Tips & Facts
From 15 barrels to 4,000, and yet the Chocolate Block has changed less than expected. The key was the move to the Swartland in 2015, not a new recipe. We place the vintages from 2008 to 2024 side by side and honestly say how long this wine will delight you.
He arrived in Franschhoek with a refrigerator and turned it into the most important wine business in the new South Africa. Marc Kent initially rejected the name "Chocolate Block" before a weak vintage changed his mind. A portrait of borrowed money, uprooted vines and a winemaker who today releases every assemblage from the Douro.
Classic, coffee, or new wave: three very different Pinotage styles – from elegant aged wines and the accidentally created coffee style of Diemersfontein, to the fresh, natural interpretations of young winemakers.
How a chemist in Stellenbosch crossbred Pinot Noir and Cinsault in 1924, the seedlings almost ran wild – and yet it became South Africa's most famous grape variety: Pinotage.
Every September, the new vintages from top producers arrive at the Cape, followed shortly thereafter by critics' ratings. Those who act quickly secure wines of which there are often only a few thousand bottles. What the term "En Primeur" means, why it works differently in South Africa than in its home region of Bordeaux, and how you can reserve your bottles with us.
In South Africa, September 24th is officially called Heritage Day. Unofficially, it's called Braai Day. The history of a country that has searched for common ground lies between these two names.
