First Lady Cabernet Sauvignon
£13.49
£17.99 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
In Stock — 11 bottles available
94Tim Atkin SA Special Report 2023
90Decanter
Gold
Want a Cabernet that tells a story while it pours? This is Warwick's tribute to Norma Ratcliffe, one of South Africa's first commercial female winemakers. Classic Stellenbosch Cab through and through: cassis, dark chocolate and blackcurrant, framed by smooth, easy tannins. Polished enough to impress, friendly enough for a Tuesday. A genuine Cape benchmark at a price that overdelivers.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
Our Verdict
We rate the First Lady as one of the smartest-value Cabernets in our Stellenbosch range, and the numbers back us up: 94 points from Tim Atkin and a Gold at the Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters tell you this is no everyday house red. What we love is the balance. It has the cassis, cedar and structure of a serious Cape Cab, but the tannins are so approachable you can open it on a weeknight without a second thought. Perfect for anyone curious about South African Cabernet who doesn't want to gamble. It's been a steady favourite with our customers, and stock moves quickly.
Tasting Notes
Pure Stellenbosch Cabernet, and the nose tells you so straight away: cassis, blackcurrant and blueberry, with dark chocolate and a curl of cedar behind. The palate stays true to type. Blackberry and more cassis, then those classic markers of cedarwood and pencil shavings that mark out serious Cab. A whisper of dark chocolate from the oak rounds it out. Tannins are smooth and ripe, giving structure without grip, and a balanced acidity carries it to a firm, lingering finish.
About This Wine
Here's a Cabernet that punches well above its price, and it carries a lovely story too. The First Lady honours Norma Ratcliffe, one of the first women to make wine commercially in South Africa, and the spirit of that pioneering streak still runs through every bottle. You're not just buying a Cab. You're pouring a piece of Stellenbosch history. In the glass it's deep, brooding ruby, and the nose does exactly what a good Cape Cabernet should: cassis, sweet black cherry and blueberry, with cedarwood and that classic whiff of pencil shavings underneath. The palate follows through with blackberry and a hint of dark chocolate, all wrapped in smooth, ripe tannins that keep things supple rather than stern. A spell in oak (just a touch of it new) adds a soft vanilla warmth without ever stealing the show. This is Stellenbosch's calling card. Mountain slopes, cooling ocean breezes off False Bay and granite soils give the region its reputation for structured, age-worthy Cabernet, and the First Lady captures it beautifully. Drink it now or tuck a few bottles away for a handful of years. Pour it alongside a Sunday roast, a charcoal-grilled steak or a wedge of mature Cheddar. We deliver across the UK, and a bottle with a story like this makes a thoughtful gift for any Cape wine lover.
Food Pairing
This is a Cabernet that wants red meat and plenty of it. Pour it alongside a Sunday roast of beef or a slow-cooked lamb shoulder studded with rosemary, and the cassis fruit and firm tannins do exactly what they should. It also loves a chargrilled steak. For something simpler, a wedge of mature Cheddar or aged Gouda brings out the dark chocolate edge beautifully.
- —Slow-roasted lamb shoulder with rosemary
- —Roast beef Sunday dinner with all the trimmings
- —Chargrilled ribeye steak
- —Mature Cheddar with quince paste
- —Aged Gouda
How to Serve
Decanting
A short decant of 30 to 45 minutes does this Cab a favour, letting the cassis and dark chocolate aromatics open up and the smooth tannins settle into their stride.
Behind the Wine
Stellenbosch hands Cabernet everything it needs to thrive: warm, sun-filled days tempered by cooling breezes off False Bay, with the Simonsberg slopes lending altitude and structure. Warwick farms with a lighter touch these days, stepping back from pre-emergent herbicides to let the vineyards find their own balance. Grapes come in at optimal ripeness rather than overripe, which keeps the fruit fresh and the alcohol in check. That moderation is what you taste: ripe cassis and blackcurrant held together by firm, savoury backbone rather than jammy heat.
Ageing Potential
Lovely to drink now, with smooth, ripe tannins making it immediately approachable. If you'd rather wait, it will hold and develop for another three to five years, the fruit softening and the cedar and savoury notes growing more pronounced over time.
The Land
The vines climb the granite- and shale-derived soils of the Simonsberg, where slope and altitude slow ripening and breezes off False Bay drift in to cool the afternoons. That combination gives Cabernet here its hallmark: ripe dark fruit on the surface, but firm, structured tannins and a savoury edge underneath that keep the wine balanced.
The Winemaking
Everything here is built around restraint. After de-stemming, the wine sits on its skins for seven to twelve days, the exact timing judged by tannin structure rather than the calendar, with three or four gentle pump-overs a day to coax out colour and depth without harshness. Malolactic fermentation softens the edges before twelve months in oak, only ten per cent of it new. That light hand with wood is the whole point: enough cedar, vanilla and chocolate warmth to frame the fruit, never enough to bury it.