If you thought South Africa doesn’t do cool-climate wine, then this one is a game-changer. Plucked from vineyards on a mountain-ringed plateau in Elgin, its Pinot Noir grapes are clean and linear in flavour profile. The result is a modern, accessible bottling that shows off the best of the fruit.

He might have started out as an accountant in Durban, but Gyles Webb was obviously born to be a winemaker. In 1983 he quit his job to have a stab at the craft and opened Thelema Mountain Vineyards. He’s never looked back. His winery, now run by son Thomas, has become one of South Africa’s most notable. It helps that they put terroir at the forefront, with a ‘ground to glass’ ethos.

A combination of high altitudes and refreshing breezes rushing in from the ocean give fruit grown in Elgin a character more in common with cool-climate Burgundy than typical sun-baked South Africa. In the case of Sutherland, vineyards are set on a high plateau surrounded by four mountains, where grapes ripen slowly to perfection.

This wine will go perfect with Simple Mushroom Risotto