Lady May, Glenelly’s flagship red named in honour of the estate’s founder May de Lencquesaing, is always an elegant expression of the Simonsberg, but the 2025 vintage ascends to another level of finesse. While 2025 was cellarmaster Dirk van Zyl’s third harvest at the property, it is the first vintage of his Lady May we are offering to members (his debut 2023 will not be released until 2028), and it’s a profound triumph. Opening with a fine perfume of cool cassis, tobacco leaf and cedar, there is intense and pure blackcurrant and plum fruit on the palate with a dry, graphite minerality, and long, beautifully composed tannins. The structure is significant but there is a weightlessness to how the tannins present themselves – the combined effect of the vintage itself and the gentle refinements Dirk is bringing into the cellar, namely fermenting at cooler temperatures and pulling back from extraction. A truly beautiful wine; pure classicism and gravitas reign here. The blend of 67% cabernet sauvignon, 18% cabernet franc, and 15% merlot was finalised in early April 2026 – after the individual varieties had matured for a year in French oak barrels (30% new). The second year of the maturation is now underway in barrel (56%) and foudre (44%); the introduction of the foudre to the ageing regime designed to retain the youth and purity of the fruit. Bottling will take place in April/May 2027. Drink from 2032 to 2050. 14%
