There are events that define an era: the release of the first Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon, the 1988 from a three year old vineyard planted alongside a row of gum trees, was a major one for South Africa.

This year celebrates the release of the 21st vintage of Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon; to honour the occasion, the Webbs hosted a small group of us at the farm to taste through all 21 vintages of the standard cabernet and five vintages of The Mint cabernet – the first time even the Webbs had undertaken such an exercise!

Those gum trees and the wine’s minty character immediately became talking points, the distinctive flavour of the latter suggested as a consequence of the former. For Webb, the curiosity lay more in his wine being ‘a dead ringer’, as he puts it, to Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet, a Californian property where he had worked for a year.

Whatever the cause, the pundits love it; annual releases used to sell out within a month. This was a double-edged sword for Webb, the downside being no cabernet available during the busy summer holiday season. In recent years, larger volume has allowed for more steady sales of the standard bottling. With the 2004 vintage, Webb introduced The Mint Cabernet, made solely from that original vineyard. Love it or hate it, this wine is the more popular of the pair and, reminiscent of the 1990s, flies out of the cellar.

The minty flavour wasn’t the only attraction; Webb’s philosophy of not charging more for a wine than he’d be willing to pay himself saw the original 1988 being offered for a now risible R12.50: even today’s price tag of R175 for the regular 2007, R200 for The Mint, offers excellent value as compared with many others without the track record enjoyed by Thelema.

Track records aren’t established without diligence and hard work, an ethic that is at the core of Thelema and Webb’s success.

As with all the best wines, the focus begins in the vineyard. In the mid-1990s, Californian viticulturist, Phil Freese (partner, with his wife, Zelma Long, in Vilafonté winery) was brought on board to ‘show us how to produce the very best quality fruit possible from our vineyards, no matter what the cost’, as Webb described it in the November 1996 Newsletter.

Just some of the methods adopted to improve fruit quality and achieve Webb’s goal of even ripening include constructing a dam to provide for irrigation, a tool, properly used, Webb says can beneficially prolong ripening; permanent cover crops to reduce vigour; precision farming, which involves monitoring and managing every block individually with a comprehensive annual vineyard review, and for the past few years, NDVI, infrared aerial imagery to identify vine vigour and enable selective harvesting. There’s also been a switch to sustainable farming, with home made compost used to improve soils. Leafroll virus is as much a problem on Thelema as elsewhere; until this year, that original cabernet vineyard (pictured) has remained pretty clean, but worsening virus symptoms means it will soon have to be uprooted. Virus free vineyards on higher ground are worked with dedicated equipment

Webb’s involvement since day one, some 25 years ago now since the first vineyard was planted, cannot be underestimated in the quality of both fruit and wine – neither can his understand of quality and renowned tasting skills. He admits that today, ‘When I look in a canopy I can tell whether the wine will be good’; living with and getting to know your vineyards and terroir is something money can’t buy and a benefit available to far too few winemakers.

In the cellar things have been kept pretty simple, main goals being to get the wine completely dry – 2 g/l RS and under (any press wine with sugar is kept separately until it is dry before being blended in) and not over oaked – around 50% new is the average with a 20 month maturation period.

What struck me from the line up of both wines, is how well they age, how well the ‘lighter’ years perform and the overall consistency within natural vintage differences.

Anyone who buys Thelema Cabernet – whether standard bottling or The Mint – can anticipate most pleasurable drinking across the vintages, though as Webb hopes, ‘newer vintages will be better at 20 years than those from the 1980s’.

The following are my notes on the wines, which had all been decanted and were tasted from youngest to oldest:

Thelema The Mint Cabernet Sauvignon

2008 (released later this year) - still youthfully unevolved, with light minty whiffs, some oak toast. A lighter year with less substance but structured to balance fruit; soundly dry. Medium rather than long term. Alcohol 14.4%

2007 – deep and dark with striking mint/cassis aromatics. Immediate tannin impact in mouth, rich texture and good fresh spine; very long. Substantial feel, despite lowest alcohol (13.8%) of quintet. Needs time to pull together; excellent long-term potential.

