‘It could be like 1982 in Bordeaux. One of the stars of the century.’
Lady May-Eliane de Lencquesaing of Glenelly
Whether or not 2025 is the vintage of a century, I am not qualified to say, whereas 101-year-old owner of Stellenbosch’s Glenelly Estate and Bordeaux’s great matriarch, Madame May de Lencquesaing, arguably is! But having now tasted the wines in our selection extensively in both February and July of this year, I can say that it is a remarkable vintage, and I know that the wines are going to bring much joy and reward in the years to come.
We therefore wanted to give members the chance to buy early, in the formats of their choice (this varies by producer), at true en primeur prices. This is not The Wine Society introducing another en primeur to our annual programme: it is us taking an opportunity that was frankly too good for us to miss. This might happen a couple of times a decade in future; it depends entirely on the vintage.
The wines
Order by midday on Monday 17th August
Mixed cases
We are delighted to bring you our first-ever Stellenbosch en primeur campaign and hope you enjoy exploring the wines. If you are unsure of where to start, head for our three mixed cases.
Before the 2025 harvest had finished in Stellenbosch, it was clear we were on to something special, even if celebrating a vintage before the last fruit is safely in is somewhat frowned upon by growers…
I was in the country (actually doing harvest in the neighbouring Swartland region) and the excitement was palpable as beautifully healthy, perfectly ripe fruit – with great pHs and natural acidity, high extracts and high colour intensity – was received at cellars up and down the Western Cape. The conditions had been ‘fairytale,’ across the board, to quote South African industry body VinPro, not an organisation known for its hyperbole, but for its technical expertise in viticulture and in agricultural economics.
When I initially tasted the wines from barrel in February, this was the first time producers had shown anyone their 2025s (unlike in Bordeaux, en primeur tastings are not the norm). Their willingness for me to taste the wines is testament to the trust and respect they have for The Wine Society.
All 12 of the producers in this selection either have a long-standing relationship with The Society, or I have worked with them throughout my career, and the 20 wines represent my concise pick of Stellenbosch’s finest Bordeaux-style blends and varietal cabernet sauvignons (and one cabernet franc from Warwick Estate).
In Stellenbosch, two wines carry a power and authority akin to a First Growth’s grand vin, backed up with over five decades of track record: Kanonkop Paul Sauer and Meerlust Rubicon. Both wines are featured here, alongside new icons established in the 2000s, including (of course) Glenelly Lady May. As well as the flagship wines of Stellenbosch’s top producers, there is a range of compelling, incredible-value ‘second wines,’ which can easily be cellared for over a decade but cost a fraction of the price of their more prestigious siblings.
We are also excited to announce a global exclusive inaugural release in collaboration with Boekenhoutskloof’s historic Helderberg Winery: a 2025 cabernet sauvignon that I blended with the team in mid-July.
Read on for a full vintage summary and to view the recording of the online event we held live from Stellenbosch last month, featuring technical director at Boekenhoutskloof Marc Kent, Kanonkop’s viticulturist Michael Malherbe, and Meerlust’s cellarmaster Wim Truter, where we dig into every aspect of the 2025 season.
The most exciting characteristic of the vintage for me is the utter finesse of the tannin profiles and the resulting silky mouthfeel. There is a seamlessness and coherence about the wines which make them quite irresistible. That is not to say there isn’t significant structure; there is, but there are no rough edges to these tannins; they glide over the palate, carrying striking fruit density and real vibrancy.
Parallels with recent excellent Stellenbosch vintages abound, with the freshness and focus of the 2025s evoking 2017 and 2021, but with their greater fruit concentration inviting comparisons to 2015 and 2024. The ageing potential of the wines is great, no doubt, and the wines will need time to unfold and yield their true potential.
We are delighted to bring you our first-ever Stellenbosch en primeur campaign and hope you enjoy exploring the wines. If you are unsure of where to start, head for our three mixed cases.
The run-up to the 2025 harvest, season by season in Stellenbosch
Autumn to winter
Autumn 2024 in Stellenbosch started dry, warm and windy, with the warmth continuing well into June and winter temperatures not arriving with any conviction until the end of that month. The defining character of this Stellenbosch winter was not its delayed start, however, but the record-high rainfall (almost 250mm) in July.
Winter to spring
A cool August and moderate September followed, leading to a later bud burst. Conditions during flowering were not too windy (in contrast to 2024), but strong winds from mid-October to mid-November did lead to poorer fruit set in some vineyards. After the significant rainfall of July, Stellenbosch also had good rains in October, November, and December, maintaining groundwater levels (which were better than the previous season) as well as dam levels.
Andrea Mullineux, whose Leeu Passant cabernet sauvignon comes from an organically farmed estate on Stellenbosch’s Helderberg Mountain, explained that these ‘cool, regular rains [in combination with the consistently warm weather] meant amazing canopies which grew evenly.’ She was quick to emphasise that despite this even growth (and even ripening), canopy management was really important. The vegetative vigour prompted by the rains led to a busy spring season in the vines, controlling the canopies and mitigating the mildew risk.
Summer
From December 2024 to March 2025, the total number of days in Stellenbosch with temperatures above 35°C was around half that of the previous season, with the single heatwave arriving on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The highest temperatures in January – a critical month for the quality of the imminent harvest – were 2°C cooler than average and up to 3°C cooler than 2024.
This absence of heat waves played an important role in the excellent balance – of fruit concentration, tannins, and acidity – we are already seeing in the young wines of the vintage.
Harvest
While the start of harvest in Stellenbosch was about two weeks later than in 2024, following the later bud burst, the mid- and late-ripening grape varieties (including the red Bordeaux varieties) were typically harvested in line with average timing. Harvest unfolded without unwanted weather-induced interruptions, with conditions dry and mild throughout, sustaining healthy, clean fruit.
It was one of those effortless vintages where ‘everything worked; everything ripened in the right order,’ as Taaibosch’s cellarmaster Schalk Willem Joubert said.
Sources: VinPro, producer visits