Paarl Heights Shiraz
£9.39
£12.52 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Only 2 bottles left
Here's a Shiraz that punches well above its modest price. Boutinot's Paarl Heights gives you everything you want from a South African red: ripe plum, dark berry and a warm twist of white pepper, all built on a satisfyingly full frame. Brilliant with a midweek barbecue or a Friday-night curry, and friendly enough to open on a whim.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
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Our Verdict
We keep a close eye on the value end of South African Shiraz, and this is one that consistently overdelivers. What we love is the genuine Paarl character: that warm spice and peppery dark fruit you usually pay a good deal more for. It's not trying to be a cellar wine, and that's the point. This is the bottle for a Tuesday roast, a casual barbecue, or stocking up for friends who appreciate a generous red without the fuss. Stock is limited at the moment, so if you want a few, don't sit on it. If you enjoy this, our other Boutinot South African wines are well worth a look.
Tasting Notes
The nose is warm and inviting, all ripe plum and dark fruit cake laced with a curl of woodsmoke. That smoky lift signals a savoury wine rather than a sweet one, so it works at the table rather than on its own. The palate follows through with concentrated black fruit and a firm, structured shape, while a snap of white pepper keeps everything fresh and lively. Extended time on the lees lends a rounded, mouth-filling weight, so the finish lingers with spice rather than fading thinly.
About This Wine
If you've ever wanted proof that great everyday drinking doesn't need a big budget, pour a glass of this. Paarl Heights Shiraz comes from Boutinot, a team who fell for South Africa decades ago and have been chasing expressive, food-loving wines from its best plots ever since. This is their accessible, generous side, and it delivers. The fruit grows on Malmesbury shale in Paarl, one of the warmer corners of the Western Cape. Those dense, well-draining soils force the vines to dig deep, and the result is concentration you can taste. Expect a warm, spicy nose of ripe plum and dark fruit cake, a curl of woodsmoke, then a palate that's richly structured with black fruit and a lift of white pepper. Fermented on the skins in stainless steel and rested on its lees for added weight, it carries more presence than the price suggests. This is a wine that wants food and company. Pour it with barbecued lamb chops or a chargrilled steak, a smoky paella, or spicy sausages straight off the coals. It's the sort of dependable, crowd-pleasing red that earns a permanent spot on the rack, and it ships across the UK, delivered to your door. A genuinely easy gift for anyone who loves a bold, honest Shiraz.
Food Pairing
This is a wine built for the grill. Pour it alongside barbecued red meats with charred edges, where the smoky notes echo straight off the coals. It loves the paprika warmth of a seafood and chorizo paella, and it has the spice and structure to stand up to garlicky, peppery sausages. Think Sunday-afternoon barbecue rather than white tablecloth.
- —Barbecued ribeye with a peppercorn rub
- —Seafood and chorizo paella
- —Grilled spiced lamb sausages with mustard
- —Smoky pulled pork with slaw
- —Chargrilled boerewors with tomato relish
How to Serve
Decanting
No long decant needed. A quick 15 to 20 minutes in the glass or a brief splash decant is plenty to lift the smoke and pepper aromatics and soften the structured edge.
Behind the Wine
Paarl is one of the Cape's warmer corners, with long, dry summers that ripen Shiraz fully and reliably. Up on the shale-strewn slopes north of town, the vines work hard for everything they get, pushing roots deep in search of water rather than coasting through an easy season. That struggle is the point. It concentrates the fruit, building the dark plum richness and peppery spice that define this style, vintage after vintage.
Ageing Potential
Fermented in stainless steel and built around bright, fruit-forward spice, this is made for drinking now rather than the cellar. It is at its most generous over the next year or two, while the plummy fruit and white-pepper lift are fresh and lively.
The Land
These grapes grow on Malmesbury shale, a dense, clay-rich soil that holds water well yet drains freely between its layered beds of rock. The vines can never sit back and relax. They are forced to drive their roots down hard in search of moisture, and that constant effort concentrates the fruit, giving the wine its depth, structure and savoury intensity.
The Winemaking
This is a wine made by gentle restraint rather than heavy intervention. Only the free-run juice is used, the clear, unpressed first flow that gives softer tannins and purer fruit. Fermentation happens on the skins in stainless steel, locking in that bright black-fruit character and white-pepper lift without any oak getting in the way. It then rests on its lees for an extended spell, a quiet stage that builds the rounder, fuller mouthfeel you notice on the palate.
About the Producer
Boutinot
Paul Boutinot spent years searching the world for a site that could make wine on his terms. He found it on the Schapenberg, a windswept ridge above Somerset West looking out over False Bay and the Atlantic. From day one Waterkloof was farmed organically, with biodynamic conversion following soon after. Cattle, sheep and goats roam the estate producing compost and grazing cover crops, and draught horses do the work tractors usually do, keeping the soil loose and alive. Cellarmaster Nadia Barnard, who joined at the very beginning and now runs the cellar, takes those naturally balanced grapes and gives them as little intervention as possible. It's farming as philosophy, and you can taste it.