By South African Wines
From The Chocolate Block to The Wolftrap, how this Franschhoek estate became one of South Africa's most trusted names, and why UK drinkers keep going back.
You have probably drunk a Boekenhoutskloof wine without registering the name. The Chocolate Block turns up at dinner parties. The Wolftrap gets bought for a Tuesday without much thought. Both come from the same Franschhoek estate, which has quietly become one of the most important wineries in South Africa.
Plenty of producers chase prestige. Boekenhoutskloof has managed something harder, which is making wines that simply work. An £11 bottle for a weeknight and a £48 Syrah for an occasion, both reliably good.
The name means ravine of the Boekenhout tree in Afrikaans. The farm dates to 1776, in the Franschhoek valley an hour from Cape Town, hemmed in by mountains and well suited to classic Cape winemaking.
What changed things was refusing to stay put. The estate kept its Franschhoek base for the elegant wines, then went looking for fruit in the Swartland at a time when the region was still considered too hot and harsh for anything serious. Those difficult conditions turned into the house advantage.
That split explains the range. Franschhoek supplies structure and finesse at the top end. Swartland brings power and character to the wines people actually drink most often.
The Chocolate Block at £28 is the one that made the reputation: Syrah-led, filled out with Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault, with a splash of Viognier for lift. The blend shifts each year according to what the vineyards deliver, but the personality does not. If you are buying for a table of people, the magnum at £60 is the better call, and the half bottles at £17.49 exist for when you want the wine without committing to a full bottle.
The Wolftrap range, named after a piece of local folklore, is the entry point. These are not cheap wines pretending to be expensive ones. The red is juicy and easy, the white shows how fresh a Cape blend can be, and the rosé is a Grenache-led wine that works through a British summer. All three are £11.69.
Then there are the estate wines. Boekenhoutskloof Syrah at £48 is not trying to be French Syrah or Australian Shiraz. It is powerful without being heavy, with a smoky, savoury edge that comes from specific sites rather than a recipe. Boekenhoutskloof Semillon at £48 comes off some of the oldest Semillon vines in the country and is among the finest whites South Africa makes. Boekenhoutskloof Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon at £49 completes the set.
In a wine world fixated on single vineyards and ever-smaller parcels, this is an estate that takes the opposite view. It blends, on the basis that the best wine often comes from combining good sites rather than isolating one.
That suits UK drinkers rather well. These are not wines demanding perfect cellar conditions and ten years of patience. They deliver from the moment you open them, and they fit British food and British occasions without any adjustment.
Consistency is the other achievement, and it is harder than it sounds when you are working across several regions. A 2019 Chocolate Block will taste subtly different from a 2021, and both will be recognisably the same wine.
Boekenhoutskloof has found a natural home on British tables because it understands what people here actually want: reliable quality, food-friendly styles and honest pricing. There is no obvious effort to impress critics.
That has coincided with British tastes getting more adventurous. We are more willing to look past European classics than we were, while still wanting wine that fits how we eat. This is South African character without any unfamiliarity to work through.
Begin with the Wolftrap to understand the philosophy. Move to The Chocolate Block to see what the blending achieves. Then try the Syrah or the Semillon to find out what happens when the estate concentrates properly.
Every step tells you something more about why South African wine is worth your time, and why this producer in particular earned its reputation. The rest of our South African blends and red wines are worth browsing alongside. We deliver across the UK.
Your bag is empty
Add some wines to get started