Wine Advocate 94+:
Still a baby, the 2021 Red Jasper is a blend of 53% Cabernet Franc, 20% Malbec, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. The nose is tight, with red fruit essences swaying with notions of dusty florals, brown baking spices and spiced plum. Medium to full-bodied, the wine will have no problem filling its shoes over the next year, as it possesses gobs of complexity that uncoil on the palate before ending with a long lingering, spicy finish. You'll be tempted to open this beautiful wine too early; give it time, and your patience will be rewarded. The wine rested for 16 months in French oak barrels. Only 17,000 bottles of this South African gem were produced.
The best Red Jasper to date: even better than the 2019 vintage that Master of Wine Greg Sherwood rated 95 points. And according to many critics, even better than most vintages of the winery’s flagship $100 Compostella!
This terrific Cab Franc blend, and the 2021 Compostella (a 99-pount marvel that we also have at the World’s best price), earned Bruwer Raats the title of 2023’s “South African Winemaker of the Year.”
But don’t just judge this by South African standards. Like the Compostella, this pretty much smokes any Cabernet OR Cabernet blend at its price from anywhere.
By the way, the Wine Advocate currently rates this above THE single most famous and celebrated Cabernet Franc blend of all time: the legendary 1947 Cheval Blanc! And with an average price now of $25,000, you can have literally a thousand bottles of this for just one of those!
