Boplaas gets top marks in Tim Atkin’s 2019 SA Wine Report

Wines from Boplaas Family Vineyards have again received top ratings by acclaimed UK Master of Wine Tim Atkin, including four achieving more than 90/100 in his latest special annual report on South African wine. The champion wine and port producer’s highest scorer was the Cape Vintage Reserve 2017, one of only 160 wines to receive 95 points or more.

The Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve Port 2009 received 94 points. The Boplaas Gamka Red 2017, a red blend of Portuguese varieties, and the Boplaas Cape Tawny NV both received 92 while the Boplaas Touriga Nacional Family Reserve 2016 scored 90 points.

Atkin’s 2019 South Africa Special Report is in its 8th edition and is highly regarded for the span of wines reviewed. Atkin is also an influential commentator in a market that is one of the biggest for South African producers. 

Boplaas port is no stranger to this much-anticipated assessment with the Cape Vintage Reserve 2016 rating 94 last year. The winery only releases the benchmark Cape Vintage Reserve ports during exceptional vintages with the latest being the 2017.

The wines are crafted from Portuguese varieties Tinta Barocca, Touriga Nacional, Souzao and Touriga Franca, using only the finest fruit of the vintage, vinified according to traditional techniques and intended for decades of enjoyment.

Demonstrating its excellence over time, one example is the Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve 2009, which won Veritas Double Gold in 2009 and five-star rating in the 2012 edition of the highly regarded Platter’s South African Wine Guide.

Boplaas Cape Tawny NV

The winemaker selects the finest Tinta Barocca and Touriga Nacional from specific low-yielding vineyards to craft an inky black wine that is then barrel-matured for a decade or more. The fruit is hand harvested at optimum ripeness; fermented and fortified in small lagars; barrel-matured in large seasoned oak barrels for a minimum of eight years; and, blended to achieve the distinctive colour and flavour profile of a fine Boplaas Cape Tawny.

The fiery red-brown, tawny-coloured wine shows flecks of olive green on the rim. The bouquet unfurls with walnut, roasted almond, honey, caramel, a melange of spices, citrus, warming brandy and charred oak notes that typify tawny. It has a lusciously smooth, mouth-watering palate of brandied fruits, roasted nuts, honey, caramel toffee, warm spices and hints of citrus that tantalize the taste buds long after the first sip.

Boplaas Gamka Red 2017

The Gamka was named after the local river which the Khoisan compared to a roaring lion when in flood.  It has brought life to the arid Klein Karoo for centuries and has been a lifeline to the Nel family of Boplaas since they settled here in the mid-1800s. The wine itself is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barocca, Souzao and Shiraz.

Boplaas Touriga Nacional Family Reserve 2016

The wine hails from a variety regarded by many in Portugal as that country’s premier grape cultivar and is a mainstay of many fine ports too. The hardy, yet shy-bearing vine allows for the crafting of exceptional, aromatically expressive and age-worthy wines and is a passion at Boplaas.

Boplaas’s award-winning wines are available from the cellar door in Calitzdorp; its tasting room at Klipheuwel in Klein Brak on the Garden Route; and, from discerning fine wine retailers nationally.