruit, like a pool, holding hidden depths beneath mirrored stillness. An exceptionally elegant South African Cab Franc.’
Christian Eedes agrees, calling it ‘clean, poised and remarkably complete.’ This is Cabernet Franc at its most refined — fragrant, assured and quietly powerful.
The Freedom Pinot Noir 2024 is so charming! Crushed rose petals, pomegranate and cherry on the palate, carried by an autumnal savouriness and striking purity of fruit. If you love Vosne-Romanée but struggle to find a local Pinot that scratches that itch, this is one to buy.
The 96-point Touchstone Chardonnay 2024 is everything great Chardonnay should be. A true Goldilocks wine: not overtly oaky or plush, but focused, tense and mineral, with layers of ripe citrus and beautifully judged oak. This has the potential to be a benchmark South African Chardonnay.
And then there’s the Revelation Sémillon 2024. Tamlyn Currin awarded it 17.5/20, among the highest Sémillon scores on JancisRobinson.com, noting: ‘The fruit is restless with tension, prancing from citrus to stone… the acidity seems to turn to minerality.’ A serious, age-worthy Sémillon that delivers immediate pleasure and long-term promise.
You can purchase yours online here.
Tasting Notes:
Radford Dale Higher Purpose Cabernet Franc 2024
‘You can smell and feel the cool climate of Elgin in this long, cherry-scented, fynbos-fragrant wine of limber tannins. The wine has a serenity of deep, red fruit, like a pool, a surface holding hidden depths beneath mirrored stillness. But draw closer and you hear the soft lapping of the edges, clear as glass, water sucking stones and the sweet decay of leaves and herbs fringing the water into an iodine tang of minerality. An exceptionally elegant South African Cab Franc. 2025-2033.’ – Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com, 17.5/20
‘10% whole-bunch fermentation; 90% matured in concrete egg, 10% in barrel. Subtle flinty reduction before red berry, red apple, rose and appealing herbal lift. Pure and zippy with fine-grained tannins, the finish nicely dry. Clean, poised and remarkably complete at 13.5% alcohol.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 94/100
Radford Dale Freedom Pinot Noir 2024
‘Strawberry-sweet fruit embroidered through a fan of feather-soft, quill-spined tannins. Very gentle undertow of fresh mushroom, autumn humus and chipotle almost hidden under the generous swathe of fruit. A total charmer! 2025-2030.’ – Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com, 16.5/20
‘Matured for 12 months in barrel, 10% new. A touch of reduction precedes strawberry, cherry and musk on the nose. Elegant and tightly coiled on the palate with much more purity than the difficult 2023 vintage. Light and fresh with powdery tannins. Alc: 13%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 93/100
Radford Dale Touchstone Chardonnay 2024
‘I tasted this at room temperature at first (got waylaid after setting the tasting up), and what impressed was how the structure, fruit and full integrity of the wine held up – it wasn’t remotely compromised by being tasted at what was probably around 17 deg C (~ 62 deg F). Creamy, roasted oats and Bircher muesli on the nose and front palate as the mid palate fills out with nectarine and cooked apples. Fennel and tangerine the drawstring bringing everything in to a calm cleave on the finish. Cold, you can feel the raciness of the acidity and the structure is more clavical, accentuating the long graceful neck of fruit rather than the amplitude of it. 2025-2034.’ – Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com, 17/20
‘Pear, peach, citrus, green apple and orchard blossom on the nose. Great clarity of fruit and plenty of drive before a pithy finish. Poised and tense, it celebrates restraint over richness – for those who like their Chardonnay steely rather than buttery… Alc: 12.5%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 96/100
Radford Dale Revelation Sémillon 2024
‘Another stunning Sémillon exploding out of the Radford Dale stable and racing, muscle and sinew, to the edge of the horizon. From smoky start to smoky finish, it’s a wine that is haptic with power and asterism. The fruit is restless with tension, prancing from citrus to stone, from citrus to stone. And the acidity seems to turn to minerality, like lithic reduction in the mouth. I was gutted to see that it’s not available in the UK and the US – it would have made ‘Wine of the week’ if it was. 2025-2035.’ – Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com, 17.5/20
