Description
Warwick Blue Lady 2021 is a Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon shaped by two distinct vineyard slopes, bringing together ripe dark fruit, fresh acidity, and a classically structured frame. It is a wine that leans into Cabernet’s more traditional markers, with fruit, tobacco, cedar, and pencil-shaving notes all playing their part, while the tannins stay fine rather than aggressive. For drinkers who appreciate Stellenbosch Cabernet with both polish and aging potential, this is a convincing expression.
The nose opens with dark berries, tobacco, plum, and red berry notes. On the palate, finely textured tannins provide the backbone, supported by oak spice, cedarwood, and pencil shavings that add savory detail without overwhelming the fruit. Fresh acidity keeps the wine lively and well proportioned, carrying it through a long, composed finish. It would pair especially well with roast beef, lamb, venison, or mushroom-based dishes, where its dark fruit, spice, and firm structure can settle naturally into the meal.
Already showing strong balance, this is a Cabernet Sauvignon that should reward careful cellaring over the next few years as the fruit, tannin, and oak knit together even more fully.
Awards
94 points – Decanter Awards 2023 (2020 vintage)
92 points – Trophy Wine Show 2023 (2020 vintage)
The nose opens with dark berries, tobacco, plum, and red berry notes. On the palate, finely textured tannins provide the backbone, supported by oak spice, cedarwood, and pencil shavings that add savory detail without overwhelming the fruit. Fresh acidity keeps the wine lively and well proportioned, carrying it through a long, composed finish. It would pair especially well with roast beef, lamb, venison, or mushroom-based dishes, where its dark fruit, spice, and firm structure can settle naturally into the meal.
Already showing strong balance, this is a Cabernet Sauvignon that should reward careful cellaring over the next few years as the fruit, tannin, and oak knit together even more fully.
Awards
94 points – Decanter Awards 2023 (2020 vintage)
92 points – Trophy Wine Show 2023 (2020 vintage)
The wine was made from fruit sourced from two vineyards, one on a northerly-facing slope and the other on a southeasterly slope, with each component harvested and handled separately. After destemming and hand sorting, the wines spent between 14 and 21 days on the skins depending on tannin structure, with two to three pump-overs per day during fermentation. Once fermentation was complete, the wines were pressed and underwent malolactic fermentation in both barrel and tank.
The wine was then matured for 22 months in French oak, using 38% new barrels, 33% second-fill, 20% third-fill, and 9% fourth-fill oak, before blending, natural clarification, filtration, and bottling.
Winemaker: JD Pretorius
The wine was then matured for 22 months in French oak, using 38% new barrels, 33% second-fill, 20% third-fill, and 9% fourth-fill oak, before blending, natural clarification, filtration, and bottling.
Winemaker: JD Pretorius
Warwick Estate is a family-owned and run winery. From 1771 til 1902, Warwick Wine Farm was known as the farm ‘De Goede Sukses’. After the Anglo Boer war in 1902, Colonel William Alexander Gordon, Commanding Officer of the Warwickshire regiment decided against returning to England and bought the farm.
He renamed it ‘Warwick’ as a tribute to his regiment and the rest, as they say, is history. Warwick was purchased on April 1st 1964 by Stan Ratcliffe after an extensive search for the best ‘terroir’ in the Cape.
It was in 1986 that the first Warwick Trilogy was released - a Bordeaux style blend which has since become one of the flagships of the South African Wine Industry. Warwick has won many accolades over the years and was featured for a second time in Wine spectators’ wines of the year.
He renamed it ‘Warwick’ as a tribute to his regiment and the rest, as they say, is history. Warwick was purchased on April 1st 1964 by Stan Ratcliffe after an extensive search for the best ‘terroir’ in the Cape.
It was in 1986 that the first Warwick Trilogy was released - a Bordeaux style blend which has since become one of the flagships of the South African Wine Industry. Warwick has won many accolades over the years and was featured for a second time in Wine spectators’ wines of the year.
