At less than 20 years old, Cavalli could be considered a toddler in the timeline of three centuries of Stellenbosch winemaking history, but you wouldn’t say so when experiencing the wines from their relatively young vineyards.
SummaryOpen the quick read
- Cavalli Estate in Stellenbosch is earning critical acclaim, including South Africa's best chardonnay trophy and top-tier Platter's ratings.
- Acclaimed winemaker Rianie Strydom joined Cavalli in 2023, refining the range and overseeing its teenaged vines as they hit prime potential.
- A food and wine dinner at The Yellow Door showcased standout pairings across Cavalli's white, rosé, and flagship red expressions.
- Key highlights include the award-winning Cavalli Chardonnay 2025, the multi-varietal Reserve White, and the flagship Bordeaux blend Warlord 2023.
At less than 20 years old, Cavalli could be considered a toddler in the timeline of three centuries of Stellenbosch winemaking history, but you wouldn’t say so when experiencing the wines from their relatively young vineyards.
Cavalli is an impressive modern estate on the foothills of the Helderberg, in the Stellenbosch “Golden Triangle” of prime Cabernet Sauvignon terrain, awarded and featured in international lifestyle magazines for its sleek and sustainable design, eco-friendly architecture, extensive indigenous-planted gardens, restaurant, and sought-after wedding venue.
However, a recent food and wine evening at The Yellow Door in Walmer with winemaker Rianie Strydom proved that wine at Cavalli is no afterthought amidst all its appeal as luxury lifestyle destination.
From small beginnings, the wines of Cavalli are now making waves – SA’s best chardonnay in the 2026 Investec Trophy Wine Show, the estate’s first Platter’s 5* this year for the Reserve White 2024, Cape Bordeaux Blend of the Year in winemag.co.za for Warlord 2022 and Gold in the Decanter World Wine Awards, a winemag.co.za Top 10 for the Reserve Chenin Blanc 2025 … the list goes on.
Rianie, who joined Cavalli in 2023, doesn’t like to take the credit for the rise of the estate’s wines in the awards and ratings, saying that her predecessors were working with the uncertainties of newly-planted vineyards, and that she’s had “the privilege of meeting the vineyards in their teens, as they start reaching their potential”.
However, her experience and industry standing, along with her self-confessed “obsessive focus”, have surely played a role.
Strydom built the premium reputation of nearby Haskell Vineyards over more than a decade, and is one of only four female members of the invitation-only Cape Winemakers Guild of 45 local winemakers considered to be at the top of their game.
To Cavalli she’s brought focus and direction, a more serious tone to the wine names and labels while retaining their contemporary feel, and slimmed down the range.
Cavalli also brought Strydom a new challenge – making the first rosé in her 34-year winemaking career, and she’s chuffed with the result which she describes as “very South of France where they drink rosé all day”.
Cavalli Rosé 2026 (R165) was an appropriate opening act to the Yellow Door dinner, the delicately pink wine fragrant with rose petals, lush with strawberries, fresh, crisp and dry.
Yellow Door owner Abel Esterhuysen says the restaurant regularly hosts these wine dinners, giving the kitchen team the opportunity to get creative, as with their homemade corn tortillas wrapped around lightly battered fish with avo salsa – a perfect counterpart to Cavalli Unoaked Chenin Blanc 2026 (R145), a squeeze of lime on the dish echoing the cool, freshness of the wine.
Another excellent pairing in the barrel-fermented Reserve Chenin 2025 (R215) with a tartlet of roasted veg, chevin cheese, toasted almonds and honey – all those flavours complementing the citrus blossom fragrance and peach, lemon, spice flavours in the wine with its balance of creamy texture and zesty freshness. A Chenin lover’s Chenin!
Cavalli Chardonnay 2025 (R230), which scored 97 points on the Investec Trophy show to win the crown as SA’s best, is just beautiful, there’s no other word for it.
Matured for 10 months in oak barrels from Burgundy, the home of the world’s finest chardonnays, the wine is finely, silky textured, aromatic and rich with toastiness and wood spice balanced by soft apple and the zest of grapefruit – all in delightful harmony.
Cavalli Reserve White 2025 (R275) is special and intriguing, a blend of all the white grape varieties on the farm, chenin, verdelho, chardonnay, and viognier in a full-bodied wine with complex layers of flavour, nutty and zesty, balancing texture and mouthwatering acidity – a super food wine that worked perfectly with the texture and flavours in succulent pork belly with mustard cream and apple gel.
No wonder it’s Rianie’s choice when she wants to impress friends!
On to her pride and joy, the flagship Cavalli Warlord 2023 (R310) with its award-winning pedigree, the strength suggested in the name reflected in the wine’s power, bold personality with poise and balance.
A blend of cabernet sauvignon (70%), petit verdot, cab franc and malbec, the wine is rich and opulent with ripe plums, blackberries, touches of Black Forest cake-like dark chocolate and cherry, cedar spice – all held in check by fine tannins, a dry restraint holding it all in balance. The wine’s body and flavour an excellent pairing with grilled beef fillet with truffle, mushrooms, caramelised onion and rich jus.
Cavalli focuses on chenin, chardonnay, and the classic Bordeaux red varieties, making the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon (R270) an excellent finale.
Quite a different character to the Warlord, this medium-bodied, a little softer, aromatic with blackberries and mocha, the fruit dark, ripe, rich, layered with vanilla and cigar box spice, velvety smooth livened with chalky tannins, the flavours lasting long after the sip.
Follow The Yellow Door on Facebook or Instagram for news of their next wine and food evening – it’s well worth it.
Prices above are at Preston’s, the main local stockist of Cavalli.