A Vintage Becoming of Its Setting: Celebrating The Jem 2020
Few ways are better to celebrate a great wine than to return to the place that made it.
Gifted with golden spring sunshine and barely a breath of wind, Waterford Estate welcomed fellow winemakers, members of the media, neighbours, and valued clients to celebrate the launch of the 2020 vintage of The Jem. It was an occasion that brought together the people, the land and the philosophy behind one of South Africa’s most distinctive fine wines, with the Helderberg Mountain providing a fitting backdrop.
Guests arrived at the cellar before boarding our open-top safari vehicle, setting off into the rolling hills of the Helderberg and Blaauwklippen Valley. Passing our Dexter cattle along the way, the journey took us beyond the familiar surroundings of the estate and towards a destination hidden among the vineyards.
As the vehicle wound its way through the new growth of spring, stories of the farm unfolded. Anecdotes from our viticulturist offered insight into the vineyards, while tales of the people and everyday workings of the estate brought our story to life. It was a reminder that a wine of this nature is never the work of a single person or a single vintage. It is the product of a place, a philosophy and the people who devote themselves to understanding both.
Rounding the final corner, the reaction was immediate as the destination revealed itself.
Few ways are better
Cut directly into the ground, our newly named Terroir Table emerged from the landscape itself, its tabletop being the ground and soil in which our vines grow. With the Helderberg rising above us and the Blaauwklippen Valley stretching into the distance, the setting offered something that no conventional tasting room could replicate.
The table had made its debut at our inaugural Our Farm is Your Table dinner, where guests gathered for a multi-course, paired dining experience built around ingredients sourced from the farm, with our Dexter beef taking centre stage. That evening demonstrated the possibility of creating an immersive experience within the landscape. For the launch of The Jem 2020, we returned to the same philosophy, placing the wine in direct conversation with the land that gives it its character.
On arrival, guests were welcomed with glasses of the Waterford Blanc de Blancs Cap Classique, accompanied by carefully prepared canapés. After a moment to settle into the surroundings, our guests took their places in the earth itself. It was an unusual arrangement, perhaps, but one that invited guests to experience the estate from an entirely different perspective.
Here, with the mountains as our backdrop and the soil layers surrounding us, the tasting began.
The story of The Jem, told by its makers
In a moment of showmanship, Cellarmaster Mark le Roux stepped onto the Terroir Table, standing above the gathering to welcome guests and introduce the story of The Jem.
More than a flagship wine, The Jem represents a particular philosophy of winemaking at Waterford Estate. Its history is inseparable from South Africa’s journey towards international recognition for fine wine, and its distinctive blend of eight cultivars reflects a commitment to looking beyond the conventions of a single-varietal expression. The ambition is not simply to make an exceptional wine, but to create a blend that speaks with its own identity, one shaped by the vineyards and the people who understand them.
The first flight was an opportunity to explore that identity through time. Two glasses were placed in front of each guest: the 2006 vintage of The Jem, followed by the 2014 vintage. The second glass held particular significance in that it was Mark’s first vintage as head winemaker at Waterford Estate.
The wines were chosen for the tasting to showcase longevity, evolution, and the decisions that shape a blend over vintages. For many guests, the age of the 2006 vintage raised an understandable question: how would a wine of nearly two decades hold up in the glass?
The answer was a compelling demonstration of the rewards of patience. Rather than showing the tired, faded character some might have expected, the 2006 remained vibrant and fresh, its components integrated through time and its tannins softened into a texture that only careful ageing can deliver. It was a reminder that great wine is not defined by youth alone, but by its ability to evolve while retaining its identity.
The 2014 vintage told a different part of the story. It showed the continuing evolution of The Jem and a growing understanding of the estate’svineyards, with a direction increasingly centred on expressing Waterford itself rather than allowing any single cultivar to dominate. Together, the two wines gave us a glimpse into the thinking, experience and accumulated knowledge behind the blend.
Understanding the land, understanding the wine
For the second flight, Viticulturist David van Schalkwyk took the lead. Where Mark had stood on the tabletop to share the winemaker’s perspective, David remained firmly rooted in the soil, speaking from the ground everyone was seated in.
His contribution brought the conversation back to the vineyards, exploring the relationship between the land, the vines and the decisions made long before a wine reaches the cellar. At Waterford Estate, passion can be found in abundance, but it is paired with a deep respect for the natural conditions that shape each vintage. The work begins in the vineyard, where understanding the nuances of individual sites helps guide the decisions that ultimately define the wine.
For this flight, guests were presented with an unexpected point of comparison. In one glass was the 2020 Vega Sicilia Valbuena 5º, a Tempranillo-based blend from Spain’s Ribera del Duero, offering an international benchmarking perspective. The other was The Jem 2020.
The comparison was deliberate. Although separated by geography, grape varieties and winemaking traditions, the two wines allowed us to consider how different expressions of place can achieve complexity, distinction and a sense of identity.
The Vega Sicilia displayed an expressive herbaceous character that fascinated our guests. The Jem, meanwhile, presented a confident expression of Waterford Estate, with generous black and red fruit supported by herbaceous fynbos notes, layered complexity and a structure that spoke to the character of the Helderberg vineyards.
Full-bodied yet elegant, The Jem 2020 demonstrated the balance at the heart of the blend: depth without sacrificing refinement, and complexity grounded in a clear sense of place. Tasted alongside an internationally recognised benchmark, it provided an opportunity to appreciate not only what makes The Jem distinctive, but also the diversity and ambition of fine wine around the world.
Between Mark’s stories from the cellar and David’s insights from the vineyards, the afternoon became more than a tasting. It was a conversation about South African wine, the progress already made and the possibilities that lie ahead.
From the vineyards to the table
Leaving the Terroir Table was not easy. The combination of spring sunshine, exceptional wines and the quiet grandeur of the landscape made a compelling case for staying a little longer. Eventually, however, the safari vehicle filled once more, carrying guests back towards the tasting room, where another table awaited.
There, Head Chef Martin de Kock welcomed everyone and introduced a menu designed around the rich, comforting character of Dexter beef. Smoked Dexter beef brisket and short rib, accompanied by polenta fries, brought a generous, farm-led quality to the meal, before a decadent chocolate dessert provided a fitting finish.
The lunch extended the spirit of the morning, bringing guests together over good food, conversation and another opportunity to appreciate the estate beyond the wines in their glasses. It was a natural continuation of the Waterford philosophy: that a sense of place is best understood through the many experiences, people and details that make it what it is.
A new decade for The Jem
The launch of The Jem 2020 was a celebration of more than a new vintage. It was an opportunity to revisit the history of a wine that has helped shape Waterford Estate’s identity, to reflect on the knowledge accumulated over decades, and to look towards the future of South African fine wine.
From the soil beneath the Terroir Table to the older vintages that demonstrated the passage of time, every element of the day returned to a central idea: great wine is inseparable from the place and people behind it.
The Jem has always been an expression of curiosity, ambition, and the belief that blending can create something greater than the sum of its parts. The 2020 vintage carries that philosophy into a new decade, informed by the experience of those who came before it and shaped by an ever-deepeningunderstanding of the land.
On a perfect spring day in the Helderberg, surrounded by the people who share in that journey, there could hardly have been a more fitting way to welcome it.
