Wine of the week: an epic debut from a vinous perfectionist

published 29 September 2017

2016 Aristea, Chardonnay, Stellenbosch, South Africa (£26.95, Private Cellar, 01353-721999,PrivateCellar.co.uk).

I was fortunate to be invited tothe launch of Aristea wines in the UK, so my recommendation this week is a scoop for all MoneyWeek readers! This wine and its red stablemate, of which more later are the very first vintages from Martin Krajewski's new venture in South Africa. If you recognise his name, it is because he is the chap who brought us those fantastic ross from Chteau de Sours (before he sold the property to Jack Ma of Alibaba fame) and he is the proprietor of Clos Cantenac, in Saint-Emilion, and of Chteau Sraphine, in Pomerol.

Aristea is a project that brings Florent Dumeau (winemaker extraordinaire), Matt Krone (12th-generation wine-dynasty hero from the Cape) and Martin together to make awesome wines from chardonnay, cabernet and also, to be released next year, a sauvignon/semillon blend and two sparklers. The wines will arrive in November and are made in tiny quantities. I cannot recommend them enough. The 2015 Aristea Cabernet (£29.95) knocks Super-Tuscans into a cocked hat and the Chardonnay pushes Saint-Aubins aside with glee. These are epic debut releases from one of the world's most fastidious vinous perfectionists. By the way, an Aristea is a flower that flourishes on land ravaged by fire, opening for just one day each year. Today's the day.

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

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’. He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.