Cederberg Ghost Corner Sauvignon Blanc 2025, Elim, South Africa

Ghost Corner is the coastal range of Cederberg winemaker David Nieuwoudt, grown in Elim near Cape Agulhas, the southern tip of Africa. The name comes from ‘Spookdraai’, the local name for this treacherous stretch of coast, where more than 130 ships have been wrecked. The windswept, maritime vineyards sit on deep, lime-rich soils with plentiful slate and gravel. The grapes are hand-picked in the early morning and handled reductively, with about five hours’ skin contact before a light pressing. The juice ferments cool in tank for around 24 days, and the wine then matures for four months on its fine lees, stirred monthly.

It is a bright, vibrant white. The nose shows lemongrass, white blossom, gooseberry and asparagus, with hints of green fig and nettle. The palate is concentrated and well balanced, with strong minerality, bright acidity and a creamy texture from the lees, finishing long, dry and lightly salty.

Serve chilled, at around 8–10°C. It is excellent with seafood, mussels, grilled fish, chicken, salads with a vinaigrette and fresh goat’s cheese. Enjoy it young and fresh, or over the next two to five years.

Cederberg Wines is the Nieuwoudt family estate on the farm Dwarsrivier, high in the Cederberg mountains of South Africa’s Western Cape, where the family has farmed since 1893. The first wine vines were planted in 1973, and fifth-generation winemaker David Nieuwoudt took over the cellar in the late 1990s. The home vineyards, at roughly 950 to 1,100 metres, are among the highest in the Western Cape and are farmed sustainably with minimal chemical intervention. Of the farm’s 5,500 hectares only 74 are under vine; most of the land is set aside for conservation as part of the Greater Cederberg Biodiversity Corridor, and the estate is a WWF Conservation Champion. In 2007 David also created Ghost Corner, a range of cool-climate wines from vineyards in Elim, near Cape Agulhas.