THE 2021 vintage of the flagship Cab from Kleine Zalze in Stellenbosch received such rave reviews in the first half of 2026 that the ‘sold out' signs went up ahead of schedule – just days after it excelled at the Investec Trophy Wine Show in Paarl, South Africa's most prestigious wine competition. At the time of writing, the 2020 vintage of the Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon could still be bought from the cellar, but not the younger vintage 2021 – although there were still some bottles available from the show's online retail partner, Port2Port, at R510pb.
A gold medal and score of 97/100 at the Trophy Wine Show followed wins in London at the International Wine Challenge (trophy) and at the Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters (gold medal). The KZ Reserve Cabernet has an impressive track record over the past 10 years – one of the country's benchmark Cabs.
The most highly rated SA Cabernet Sauvignons as reviewed by top panels in 2026 to date are as follows – excluding museum-class ratings:
• Capensis Silene 2024
• Delaire Graff Estate 2022
• Kleine Zalze Family Reserve 2021
• Le Riche Reserve 2022
• Miles Mossop Sam 2020
• Stark-Condé Oude Nektar 2023
• Tokara Simonsberg 2022
• Warwick Blue Lady 2022
• Zevenwacht Estate 2022
For all the top SA wine ratings in 2026/25, click here, and for all SA wines with the best track records over the past 10 years, click here.