An enticing blend of 60% Shiraz, 20% Mourvedre, 15% Pinotage, and 5% Cinsault, Badenhorst’s Curator Red 2018 is a delicious wine whose seriousness could be questioned because of its absurdly low price. The winery itself has this to say about The Curator Red: “From (way) down south comes this black fruited and fully spiced red blend featuring Syrah with help from Mourvedre and another two percent of this and that. This is a wine whose price can mislead for it is a wine of serious focus, structure and character. Dark in the glass, the nose displays black pepper and telltale South African leather notes. Red fruits back up darker berries and add a perfectly timed lift on the palate. All and all, this is a pleasantly surprising wine of depth and character that ‘over-delivers’ with the best of them.” In the glass, the wine gives off scents of dark berries – black cherries and blackberries in particular. On the palate, the wine tastes like red berries, like plums and currants. The wine is available for less than $9/bottle and should be drinking well into 2023.