Age-worthiness is a particularly beloved topic of wine geeks.It has been said that Sauvignon Blanc for instance is not age-worthy on the basis that as it gets older it simply shows more of what it showed at a primary stage – more herbaceousness, more asparagus, more tinned peas. Cabernet Sauvignon, on the other hand, is particularly noted for its keeping qualities, able to emerge more complex after sometimes decades in bottle.

10 years on from vintage is typically a good measure of whether a wine is maturing with benefit, at its peak or past it. I’ve had occasion to look at a few wines from the 2001 vintage so far this year and although modern-era South African wines do not have a great reputation for their maturation potential, I’ve generally been impressed.