Highlights: Lukas van Loggerenberg Geronimo Cinsault 2021 Western Cape, South Africa

Cinsault is a grape variety for today, for warmer climates. It has big berries, big bunches, and it’s pretty much bomb proof. It fell out of favour for lack of colour and concentration, but these days we’ve grown up and we no longer measure the merit of wines by their depth of colour or intensity. We are able to understand elegance, subtlety and the charm of lighter-coloured red wines. Here’s a good one. Notes by Jamie Goode (JG) and Treve Ring (TR)

Lukas van Loggerenberg Geronimo Cinsault 2021 Western Cape, South Africa
12.5% alcohol. This is one of South Africa’s very best Cinsaults, in my opinion. It’s a vivid cherry red in colour, showing sweet cherry and raspberry fruit with some lovely soft strawberry mid-palate, and nice texture. Massive drinkability here with a hint of peppery bite and some crunchy tannins right in the background, which make this a really well balanced lighter red with purpose, drive and enough structure to hold the interest. Pure, perfumed, delicious. 94/100 (JG)

Primarily from 1960s planted Stellenbosch fruit, with a portion from South Africa’s second oldest vineyard, in Franschhoek, this haunting Cinsault spent 10 months in older wood. Scrubby fynbos herbs permeate this lighter red, with ample white pepper seasoning wild plum, raspberry, candle wax, all lit with crunchy acidity and framed with finely sticky tannins through the perfumed and saline finish. Lovely finesse and drinkability here. 93/100 (TR)

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