Winemaker Notes
Lady May is Glenelly's flagship wine. Compared to the previous vintages, the 2012 is more brooding and concentrated. It is intense, deeply colored, and very stylish. The nose offers an alluring invitation to black fruit like cassis and blackberries and then leads to more red fruit: raspberries and cranberries. On the palate, notes of thyme, roast beef, and cedar contrast against the blackberry tones. The tannins are very fine and well-integrated and will give this wine considerable ageing potential.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Freshly picked blackcurrants, pressed violets, dried herbs and licorice, as well as a hint of burnt-blackberry essence. Full-bodied and tannic, but well-structured with a lovely serving of acidity. A chewy finish. Drink in 2021. A blend of 89% cabernet sauvignon, 10% petit verdot and 1% cabernet franc.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2012 Glenelly Lady May—Glenelly's Flagship, named for proprietor May-Eliane Lencquesaing—puts South Africa squarely in the Bordeaux red game as an excellent and distinctive wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows bold and dramatic aromas and flavors of black fruit, berries, and licorice. Enjoy it with a juicy, grilled ribeye. (Tasted: July 28, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.