2006 – elegant and charming with silky finesse, focus and integrated flow. Fine dry tannins still need time to soften. Possibly medium term potential but could surprise. General favourite of group.

2005 – intense, dark hue with garnet hint at rim. Sturdy build, grippy tannins indicative of ripe vintage. Good flesh to balance, but will need time to harmonise and soften.

2004 – strong, healthy colour but there’s a sense of mellowing development in the cassis/mint bouquet. Well integrated with ample fruit richness, enhanced by 100% new oak, which probably influences the sweeter fruit finish. Can easily hold for another three to five years.

Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon

2008 – (released later this year) more traditional dark soft berry aromas with some evident oak toast. Elegant and savoury with supple tannins and good length; also reflects lighter year and includes fruit from a new block.

2007 – presently in a closed phase though indicates its pedigree with layers and intensity of colour and mouthcoating viscosity but no sense of heaviness. Plenty of fine, lively tannins (but a TA of only 5.1!) should see this doing really well at the next vertical, 20 years hence!

2006 – similar elegance to its Mint counterpart, even some minty tones (a small portion of fruit from the original vineyard is usually included). More revealing than 07, good firm acid spine focusing the rich fantail conclusion.

2005 – similar to The Mint in structure but with tobacco, meaty tones. Possibly with longer potential.

2004 – a wine of quiet complexity; showing some tertiary savoury tones, with brightening cassis. Appealing creamy, supple texture focused by fine tannin frame.

2003 – amazingly young, seemingly much more so than the previous two wines yet hints at the complexity that will see it surely shine in 20 years’ time. More refined than the 07; beautifully silky with the finest of tannins. Includes a splash of merlot.

2002 – don’t be sorry should you have this in your cellar, it’s surprisingly good for a year beset with down mildew, but that’s where Webb’s attention to detail in the vineyard pays off. Developed blood/garnet tones and the different, savoury biltong bouquet do suggest age, but there’s plenty of flesh, a minerally vitality and some length. Enjoy now.

2001 – a cabernet that has truly gained in complexity rather than merely aged and my favourite of the younger group. Tim James described it as the quintessence of South African cabernet. Plenty of time to go. Delicious, satisfying.

2000 – another sturdy wine from a hot year but again good textural richness and the lift of bright, ripe fruit. Drink over next year or two. Rudi Schultz joined Webb as winemaker in December 2000.

1999 – showing harmony of age. Precise with good texture and similar minty lift of 2000 to the more marmitey tones. From this year on there’s no need for further ageing.

1998 – supposedly a good year, but Webb says he’s never liked this wine. It is in a leaner style, with noticeable acid over the traditional fruit. Best now with some rich, gamey dish.

1997 – refined meaty/cassis/iodine bouquet, elegant structure; acid there but not unbalanced. Has some charm.

1996 – showing age. Still has good flavour but beginning to dry out. Drink up.

1995 – my favourite of the older wines from a consistently elegant vintage. Refined, mature and very claret like. Nothing wrong with keeping this one. Lovely.

1994 – similar colour development to 1995, more advanced, some oxidation. Initial savouriness, flesh fade. Open just before drinking.

1993 – amazing blood red hue with almost orange tones at rim. Evolved marmite, rockpool bouquet. Another elegant wine from a cool year.

1992 – pleasant gamey features but some obvious acid. Drink up.

1991 – Webb noted the possibility of Brett but it doesn’t overwhelm a mellow generosity of bouquet and fruit. Noticeable tannin on finish, which suggests its drying. Drink up.

1990 – no signs of drying on this wine, even noticeable acid doesn’t prevent this lighter vintage from drinking well. 12.5% alcohol.

1989 – well regarded vintage; this shows good texture, balance and persistence, but it is fully developed, so no reason to hold on for longer.

1988 – one from a difficult year, that hasn’t gone the distance.