Beyerskloof Tasting Room, Stellenbosch

WHAT WERE the odds! Okay, so the 2019 wasn’t quite the maiden vintage of Beyerskloof’s Eerste Ry Cab – the 2018 and 2019 were released together. Nevertheless, like a front row forward earning his Springbok blazer, the achievement of being the most highly rated Cabernet Sauvignon in the 2024 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide ahead of Cabs that have excelled on the world stage in 2023 – including some with great track records – is rather impressive for a label nobody had heard about a year before. Beyerskloof has been a top producer for some time, yes, but with a Pinotage pedigree. No doubt some of the others in the Stellenbosch Cabernet Collective felt a little bruised after the tackle.

‘Eerste Ry’ tanslates as ‘First Row’, as in the first single-varietal Cabernet Sauvignon in the Beyerskloof portfolio, from the first vineyard planted on the estate, “paying homage to where it all started” – before becoming a Pinotage specialist. Whether or not they change the sign at the estate, ‘The Home of Pinotage’ has undergone various developments and changes of late which visitors to the tasting room can enjoy. What next from the team led by father and son Beyers and Anri Truter? A Cap Classique bubbly champ perhaps?

BEYERSKLOOF EERSTE RY CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2019
WO Stellenbosch. Vines 31 years old. Grapes picked at optimum ripeness. Open fermenters. Wine left on the skins for between five and eight days – cap punched every two hours. Malolactic fermentation in stainless-steel tanks followed by 24 months in new French oak barrels.
ALC 13.7 | RS 3.0 | TA 5.5 | pH 3.7
Winemakers’ Tasting Notes: Deep, dark red colour. On the nose: upfront dark fruit/cassis compliments spicy cedar oak aromas from the oak and hints of pencil shavings. Intense dark fruit; cassis upon entry with delicate spice and savoury aromas from new oak. Hints of dark chocolate add to a long, smooth finish. Will develop well for 10 years or longer.
Pairing Suggestions: Goes well with matured sirloin or rump steaks, or an oxtail potjie.
R550pb ex-cellar.