Kleinood ‘De Herder’ Rhône Blend

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6 July 2026

This is new to Majestic, and it brings a Southern Rhône-style, a style that has been championed across South Africa’s Swartland and Western Cape regions. These are small-batch bottles from a boutique estate in the Blaauwklippen Valley, with a story rooted in old pastoral tradition. De Herder means “the shepherd”, and the wine takes its inspiration from this ancient practice.

The blend is Syrah 67%, Mourvèdre 29% and Cinsaut 4%, though there’s a subtle point of difference here. It uses Rhône Syrah clones rather than the traditional South African and Argentinean Shiraz clones more commonly planted in the Cape. This can aid clone health, control yield and produce a “Syrah” rather than “Shiraz” expression. It sits at 13.5% ABV and this is the 2025 vintage.

In the glass, there’s a slight purple hue. Aromatically, it opens with blackberry, pepper, olive and an earthy character that feels very much in step with the bottle label. Give it time, though. When first opened, there isn’t a huge amount of flavour, but after around 30 minutes it loosens up nicely. The taste moves into savoury, peppery dark fruit, with low to medium tannins, a dry style, medium body and a spiced finish.

Available from Majestic for £14 as part of Mix Any Six.

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