Van Loggerenberg Breton Cabernet Franc, Stellenbosch 2025

Lukas van Loggerenberg's love of Loire cabernet franc is clear to see in his Breton, the old word for the variety in the Loire. Sourced from two excellent Stellenbosch sites farmed, respectively, by Pierre Winshaw, next door to Meerlust in the Eerste River Valley (comprising 70%), and Danie Carinus in the Polkadraai Hills (30%), this has a spicy perfume, with something like a kick of jalapeno pepper, combined with redcurrants and just-ripe red cherries as well as tomato leaf. As Lukas said, ‘2025 was Stellenbosch’s year for Bordeaux varieties,’ with the cooler season allowing for a longer hang time and more development of flavour complexity, and this is just a fantastic rendition of Breton. There is a generosity to the fruit concentration, balanced with brisk, revitalising acidity. The tannins bear the signature finesse of the vintage (a specific characteristic of Bordeaux varieties in Stellenbosch in 2025), fine-grained and detailed. Stylistically sitting right in the middle of what would appeal to a Loire drinker and a right-bank Bordeaux drinker, this shows more and more graphite and tobacco leaf on the palate with aeration. A beautiful cabernet franc, from the man who has seriously changed the South African mindset of what this grape variety is capable of. Drink from 2029 to 2038. 13.5%