Why it matters
The producer
Warwick is built around a long wait before a first bottle. Norma and Stan Ratcliffe arrived with the family in 1964, then spent twenty years before releasing the 1984 La Femme Bleu Cabernet Sauvignon. That first wine fixed Cabernet Sauvignon at the centre of Warwick’s story; the vineyard has since remained broader, with Bordeaux varieties, Pinotage and old-vine Chenin Blanc alongside it.
Before it was Warwick, the property was De Goede Sukses, granted to its first owner in 1771. Colonel William Alexander Gordon bought the farm in 1912 and renamed it for the Warwickshire Regiment. The Ratcliffes’ arrival in 1964 added a winemaking chapter, but not an immediate release: two decades passed before La Femme Bleu appeared in 1984, turning the estate name into a Cabernet Sauvignon label.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Simonsberg Mountain supplies Warwick with height as well as a name on the map. The vines occupy foothills and middle slopes rather than a flat, low-lying site, while ocean breezes move through the vineyards. Elevation and cooling air slow the heat of the growing season, a useful condition for Cabernet Sauvignon because ripe fruit can retain acidity and carry tannin without becoming heavy.
The documented site runs from 240 to 360 metres, so Warwick’s vineyards work across a meaningful rise in altitude. Ocean breezes cool plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, other Bordeaux grapes, Pinotage and old-vine Chenin Blanc; the result is a vineyard layout that can support both red-wine depth and the fresher fruit profile needed by Chenin Blanc.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Warwick’s vineyard planting is deliberately mixed. Cabernet Sauvignon provides the main red-grape anchor, while other Bordeaux varieties offer material for blends; Pinotage and old-vine Chenin Blanc widen the cellar’s options beyond that Bordeaux frame. The cool mountain foothills and ocean breezes matter in the cellar because fruit arriving with acidity can support dry reds with grip and length rather than relying on oak for weight.
The early cellar was far less settled than the present estate. Norma Ratcliffe’s first vintage used borrowed tanks and yeast, with grapes crushed away from Warwick before fermentation in the old pack shed. That practical beginning makes the first Cabernet release feel earned: the wine was made before there was a purpose-built winemaking routine around it.
Wines to know
The range in view
Blue Lady is Warwick’s historic Cabernet Sauvignon line, tracing back to the 1984 La Femme Bleu. Cabernet is a fitting thread for the range because it is the estate’s most planted grape; the 2020 Blue Lady is recorded as Cabernet Sauvignon and oak-aged, setting up a dry red profile where fruit, oak and tannin are expected to share the palate.
Trilogy takes a different role. Introduced two years after the first Warwick-labelled release, it is a three-variety wine rather than a single-grape Cabernet statement. The 2019 Trilogy is described through fruit, spice and floral notes, so the blend’s interest lies in layered aroma and flavour rather than the varietal focus of Blue Lady.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Start with Blue Lady Cabernet Sauvignon. It links the estate’s most planted cultivar to the 1984 La Femme Bleu, Warwick’s first release, and to Norma Ratcliffe’s nickname after that initial bottling. Choose it for a dry Cabernet-shaped experience: fruit held inside acidity and tannin, with oak ageing contributing weight and a longer finish. It is the clearest bottle for seeing why Cabernet Sauvignon has remained such a large part of Warwick’s vineyard.