Glenelly Lady May Red by Chateau Pichon Lalande

This is the vintage that broke the dreaded drought period, and this lady comes out singing in the much-needed rain. The Glenelly 2019 Stellenbosch Lady May is the estate's top wine. It represents a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Lady May is generally 70% to 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, but that number comes down in 2019, as the team looked for optimal ripeness. Because of the relatively cooler conditions, and the fact that light radiation stays high in South Africa after veraison, this wine is quite rich and vertical in intensity with licorice-like flavors. In fact, the winemaking team sought to tone it down a bit by reducing some of the new oak. The results are focused and sharp, and what Lady May shows in this vintage is a pretty sense of freshness with elegantly chalky tannins.

A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2019 is a wine that bears the hallmarks of a cooler vintage. It spent only 12 months in oak, rather than the usual 24, and although it is undeniably structurally assertive – you notice the tannins and the acidity as much as you feel the fruit – it also has tension and spiciness (pepper and Thai basil) alongside its cool blue and black fruit. It will need a little time to come into better focus however. A slightly idiosyncratic Lady May, but with definite appeal.

The 2019 Lady May is comprised of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, aged in 300-liter French oak, 40% new, for 12 months, blended before another 12 months in 75% new oak. It has quite a potent cassis and peppermint scented bouquet, just a touch of licorice coming through with aeration - certainly more towards the more opulent style of a Stellenbosch Bordeaux blend. The palate is very smooth on the entry, with succulent tannins imparting more flashiness than previous vintages. Rounded in texture and lightly spiced with touches of white pepper and clove, plenty of richness and structure is loaded onto the back end with a graphite-infused aftertaste. It will require three to four years in bottle. Very fine.