Roodeberg Red Blend
£12.19
£16.25 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
In Stock — 16 bottles available
89Decanter (Sylvia Wu)
90Winemag.co.za
Gold Medal (2022)Gold Medal (2021)Gold Medal (2021)
A South African classic that's been winning friends for over 75 years. This medium-bodied red blend from KWV layers ripe summer berries with whispers of dark chocolate and spicy vanilla oak, easy to love, hard to put down. Versatile enough for a Tuesday night, generous enough for company.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
Our Verdict
We keep Roodeberg on the shelf because it does something rare, it punches well above its price every single time. This is the wine we recommend when someone wants a dependable South African red that won't let them down: bright enough for a midweek meal, layered enough to take seriously, and instantly familiar to any expat who grew up with it on the family table. A customer favourite since we first listed it, and a brilliant gateway into the KWV portfolio. If you enjoy the easygoing generosity here, the Cathedral Cellar reds are the natural next step up.
Tasting Notes
The nose leads with bright raspberry and mulberry, then deepens into blackcurrant and dark plum, with a peppery lift and a curl of dark chocolate underneath. The palate is medium-bodied and softly textured, juicy red and black fruits up front, savoury spice and star anise through the middle, and a gentle cedary oak frame that keeps everything in line. The finish is persistent but easy, with supple tannins that make the next sip inevitable.
Summer Berry Lift
Raspberry, mulberry and cassis tumble out of the glass, fresh, vibrant and immediately appealing rather than heavy or jammy.
Dark Plum Core
Beneath the red fruit sits a deeper seam of ripe dark plum, giving the wine its weight and that satisfying middle-palate richness.
Cocoa & Spice
Dark chocolate, star anise and a peppery edge add savoury complexity, lifting the wine well above straightforward easy-drinking territory.
About This Wine
Some wines try to dazzle you. Roodeberg just wants to pour you another glass. Named after the red glow of the Boland mountains at sunset, this is one of South Africa's most enduring red blends, first crafted by KWV back in 1949, and still going strong three quarters of a century later. That kind of longevity doesn't happen by accident.
What you get in the glass is genuine charm: raspberry and mulberry up front, then cassis and dark plum, with a savoury undercurrent of cedar, cracked pepper and dark chocolate. The oak ageing rounds it all off with a soft vanilla warmth, never showy, always supportive. Medium-bodied and beautifully balanced, it's the kind of red that disappears off the table without anyone quite noticing.
Blended from grapes sourced across the Western Cape, KWV works with growers from cool-climate Walker Bay up to the sun-baked Swartland, Roodeberg captures a bit of everywhere. That diversity is its secret weapon, and the reason it's so reliably good year after year.
Pour it with a slow-cooked lamb shank, a midweek shepherd's pie, or a board of mature Cheddar and chutney. It's equally at home at a Sunday roast as it is on the kitchen counter while you cook. Sending a taste of home to a South African friend in Britain? They'll recognise the label instantly, it's a bottle that means something. Delivered to your door anywhere in the UK.
Food Pairing
This is a proper weeknight workhorse with enough polish for company. Pour it alongside a midweek shepherd's pie, a rosemary-rubbed roast chicken, or sausages and mash with red onion gravy. It comes alive next to anything off the barbecue, lamb chops, sticky pork ribs, a charred ribeye. Mature Cheddar or a wedge of Gouda will round things off nicely.
- —Shepherd's pie with buttery mash
- —Rosemary and garlic roast chicken
- —Chargrilled lamb chops
- —Sticky pork ribs from the barbecue
- —Mature Cheddar with chutney and oatcakes
How to Serve
Temperature
Cool room temperature. Pull it out of a warm kitchen for twenty minutes before serving so the fruit stays fresh.
Decanting
No decanter needed. A simple pour into the glass is plenty, the tannins are soft and the aromatics are open from the off. If anything, a quick swirl is all the air it wants.
Glass
A standard medium-bowled red wine glass works perfectly, enough room for the berry and spice aromas to lift.
Cellaring
Store on its side in a cool, dark spot and drink within two to three years. This is a wine made for enjoying, not hoarding.
Ageing & Cellaring
Built for drinking now rather than the cellar. The fruit is fresh, the tannins are already supple, and the wine is at its best within a couple of years of release. If you've a bottle tucked away, drink it within two to three years, any longer and the bright berry character starts to fade.
The Winemaking
The art here is in the blending. Selected red varieties are vinified separately, then brought together to find the balance that has defined this wine for decades, supple fruit on one side, structure and spice on the other. Slow maturation in oak casks softens the edges and lays down those signature notes of cedar, vanilla and dark chocolate, while leaving the bright summer berry character firmly in the spotlight. It's craft built on consistency.
About the Producer
KWV
KWV isn't just a producer, it's practically an institution. Head to Paarl in the Cape Winelands and you'll find one of the largest wine cellar complexes on earth, sprawling across more than 22 hectares. That scale tells you something about the role this co-operative has played in shaping South African wine as we know it.
Founded in 1918 to bring order and quality to a fragmented industry of independent farmers, KWV spent much of the twentieth century as the organising force behind South African wine. Quotas, pricing, export rules; for decades, if you were a Cape wine farmer, KWV touched your business in some way. It's a history unlike almost any other wine producer in the world, and it explains why the name still carries real weight in Paarl and beyond.
Today KWV has evolved into a producer in its own right, making wines, brandies and spirits from that historic Paarl base, drawing on fruit sourced across the Western Cape. What we love about KWV is the reliability. The Classic range covers the varietals UK drinkers already know and enjoy, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Pinotage, Shiraz, made accessible and consistent without cutting corners. These are honest, well-made wines for everyday drinking, the kind you can pour on a Tuesday without a second thought.
Then there's Roodeberg, KWV's most storied wine. First released in 1949, it became something of a Cape institution itself, a red blend so sought after in South Africa that it was once rationed among loyal customers. That's the sort of detail that tells you a wine has earned its reputation the old-fashioned way, through generations of drinkers rather than marketing.
We stock KWV because it offers UK customers two things at once: a genuine piece of South African wine history, and wines that are simply good value, easy to enjoy, and true to their place. Whether you're new to South African wine or you grew up with a bottle of Roodeberg on the family table, there's something here worth exploring. Every bottle carries Wine of Origin Western Cape certification, a straightforward guarantee of where it's really from.