Stellenbosch estate Tokara has just released new vintages of its regularly award-winning Director’s Reserve duo of wines, with the latest award showcasing their pedigree for ageability.
For those who still firmly believe that white wine must be enjoyed as young as possible, witness the decade-old Tokara Director’s Reserve White 2016, a Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend.
It was featured last month in the Winemag.co.za 2026 10-Year-Old Wine Report as the only white in the Top 6 and overall best wine among 60 vintage reds and whites tasted blind, with 95 points.
The Tokara Director’s Reserve red and white are regular high performers in this report, with the 2016 white praised this year by the judges as “showing great purity and poise — classy as always”.
Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc are the key focus of Tokara, with its vineyards set in the watershed of two valleys in the foothills of the majestic Simonsberg mountains.
Vineyard sites between 350m and 550m above sea level and the diversity of the slopes make for “exciting variability” between sites.
This gives winemaker Stuart Botha and his team diverse blending options to produce Tokara’s distinctive structure, elegance and longevity.
The Simonsberg mountain sites and panoramic views from the tasting room and restaurant on the crest of the Helshoogte pass, are Tokara’s signature — captured in their statement that “we make wine that moves mountains — no matter where you find yourself on this great globe, when you taste our wine, it will bring those mountains to you”.
A visit to Tokara is a treat of jaw-dropping views across hills and mountains, vineyards and olive groves, taking in sights of Table Mountain and False Bay.
There is art to explore in the sculpture garden and gallery, scenic walks, fine dining restaurant and gourmet food shop with casual bistro, and of course wine, olive oil and brandy tasting.
The Director’s Reserve wines feature Tokara’s passion for premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc in blends of grapes selected from the best parcels to create flagship wines, while the more “everyday” white-label range shows single grape varietals blended from diverse sites.
The Reserve Collection features single varietals from specific single sites in the Simonsberg, and from a Reserve Sauvignon Blanc from Elgin.
The blends for the Director’s Reserve wines are classic Bordeaux-style — Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon for the white (±R380) and 70% Cab, with Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cab Franc and Malbec in the red (±R550).
Director’s Reserve Red 2021 has already attracted accolades — 95 points from Tim Atkin, Platter’s 4.5* and the trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon in the 2025 Fine Wine Awards.
Bottled after 22 months in new and older French oak, the blend is in perfect harmony, sumptuous but elegant and fine-tuned.
A fragrant opening of classic black cherry, dried fruit, touches of cocoa, tobacco leaf and graphite, echoes in the palate with its clean fruit purity in dark cherries, blackberries and plum, with leafy, smoky notes.
A lengthy finish, fine tannins — it’s built to age, or give into temptation, grill a ribeye steak and open it now.
The Director’s Reserve White 2023, a brand-new release not yet rated but with impressive track record for both new and older vintages, blends Sauvignon Blanc with about a quarter Semillon, adding distinctive aromas, weight and complexity to the wine.
Both components are barrel-fermented and matured on the lees in oak for nine months, adding texture and creaminess.
The result is full and rich, balancing sauvignon’s zestiness with Semillon’s slight waxy creaminess, complex in aromas and flavours melding green guavua, blackcurrant, pink grapefruit and biscuity marzipan.
It’s a wine made for food — grilled linefish, especially the oilier, gamier kind of fish, or shellfish like pan-seared scallops or a creamy seafood dish with saffron.
* Sam’s Find of the Week:
A classy, delicious wine for under 60 bucks? It’s possible!
Preston’s branches across the Bay are offering an Italian Cabernet, Zonin Cabernet Friuli, at R59/bottle or a case for R354.99.
I bought a case last week and I’m going back for more.
Zonin1821 is a big name in winemaking and distribution in Europe, the UK and US, a seventh-generation family-owned business said to have put Italy’s bubbly Prosecco on the global map, and owning several estates in Italy’s top wine regions as well as in Spain and the US.
The bargain in question comes from the Friuli-Venezia region of northeastern Italy (hence the name Friuli on the wine, it’s the place, not the grape) and the wine seems to be a blend of Cab Sauv and Cab Franc.
It’s great slightly chilled, bursting with juicy red fruit, balanced with touches of Cab Franc leafiness, dry and medium-bodied with enough tannin structure and complexity to elevate it well above just another cheap date.
Preston’s are also stocking a Zonin Pinot Grigio at an equally good price, and it comes highly recommended.
All while stocks last — you have been warned!
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