Description
Even better than the 2017 release – and that’s saying a lot – this is one of my wines of the year. Aged in new French oak, it's a superb, beautifully delineated blend of Simonsberg Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot, which has replaced the Merlot and Cabernet Franc of old. Graphite, green herb and coffee bean oak aromas segue into a palate with fine-grained tannins, fresh acidity and haunting balance. 2025-35.
98/100 Tim Atkin MW – South Africa Report 2021
The 2019 Thelema Rabelais is another incredibly refined creation being a blend of 90% Simonsberg Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot. Since the 2015 vintage, this flagship wine has shifted into a sixth gear and is now hitting some exceptionally high quality notes. Always classical and composed, the aromatics boast notes of perfumed violets, dried herbs, black cherry and seductive hints of crème de cassis with undertones of sweet cedar wood spice, brûléed coffee beans, brown toast and some dusty mineral strands of crushed slate and graphite. The palate is silky soft, predictably sleek and polished and displays impressive textural elegance with fine filigree tannins, fresh acids, subtle complex layers of black currant, cherry cola, capsicum and breakfast espresso. This is another head-turning, eye-opening wine that displays wonderful balance and harmony. Fabulously pure, precise and regal on so many levels. Simply outstanding. Drink from 2024 to 2040+.
97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW
