No less than four wines from Boplaas Family Vineyards have been rated among the best of the best, with scores of 90/100 and above, by globally influential Master of Wine Tim Atkin. Every year, Atkin tours the country to compile one of the most comprehensive tastings of South African wines for his authoritative special report.
Topping the charts, the Boplaas Cape Tawny Single Harvest Colheita 2005 received 96/100 and overall Fortified Wine of the Year, with only 195 wines receiving 95 points or more. The Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve 2020 received 94 points, the Boplaas Gamka Branca 2020 received 91 points and the Boplaas Gamka Red received 90 points.
Atkin singled out these wines from a total of 2 282 wines from 433 wineries he tasted and scored.
The Colheita: a wine with stature
This wine was the fifth single harvest Tawny to be released by Boplaas, and one that received five stars in the 2021 edition of Platter’s South African wine guide. The port spent 16 years in barrels and only 3 500 bottles were produced. The finest Tinta Barocca and Touriga Nacional were selected from low yielding vineyards to craft an inky black wine, which was the barrel matured for 16 years. All the fruit was hand harvested at optimal ripeness, fermented and fortified in small lagars, barrel matured in large, seasoned oak barrels, and blended meticulously to achieve a distinctive colour and flavour.
The fiery red brown wine has flecks of olive green on the rim. Its bouquet unfurls with notes of walnut, roast almond, butterscotch, a melange of spices, citrus, warming brandy and charred oak.
The Cape Vintage Reserve: authentically Boplaas
The 2020 vintage continues the Nel family heritage of crafting the very finest Cape fortifieds. Utilising Portuguese varieties and traditional vinification with a dedication to style, a wine was created that will offer decades of enjoyment.
It was produced from the Portuguese varieties Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barocca and Souzão.
The Gamka Branca: a lion of a wine
The indigenous people of the region named the river, the Gamka or “lion”. When in flood, this usually placid river, literally roars through ravines. It is this magnificence that is captured in the wine.
The wine is made from a blend of Chardonnay, Verdelho, Viognier and Grenache Blanc cultivars, which are then aged in older oak barrels.
Gamka Red: A wine that leads the way
The 2020 vintage continues the course set by the trailblazing vintages that showcase the very best of the Cape’s rare Portuguese varietals in a wine with class, elegance and longevity.
These award-winning wines are all exclusively available from Boplaas’s tasting rooms in Calitzdorp, at Klipheuwel Farm in Little Brak and the Old Nick Village in Plettenberg Bay.