2016 Thorne & Daughters, Rocking Horse, Western Cape

John “Thorne” Seccombe met his wife at university in Stellenbosch. Neither was studying to be a winemaker. They moved to the UK and it was there that John took his first winemaking steps, enrolling to study oenology at Plumpton College. He gained experience by working stages in Barossa, the Languedoc and California, as well as consulting for Ridgeview in the South Downs. In 2008, the couple moved back to the Cape to raise their two daughters, and in 2012 Thorne & Daughters was established.

Unusually, John chose Roussanne as the leading lady in the blend of his principal wine, Rocking Horse, and grapes were sourced from vineyards in Stellenbosch, Swartland and Franschhoek. The first vintage of the South African allocation of this wine sold out within two weeks of being launched. The wines are uncompromising in character and are on the edge of being “natural”, but retain an elegance and precision that is exemplary, and sets them firmly at the forefront of South Africa’s New Wave movement.

There are over 200 different grape varieties used in modern wine making (from a total of over 1000). Most lesser known blends and varieties are traditional to specific parts of the world.