Waterford Estate launches The Jem 2017 in an unforgettable afternoon of luxury, storytelling, and South African pride

With a luxurious start and a captivating afternoon of storytelling, rare vintage tastings, and surprise cultural performances, the event honoured both the legacy and the bold future of Waterford’s signature wine, The Jem.

Guests arrived at Waterford Estates tasting room, where a fleet of Land Rovers, courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover, awaited, providing a journey through the lens of luxury as the guests were escorted to a secluded location on the farm. Here, the guests mingled with canapés alongside the Waterford Cap Classique, setting the tone for the day ahead.

As the guests gathered, Waterford Estate’s cellarmaster Mark le Roux welcomed them, recognising their role as key storytellers for South African wine and the Jem. "Story, history, and passion are what sells wine, and it is you - the restaurateurs, sommeliers, and wine enthusiasts - who share this passion, growing the South African wine brand," he said, underscoring the collective journey of those dedicated to South African wine.

Back at the estate’s tasting room, guests were seated at a stunning long table decorated with elements from the vineyard itself, an authentic nod to the terroir from which The Jem was born. Mark introduced the first tasting flight, which he described as “The Beginning” - a progression through the 2004, 2005, and 2006 vintages of The Jem. Guiding guests through the story of each vintage, Mark recalled how The Jem 2004 was inspired by the Cape Winemakers Guild Auction Reserve 2003, a tribute to precision and the pure mathematical proportions of Waterford’s vineyards. The flight demonstrated The Jem’s impressive ageing potential, with the 2004 vintage emerging as a standout favourite for its vibrancy and complexity even two decades later.

The evening’s next highlight was an introduction by Jeremy Maarschalk, a member of the marketing team, who shared The Jem 2017’s recent accolades, including its 97-point rating in Tim Atkin's South African Special Report 2024. "With over 2,200 wines tasted, The Jem 2017 has been placed among the top 16 wines in Tim Atkin’s Report, and it currently ranks as the number-one South African red wine on Vivino in the USA," he announced. This achievement, he noted, reaffirms the estates commitment to excellence, earning praise from Wine Advocate’s Anthony Mueller, who described The Jem as “a devastatingly gorgeous wine.”

The second flight was a look at more recent vintages the 2012, 2014 and 2015. These vintages highlighted the focus of The Jem with its strong Cabernet Sauvignon backbone and elegant blending profile that create tension, intensity, complexity and an incredible ageing potential in the wine. Conversations broke out throughout the group in awe of the wines complexity and progression. The crowd favourite without question was the 2015 vintage, a stand-out vintage showing complexity and intrigue beyond its years.

Then the surprise was introduced. Guests were treated to a surprise performance by the Dagbreek Men’s Choir or as Stellenbosch University calls it Sêr, led by a member of the tasting room team, Emil Loubser. Emil likened the choir’s structure to the unique components of The Jem blend, with the bass section providing depth, structure and backbone to the choir similar to that of Cabernet Sauvignon, baritones adding spice to the blend as the Shiraz component does, and tenors bringing brightness such as the Cabernet Franc component in the Jem blend. The choir’s stirring medleys resonated with the audience, enhancing the afternoons sense of cultural pride for South Africa.

The final flight offered a thrilling blind tasting of two wines led by sommelier Luvo Ntezo from One&Only Cape Town. Tasked with identifying The Jem 2017 and walking the group through what makes South African wine so unique, Luvo captivated the guests with his storytelling, recalling his travels to France and the distinctive terroirs there.

He then brought it home, describing South African wines as intrinsically unique, "no where else in the world has the South African sunshine or the South African soil" said Luvo.

The crowd on tender hooks watch as he noses the first wine, revealing little to the captivated crowd. He then noses wine number-two, a smile creeps across his face as he says “here I can smell the sunshine and the Fynbos".

With quiet confidence, Luvo selects wine number-two as the South African wine, The Jem 2017. Unveiling the wine to be the Jem 2017 a proud sense for South African wine washed over the crowd. Wine number-one was then revealed to be Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion coincidentally a vineyard he had visited on his travels to France.