The new releases from Radford Dale, including Elgin and Vinum bottlings from 2025
Website: https://www.radforddale.com/
I have been following the wines of Radford Dale with some interest over the last three years. The Vinum series represents amazing quality for the price, and then there is the estate range, which continues to morph and perform at the highest level. And the Radford Dale Elgin Estate is really finding its feet: this was the Elgin Ridge property that Brian and Marion Smith established, farming biodynamically, and making some excellent wines. When it came time for them to sell, Radford Dale was a great choice, and they have been taking an already excellent vineyard and moulding it in their preferred direction.
With the 2025 wines that I tried here, I thought they were a real step up. Partly this is evolution; partly this is an excellent vintage.
The big change here has been the arrival of a new winemaker, Petroné Thomas. She joined Radford Dale in 2021, and she was promoted from assistant winemaker to winemaker in 2024. Then following the departure of Jacques de Klerk later in 2024, she took responsibility for the Elgin wines too. Petroné has experience in Burgundy and Beaujolais, and the latter has been very interesting considering the emphasis on Gamay that Radford Dale have.
Tom Prior of Raford Dale gives the following updates:
Elgin Estate
‘The vineyards have really come on. We took our first crop in 2026 of the young vines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir planted in 2022. A little Gamay also (900 litres), which we plan to bottle and which will see the ‘Antidote’ name return. It’s showing a darker fruit to the Polkadraai vineyard, which is exciting. A Beaujolais clone brought into the nursery is planned for planting soon also.’
‘The Cabernet Franc has been the big surprise story for us at Elgin, but with just 0.4ha in the ground currently. The team have been preparing the two Semillon vineyards to regraft over to Cabernet Franc – the neighbouring Semillon vineyard, also planted in 2016, and the high-density block. The Semillon 2025 is the final release.’
‘For the Pinot Noir, the big focus has been on planting our preferred clone of 115, which formed the base of the past Freedom bottlings (when sourced from a leased vineyard). The plantings inherited from Brian and Marion Smith are predominantly 777.’
‘We also welcomed a beautiful oak fermenter from Klaus Pauscha for harvest 2026, who also manufacture the foudré we have gradually acquired for the Stellenbosch winery. This will help us in refining the Pinot Noir at Elgin, the fermentation temperatures and so on. We’ve worked with plastic tubs to date. Another big upgrade to the cellar has been the cooling, which may allow us to experiment with partial malo on the Chardonnay. The big challenge ahead is to gear the cellar up for red wine production and our use of whole-berries, as the young vines start to ramp up tonnage.’
‘We have also planted Chenin Blanc and there is a cool steep faced and terraced slope we will plant another Chenin Blanc plot on, which we plan to train as a bush vine. The eventual estate range will see varietal bottlings of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Cabernet Franc.’
Radford Dale Terroir
‘No Frankenstein or Renaissance in 2024. The 2024 crop was lovely but not yielding the directness we look for in these two wines, so the fruit went into the Vinum 24 bottlings. As a result, we have sent on the 2025s. This range used to form some 10 wines in all. The Syrah bottlings were discontinued with last releases of Nudity in 2020 and Stellenbosch Syrah in 2021, as was Black Rock (Swartland) in 2020. The vines sourcing the Chardonnay and Grenache redirected as Vinum bottlings.’
Radford Dale Vinum
‘Grenache ’25. This is the last bottling with the inclusion of the older Stellenbosch Mountain block. The younger Helderberg site is really coming on, and we reckon it will make for an interesting wine solo.’
‘Gamay ’25. The vines are now 8 and 7 years old in 2025. Petroné completed a harvest at Chateau de la Chaize in Brouilly in 2024, so there are small refinements in the Vinum ’25 release. We have a young plot on the Helderberg we should take a crop of in 2027. This will be great news as we really cannot make enough of this wine currently.’
‘Pinot Noir ’25. This and the Gamay remain the rarest of the Vinum bottlings, owing to lack of supply. Physically in the Gamay and for the Pinot, as it’s just so difficult to source fruit to produce at this price tier. They are still the highest costing wines to produce, but we are fortunate enough to supplement with the Chenin Blanc, with so much great material to work with there and our largest volume in the range relatively. As a result, we can keep these price aligned.’
