KYSELA PERE ET FILS, LTD.

""I love Cabernet Franc", says Alex Starey, and you can see why when he produces wines that are as good as this single vineyard expression from Stellenbosch Mountain. Perfumed, stylish and well crafted, it has the elegance and precision of its cooler site, good underlying structure and classic black cherry, bay leaf and pencil shaving notes. 2024-30"

- Tim Atkin (South Africa 2023 Report), 94 pts

"Pondokrug sits on the cooler side of the valley and is located on water-retaining clay soils, this is a site that's “hammered by the wind and the baboons", according to Alex Starey. Fermented with 10% whole bunches, this is textured, floral and refined, with lovely oregano and dill aromas, granular tannins and racy black fruit. 2023-30"

- Tim Atkin (South Africa 2022 Report), 94 pts

 

 

- Wine Enthusiast (October 2023), 90 pts

"The 2017 Cabernet Franc Single Vineyard Series Pondokrug, seasoned in oak barrels for 20 months, has a much more successful nose than the Merlot with vivid brambly red fruit, dried violets and light eucalyptus scents. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fleshy on the entry with perhaps less weight and grip than the 2016, yet very persistent
and elegant on the finish. Very fine. - Neal Martin"

- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (September 2022), 90 pts

"One of the younger wines in the Keermont portfolio - it was first made as recently as 2014 - this is at the firmer end of the Cabernet Franc spectrum, which is why Alex Starey says it needs "a week in a decanter to open up properly". Floral, dense and focused, it has stylish oak, layers of cut grass and damson fruit and a fresh finish. 2022-28"

- Tim Atkin (South Africa 2020 Report), 94 pts

"Sourced from the top two terraces of the vineyard up near the reservoir, this single parcel Cabernet Franc reveals good typicity and impressive depth of plum and dark cherry fruit. Creamy, lush texture on a full bodied palate with fine firm tannins. Matured 20 months in used French oak. The name means hut (pondok) on the ridge (rug) in Afrikaans."

- International Wine Review (January 2019), 93 pts

Go To Keermont Pondokrug Cabernet Franc

"The 2015 Keermont Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Cottage Lane Vineyard, located at 300 meters above sea level. It was picked in small batches that underwent strict sorting and spent two to three weeks on the skins. It then matured for 22 months in 225-liter French oak barrels (10% to 15% new) before being bottled by hand without filtration. It has a tightly wound bouquet at first, presenting blackberry, bilberry, cedar and light damp undergrowth scents. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and mint- and cedar-tinged black fruit on the entry, building toward a nicely structured, quite sappy finish. It doesn’t quite deliver the panache of its Syrah counterpart, but it is a fine Cabernet Sauvignon all the same. - Neal Martin"

- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (August 2018), 91 pts

Go To Keermont Pondokrug Cabernet Franc

 "There's a sweet overlay to the bouquet of this wine, offered in waves of ripe red plum and cherry that are hit by a dusting of sweet oak and vanilla. It just hits medium in weight and is overall quite delicate in structure, with bright acidity and soft tannins that yield a refreshing and lightly structured texture and impression. Hints of spiced plum linger on the close. Drink now. - LAUREN BUZZEO"

 - Wine Enthusiast (September 2021), 90 pts