Quality without compromise

2010 G, South Africa (£250, Wineservice, 01342-837333).

I attended the launch of the 4G portfolio earlier this year. Only one merchant stocks the wines at present, but more will surely follow. 4G is a new wine producer (four of the owners have G as a middle initial) setting out to make a First Growth' in the Cape.

2010 is the first release (after a test wine in 2009) and their motto is quality without compromise'. They source grapes from 15 different sites in and around Stellenbosch. Individual vines are targeted for optimum fruit quality.

Start your trial of MoneyWeek today

Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.

Start your trial

Sign up for MoneyWeek’s free twice-daily newsletter.

Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Sign up

I am delighted that they have decided to make cabernet and shiraz their two leading grapes in the blend, because I love the way these two harmonise and then merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot make up the numbers, depending on the vintage.

There is a second wine called 2010 The Echo of G (£112), too. French wine guru Denis Dubourdieu is the mind behind the shortest named wine in the world and I have to admit that both cuves are indeed very smart. With extraordinary exuberance and detail, keeping one foot in the Old World and one in the New, they are sure to appeal to lovers of serious red wines. There are only 300 bottles set aside for the UK, so if you have deep pockets, give them a whirl.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (www.matthewjukes.com).