Current releases
Radford Dale Estate Freedom Pinot Noir 2025 Elgin, South Africa
13% alcohol. This is textural and elegant. There’s a core of sweet strawberry and cherry fruit with a real smoothness, but there’s also some bright cranberry and a bit of grip bookending the sweet fruit really nicely. Lovely finesse and purity here. A light, elegant style with just a little grunt. Pinot crossed with elegant Nebbiolo in terms of style. Really impressive, and probably the best Elgin Pinot Noir I’ve had. 94/100
Radford Dale Frankenstein Pinotage 2025 Stellenbosch, South Africa
12.5% alcohol. This isn’t all that Pinotage like, which is not a terrible thing. It’s a sleek, elegant red with black cherry and blackberry fruit, a bit of spicy grunt, and then some herbs and sour cherries on the finish. There’s a lot to like here: flesh, sweet fruit, spicy, some sourness and plenty of elegance. Finishes with a touch of bitterness, reminding us that this is Pinotage, in a subtle way. 93/100
Radford Dale Higher Purpose Cabernet Franc 2025 Elgin, South Africa
13.5% alcohol. Organic. This has beautiful floral aromatics with crushed rock and chalk, giving away its Cabernet Franc identity immediately. It’s so fresh with red cherries and a touch of raspberry. The palate is fresh, elegant, supple and has some crunch to the cherry and raspberry fruit. It’s cool-climate Cabernet Franc that just works so well. Vital, incisive and delicious, with more than a hint of seriousness. This one is worth seeking out. 95/100
Radford Dale Touchstone Chardonnay 2025 Elgin, South Africa
13% alcohol. Beautiful aromatics here with toast, spice, roasted almond, pear and peach. It’s harmonious and refined. The palate shows peach and spice with some bold citrus fruit, covering a wide dynamic range: it’s not pinched and taut, but has plenty of depth, without sacrificing the freshness. Bold and intense, but beautifully integrated flavours: a really serious South African Chardonnay. 94/100
Radford Dale Renaissance Chenin Blanc 2025 Stellenbosch, South Africa
12.5% alcohol. This has lovely intensity. There’s bright, crystalline citrus fruit, with some spicy mineral intensity and then some honey and nut complexity. So expressive with power combined with elegance, finishing fresh with bright acidity. There’s a touch of the Loire in this wine (freshness and restraint, but also mineral intensity), as well as some South African richness. It’s a really beautiful wine. 95/100
Radford Dale Revelation Semillon 2025 Elgin, South Africa
13% alcohol. Beautifully complex with a lovely hint of green as well as textured citrus fruit and a touch of canteloup melon. This has a touch of grapefruit, and some stony, mineral detail. There’s a hint of cucumber and celery, too. Such lovely harmony, combined with a bit of tension. A really serious wine with beautiful purity and finesse. 94/100
Vinum Pinotage 2025 Coastal Region, South Africa
12% alcohol. This is supple, juicy, bright and also plush. Sweet raspberry and cherry fruit with nice texture to the herb-tinged berry fruits. This is fruity and has lovely approachability, with soft tannins and just a hint of bitterness adding a foil to the sweet fruit. Really fresh and expressive, and such fun, combined with a bit of seriousness. 92/100
Vinum Gamay Noir 2025 Stellenbosch, South Africa
13% alcohol. Sweet spicy aromatic strawberry fruit on the nose with hints of clay, chalk and warm spiciness. The palate is fresh, supple, rounded but also spicy and quite mineral. Beautiful elegance and tension here, but also some mid-palate richness. This is beautiful. Really impressive. 94/100
Vinum Grenache 2025 Stellenbosch, South Africa
13.5% alcohol. This is really delicious, with sweet, supple red cherry and red currant fruit, showing some silkiness but also nice texture to the fruit. There’s a bit of structure, but the overall impression is one of real elegance, with a hint of almond and fennel. Massive drinkability here. Just so good. 94/100
Vinum Pinot Noir 2025 Cape Coast, South Africa
12% alcohol. This is supple and delicious with sweet ripe cherry and raspberry fruit, with a bit of cranberry crunch. There’s a finesse to this wine, and an ease, too. It doesn’t seem at all forced. Early picking has worked well here, with just a hint of green that works well with the ripe, supple fruit, and there’s no oak to be found. Just lovely. 93/100
Vinum Chardonnay 2025 Stellenbosch, South Africa
12.5% alcohol. There’s an innate richness to this wine with peach and ripe pear fruit, as well as some spicy detail. Hints of aniseed and subtle toast in the mix. Really rich and refined with nice detail. This is very good. 93/100
Vinum Chenin Blanc 2025 Stellenbosch, South Africa
12.5% alcohol. This is fruit-driven and textured with pear and green apple fruit, showing some brightness allied to depth. Fruity and expressive with nice weight of fruit. 91/100
