PLATTER RESULTS 2023 GUIDE
Beaumont Family Wines Chenin Blanc 2022 (89 pts) / 4 stars
Unwooded, for drinking earlier than its sibling, 2022’s apple & pear styling vibrates with freshness, packs a lot of interest into its svelte (12.5% alcohol). Has purity, focus.
Beaumont Family Wines Hope Marguerite 2021 (94 pts) / 4.5 stars
Cape benchmark chenin, from low-yield single-vineyard planted 1974-1978. No change in the making, wild ferment, 10 months older French barrels, nor the result. 2021 shows chenin’s capability in the right hands: barley sugar & baked apple/melon preserve perfume & flavours, a seductive richness despite its sleekness. Vibrantly fresh, built to age, like 2020 (5 stars, 96 pts).
Beaumont Family Wines New Baby 2021 (95 pts) / 5 stars
Inspired blend: chenin leads in 2021, with sauvignon, colombard & semillon, all from low-crop vines; wild ferment, 11 months in seasoned French oak. Layered complexity with vivid fruit tightly held, lemon/lime ending. Power packed despite modest 12.5% alcohol. Has an illustrious future, especially in 1.5L.
Beaumont Family Wines Raoul's Red Blend 2021 (94 pts) / 4.5 stars
Honours the late Raoul Beaumont, winemaker Sebastian’s father. 2021 mainly syrah with grenache, dabs cab franc & mourvèdre, as sleek as other reds (13% alcohol) without sacrificing character. Dark toned, with peppery spice & scrub from 16 months oaking, the piquant fruit an underpin but takes charge on the palate, succulent & long. Also-tasted 2020 (93 pts), similar blend, oaking & fruit profile. Lovely harmony.
Beaumont Family Wines Dangerfield Syrah 2019 (94 pts) / 4.5 stars
Always gets it right, muscles yet elegance, & 2019 also delivers on the syrah attributes, peppery spice, hedgerow fruit, dried scrub. Oaking (18 months barriques, 25% new) shows as a firm backbone but already accessible with the right food. A distinguished future. Also in 1.5L.
Beaumont Family Wines Jackals River Pinotage 2020 (89 pts) / 4 stars
Cool-climate style with piquant fruit, elegance & finesse. Enough tannin structure after 18 months barriques, quarter new, to keep 2020 in prime condition for the future, but already drinking well. Also-tasted 2019, same winemaking regime, structurally similar, attractive smoky note in the perfume, tannins mellower after the extra year.
Beaumont Family Wines Far Side Mourvèdre 2019 (94 pts) / 4.5 stars
Named for winemaker’s favourite surf break. Remaining true to house style, 2019 is curvaceous, with juicy dark fruit, enough seamed tannin for ageing, but already accessible & delicious. Same sleek lines as other reds, deep muscle tone reflecting its latent power.
Beaumont Family Wines Vitruvian 2017 (95 pts) / 5 stars
Eclectic flagship made only in best vintages, 40% mourvèdre in 2017 co-fermented with cab franc, pinotage, tinta & petit verdot, beautifully unified after 2 years in French oak, 25% new. Richer yet also more graceful than 2016 (4.5 stars, 94 pts). In 1.5, 3 & 5L too.
Beaumont Family Wines Goutte d’Or 2021 (93 pts) / 4.5 stars
Occasionally released Noble Late Harvest chenin, last was 2017 (4 stars, 89 pts). Older barrels, year, but 2021’s fruit is undimmed, leaps out the glass: intense pineapple, its racy acidity offsetting the sweetness; coiled, vibrates with tension. Very long life ahead. More in the style of 2016 (92 pts), just taken a step further. 375 ml.
Beaumont Family Wines Cape Vintage Foot Stomped 2019 (88 pts) / 4 stars
‘Port’ from a various varieties, 2019 preview spent 24 months in 2 old barriques (that’s all that was made), is sweet as befits the style, fortified to 18% alcohol. Almost treacle richness in scent & flavour, rescued by a lifting bite of alcohol, but more commercial than 2018 (4.5 stars, 91 pts). In 375 ml.
