Restless River Main Road & Dignity Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 Bottle size: 750ml

'A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from two single vineyards, namely Main Road (1.59 hectares) and Dignity (0.71 hectares) in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley matured for 23 months in 225 litre barriques with approximately 25% new oak. Located five kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean in the heart of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir country, this exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon red continues to confound the sceptics. Coming from the last of the proper drought vintages, Craig Wessels has captured a wonderfully opulent and heady expression of Cabernet Sauvignon with plenty of exoticism and ripeness while never losing a certain feeling of classicism and elegance. Tasted over two days, the wine shows an impressive depth of black and blue berry fruits with initial notes of plum skins, pressed violets, wet leaves, sapidity and sweet cedar spice followed by tilled earth, salty black liquorice and cherry kirsch liquor nuances. On the palate the fruit depth is broad and plush with a dark cherry and black currant intensity, hints of graphite and iodine and finishing with a fine-grained mineral tannin grip and yet more salty liquorice notes. The 2018 vintage seems more Napa Valley than Stellenbosch / SA in style but certainly a very well honed, opulent expression. Drink this now and over the next 10 to 15 years.' – Greg Sherwood MW, 95/100

'Very much sui generis, this impressive Cabernet Sauvignon is a great wine to put into a blind tasting. Made with fruit from two single vineyards, it's youthful, stony, grippy and compact with considerable depth and intensity, fresh acidity, fine 20% new oak and inky damson and blackcurrant fruit. Drink 2024-30.' – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2021, 94/100

'Extraordinary maritime cabernet from 2 blocks. Always a keeper, more so super-structured 2018 due to drought giving small, thick-skinned berries with little juice. Beautifully proportioned (as noted for 2017 (5 stars, 95 pts)), with considerable fruit charms, bone-dry finish. Oak, 25% new, adds cedar scent & final polish. Needs & deserves extended maturation. 14.5% alcohol.' – Platter's Guide, 4.5* (94/100)

'The last vintage before the four-year drought broke and this is headier and deeper than you might expect (not that the 2017 was too slight). Red and blackberries, earth, violets and crushed leaves on the nose while the palate has impressive fruit density and weight. The fruit is pure, the tannins fine yet grippy and there is very much a youthful reserve about it right now. Matured for 23 months in 225-litre barrels, around 25% new. Alcohol: 14.5%.' – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 93/100