Notes from last year’s release
Radford Dale Vinum Chenin Blanc 2024 Stellenbosch, South Africa
12.5% alcohol. This is concentrated and has lots of flavour, but it’s also a fresh wine with a nice salty twist to the lively lemon and pear fruit, as well as a slight touch of baked apple. There’s a really nice fresh, floral, mandarin edge to the nose that’s quite inviting, and it finishes with a nice acid flourish. A brilliantly poised example of Chenin Blanc. 93/100
Radford Dale Vinum Chardonnay 2024 Stellenbosch, South Africa
12% alcohol. This is layered and more complex than you’d expect at this price point, with crystalline citrus fruit as well as some pear and peach. Fresh with nice acidity, but it’s not at all harsh. Lovely textural character with some appley detail adding interest and depth. 93/100
Radford Dale Vinum Grenache 2024 Stellenbosch, South Africa
13.5% alcohol. This is bright, supple and fresh with raspberry and strawberry fruit. It’s juicy, pure and vivid with an appealing green hint to the fruit. Tending towards elegance, but with a bit of grip and nice density of fruit. Very stylish, showing off the elegant, understated side of this variety. 93/100
Radford Dale Vinum Gamay Noir 2024 Stellenbosch, South Africa
13% alcohol. This is bright, juicy and vibrant, with cherry and raspberry fruit. Floral with some nice green notes, showing vitality and intensity. This really captures Gamay well, with vibrant berry fruits plus some appealing greenness, and a juicy brightness. Stony and mineral, too. 93/100
Radford Dale Vinum Pinotage 2024 Coastal Region, South Africa
13.5% alcohol. This is ripe and sweetly fruited with soft strawberry as well as a bit of raspberry crunch here. So textured and interesting with lovely sweet fruit backed up with a bit of spicy framing and some structure. This is delicious and massively drinkable, and doesn’t taste much like Pinotage of old, which is a good thing. 93/100
Radford Dale Vinum Pinot Noir 2024 Cape Coast, South Africa
13% alcohol. This is bright and sweetly fruited with ripe cherries and some red berry notes. There’s a good volume here with a core of sweet fruit. Ripe, rich and quite tasty, with lots of sweet fruit in the mix. 91/100
Radford Dale Renaissance Chenin Blanc 2023 Stellenbosch, South Africa
12.5% alcohol. This is a complex, richly textural expression of Chenin Blanc with pear, apple, peach and apricot notes, but it’s not blowsy. Very expressive with nice weight. Bold, rich fruit on the palate with a wide dynamic range, hitting the rich bass but also with good mid and enough treble. Very fine. 95/100
Radford Dale Touchstone Chardonnay 2024 Elgin, South Africa
12.5% alcohol. Organic. Beautiful aromatics with broad pear and peach fruit as well as some grapefruit and a hint of nice parmesan and salt. The palate shows bitter lemon and pear fruit with a saline twist and some spicy framing. It’s a really expressive wine with lots of fruit and some apple notes accompanying the citrus. Lovely flavour dynamics here. There’s even a hint of tequila. So interesting. 94/100
Radford Dale Revelation Semillon 2024 Elgin, South Africa
12.5% alcohol. Organic. This is so distinctive: it’s bright and fresh with pear and lemon fruit, with nice density and some grapefruit pith. There’s depth but it stays very focused, and the crystalline fruit is supported with really good acidity. There’s a concentration of flavour here as well as freshness and acidity. Lovely wine. 94/100
Radford Dale Frankenstein Pinotage 2023 Stellenbosch, South Africa
12% alcohol. This is a really interesting interpretation of Pinotage. There’s some density to the fruit here, with raspberries and cherries as well as a hint of damson, with some earthy hints, a twist of green, and some grippy structure. There’s a Pinotage-like sweet and sour character, with herbs and ripe sweet fruit, but overall this is quite focused, fruit-driven and deliciousness, with just a hint of sourness and bitterness on the finish. Herbs, cherries, plums and some liquorice notes. 92/100
Radford Dale Higher Purpose Cabernet Franc 2024 Elgin, South Africa
13.5% alcohol. This is really bright, vivid and focused with brisk cherry and raspberry fruit as well as some herbal hints and a fine spiciness, as well as some sweet acidity. There’s a chalky note in the background that’s really appealing, and typical of the variety. This is supple and quite elegant with nice precision. Not a big, heavy wine, but one that shows nice poise. 94/100
Radford Dale Freedom Pinot Noir 2024 Elgin, South Africa
This Pinot is supple and delicately structured with sweet cherry and raspberry fruit with a hint of aniseed and some dried herb notes. It’s tending to elegance and shows nice precision, with a sweet, smooth core of fruit and then a touch of dustiness and a bit of structure. 94/100
