Boplaas celebrates 40-year milestone

Boplaas Family Vineyards has been named South African Champion in the Cape Port Style at the 2026 SA Young Wine Show for the 12th time, with its young 2026 Cape Vintage. The victory closes a 40-year loop, since the Nel family’s first national Port championship was awarded in 1986, and this latest title arrives with the next generation now actively involved in the cellar.

When Boplaas claimed its first national championship in 1986, the Cape Port was made primarily from Tinta Barocca. Today, Boplaas’ Cape Vintage is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barocca and Souzáo, reflecting both the evolution of South African Cape Port and the Nel family’s commitment to traditional Portuguese varieties.

The winning wine is a hand-harvested blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barocca and Souzao – a far cry from the predominantly Tinta Barocca composition of that debut 1986 champion, and a reflection of how deliberately Boplaas has evolved its Cape Port programme over four decades. Production remains tradition-bound: grapes are harvested at around 26.5° Balling, fermented in open lagars over no more than five days, and fortified with the winery’s own Colombar-based spirits – an in-house distillation that gives the team unusual control over the final product.

The Klein Karoo’s dry Calitzdorp terroir is similar to Portugal’s Douro Valley, the historic home of Port. The Nel family’s ties to the valley – including longstanding relationships with the Symington and Guimaraens families – are more than social. Carel Nel wrote his Cape Wine Master thesis on South African and Portuguese Ports, while winemaker Margaux Nel completed her MSc on Touriga Nacional.

The latest championship adds to an extraordinary record of success: 12 SA Champion Port trophies, 39 Veritas Double Golds, 30 Platter five-star ratings, and four consecutive years as Tim Atkin’s Port of the Year. Boplaas also took the Souzáo class trophy for best other red varietal, which is part of the Ring of Rocks blend that earned Veritas Double Gold last year.

“Forty years ago, our family won its first national Port championship,” says Carel Nel. “To win it again in 2026, with the next generation now involved in making these wines, is a wonderful reflection of the continuity of our family, our vineyards and our passion for Cape Port.”

Boplaas wines are available online at boplaas.co.za.