Very small production (roughly 250 cases a year)! We couldn’t find this vintage here in the US online, but we can say that under $40 for a white wine of this caliber is INSANE! 🤯

Agent Lees loves this wine and the rest of our agents did too! I think we had one hater among us and well he was sniffling all day long…so he doesn’t count 😁! Besides…96 Points, Decanter, 96 Points, Platter’s Wine Guide and 94 Points, Master of Wine, Tim Atkin too, we agree! BTW, Platter’s is the Bible of South African wine. It is what Wine Spectator is to many Americans.

Beaumont Family Wines has been fifty years running now. Founded by Raoul and Jayne Beaumont in 1974, and now run by son Sebastian Beaumont, who took over winemaking in 2004. He learned the ropes standing next to Niels Verburg, who built Luddite into one of Bot River’s most sought-after cult wineries.

This wine started as a “no rules” idea back in 2015. Basically, throw every old vine white grape on the farm into one barrel and see what happens. Yes, everything but the kitchen sink wine…or shall we say jambalaya! For this vintage, he trimmed everything back to 60% Chenin Blanc, 25% Sauvignon Blanc, and 15% old vine Colombard. Brilliant magic!! Oh my goodness. ✨

And the 2022 vintage was a smaller one, in which these old vine varieties, already concentrated, were able to achieve even more concentration. The average vine age is 45 years, creating a texturally engaging and aromatically pleasing wine, with flavors that, now with some bottle age, have married seamlessly together.

Give this one some time in your glass a few swirls and 15 mins later it will sing! Straight out of the bottle it’s shy, and it didn’t really start singing until close to an hour in. Serve at cellar temperature too. Too cold and you’ll miss half of what’s happening in the glass. Patient Operatives may even dream about it, like Agent Lees does. Fun, playful, food-friendly, dry white wine.*

Once it opens, the nose turns genuinely playful. There’s a candied lift to it at first, baked stone fruit and caramelized tropical notes, before settling into green apple, wet river stone, white flowers, and ripe quince, with Cara Cara orange and tangerine zest underneath and a flinty spark to finish it off.

On the palate though, it’s deceptively fuller than what you’d think, especially at only 12.5% alcohol. Chalky and textured, with Meyer lemon and lime zest driving through the middle and an almost honeyed richness rounding the edges, minus the sweetness (still a dry wine!). Eleven months in seasoned barrels, only 20% new, and the oak never once tries to steal the scene; it just adds a little extra grip and roundness to that texture without ever tasting like oak itself. Kiwi and pear show up on the back half, and the finish runs long, bright, and palate-cleansing, with a trace of cardamom lingering after.

We don’t have much of this wine, and Agent Lees was naughty and snagged some already 🕵️‍♀️. $37. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

Pour it with a good chèvre. The wine’s acid and mineral edge cut right through the creaminess, and that candied fruit note on the nose plays beautifully against a tangy goat cheese. But goat cheese is an acquired taste, so try it with grilled halloumi or a saltier cheese instead. 🧀

🦐 Seafood? Try pan-seared scallops, or grilled prawns or langoustine with a squeeze of citrus.

Roast chicken with lemon and herbs or grilled chicken skewers with a chimichurri or herb sauce also work beautifully.

Another fun, delightful vegetarian play would be some of the roasted root vegetables coming into season, maybe even a soup.

96 Points, Decanter - “Elegant aromatics of wet stone, thatch and apples, while barrel ageing smooths and sculpts radiant citrus, ceding to a mid-palate of quince and peach. The acidity pulls a taut right through, the finish tinged with ginger spice. No Sémillon for 2022 as for previous, instead a triumvirate of high acid varieties from certified old vines, the most venerable clocking in at 1974. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2035”

96 Points, Platter’s Wine Guide - ”96 Points, Platter’s Wine Guide - “Blend change in 2022, still chenin in lead, with sauvignon & colombard, from old vines (1974, 1983, 1988 respectively). No Semillon. 11 months seasoned oak but fruit holds centre stage; lemon & lime, some thatch & quince, taut & intense, especially on palate & finish. Mouth wateringly zesty.”

94 Points, Master of Wine, Tim Atkin - “New Baby is not so new these days, as it was first produced in 2015, but it remains as exciting as ever. Made without Chardonnay and Semillon in 2022, it’s a blend of Chenin Blanc, 25% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Colombard showing a touch of flinty reduction, grapefruit and tangerine flavours, stylish 20% new wood and a palate-cleansing finish. 2025-2030”