2021 Boekenhoutskloof, The Chocolate Block, Franschhoek, South Africa

2021 Boekenhoutskloof, The Chocolate Block, Franschhoek, South Africa

Product: 20218029128
Prices start from £105.00 per case Buying options
2021 Boekenhoutskloof, The Chocolate Block, Franschhoek, South Africa

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
Case format
Availability
Price per case
6 x 75cl bottle
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £105.00
BBX marketplace BBX 2 cases £180.00
3 x 150cl magnum
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £210.00
1 x 300cl double magnum
BBX marketplace BBX 2 cases £150.00
1 x 600cl imperial
BBX marketplace BBX 1 case £250.00
You can place a bid for this wine on BBX

Description

One of the major success stories of South African wine, Boekenhoutskloof’s The Chocolate Block represents the best of the Swartland at a friendly price point. The wine is Syrah-based, with the lion’s share coming from the esteemed Goldmine vineyard, alongside some from the legendary Porseleinberg. The remainder of the blend is Grenache, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier.

This is beautifully ripe with glossy black cherry, bacon fat and cracked pepper, and silky, seamless tannins. This is a lot of wine for the money! This will drink on arrival and easily for five years afterwards – as confirmed by a delicious bottle of the 2014 opened with Callie Louw at Porseleinberg last October.

Fergus Stewart, Private Client Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd (April 2023)

wine at a glance

Delivery and quality guarantee

Critics reviews

Neal Martin, Vinous90/100

The 2021 The Chocolate Block had been bottled a month before my visit. The Grenache and Cinsault plus part of the Syrah comes from Boekenhoutskloof's own vines and the remainder from purchased fruit. It undergoes whole berry fermentation and aged for 14 months in French barriques and two oak foudres.

This has a much more refined and focused bouquet than the Chocolate Blocks of yore, brambly black fruit mixed with pencil lead and undergrowth. Impressive delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with powdery tannins, well judged acidity, quite structured and sappy towards the finish. Fine length. 

Drink 2023 - 2030

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (August 2022)

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James Suckling91/100

An inviting nose of pitted cherries, sliced plums, white pepper and tobacco leaf. Medium-bodied with silky tannins. Juicy and savory with nicely ripened red and black fruit. Subtle spice and cocoa undertones. 74% syrah, 10% grenache, 8% cinsault, 7% cabernet sauvignon and 1% viognier. Sustainable. Vegan.

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (December 2022)

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About this WINE

Boekenhoutskloof Winery

Boekenhoutskloof Winery

Boekenhoutskloof is one of the most celebrated of all South African wineries and was indeed voted Winery of the Year 2012 by the influential South African journalist John Platter. Created in 1776 and situated in a remote corner of the beautiful Franschhoek Valley, the estate‘s recent fame dates only from 1993 when new owners completely restored the vineyard and established new plantings of varietals such as Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Viognier.

The driving force here is winemaker Marc Kent, a maverick genius with an unswerving commitment to the highest quality in all that he does. The winery is better known for its reds, especially Syrah and Cabernet, but also makes a stunning white from the Semillon grape amongst a small range of whites.

One of the most iconic wines of Boekenhoutskloof is the famed Chocolate Block, a red blend which changes every year according to the vagaries of the vintage, but is largely based on Syrah. The source of the wine’s name remains a mystery, as the estate’s owners refuse to divulge its origin, but the key point is that the wine is sublime.

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Franschhoek

Franschhoek

Franschhoek wine region lies to the west of Stellenbosch in a fertile valley surrounded by the Drakenstein Mountains. The town of Frankschoek was founded by fleeing French Huguenots in 1688, who brought along their winemaking traditions and vines. Franschhoek's warm, temperate climate is perfectly suited to the production of powerful, saturated red wines and concentrated, fruit-driven white wines. The most prominent grapes in the region are Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir.

Today it remains very much a boutique wine region with smallholding producers.

Boekenhoutskloof and Chamonix wine estates are among the star performers here.

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Syrah/Shiraz

Syrah/Shiraz

A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries.

It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness.

South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.

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