Wine of the Week 53: Illimis Cinsault 2023

“Wine should be a window to the vineyard,” says Lucinda Heyns, pouring glasses of her chenin blanc. In the cosy confines of Furny’s in Noordhoek, she is showing the 2023 vintage of her wines. Illimis is the name of her own label, which she explains is the Latin word for clarity, a word she says underscores the intended purity of her winemaking.

The chenin is illustrative of this, a 50/50 blend of two sites, Stellenbosch adding texture and fruit, while Elgin zips in with electric acidity. The fact that she is a trained viticulturist no doubt informs her connection to the land, for Heyns this calling has literally started from the ground up.

Science, nature and creativity

Namibian-born, wine certainly wasn’t the obvious choice as a career path, in fact becoming a lawyer or doctor seemed a more likely fit. Thankfully, for all of us who enjoy beautiful wine, she grew up in a household with a real love for gastronomy. At the family table she realised she could combine her passions for science, nature and creativity by working with the humble vine. So, leaving the red dunes behind, off she went to Stellenbosch University where she completed a degree in viticulture and oenology.

After graduating she remained in the City of Oaks, honing her craft in the vineyards of Jordan and Mulderbosch. In between the two tenures she secured enviable placements in Napa at establishments such as cult winery Screaming Eagle and Dalla Valle. There was a period in Italy, too at Castiglion del Bosco, before two years working as an associate winemaker in Southern California at Provignage.

From vine to bottle

Home beckoned, and in 2015 Heyns experienced a moment of clarity… she realised in order to truly manifest the wines she wanted to make, she needed control from vine to bottle. She channeled all of her varied experience into this focus and started Illimis in 2015. During this time she also worked as a specialist with Winetech, a South African RDI (research, development and innovation) body. With these informative years as a backbone, in 2023 she decided it was time to fully commit to Illimis. 

There are currently just four wines in her range – chenin, grenache, pinotage and a cinsault, all made using minimal interventionist techniques, which includes spontaneous fermentations and maturation in old oak. Tasting through her wines it’s evident Illimis has been well-named; for both the pursuit of clarity in wine expression, and in vision, too.

Illimis Cinsault 2023

Darling cinsault is something of a best-kept secret, increasingly fine wines are being made by some of South Africa’s most exciting producers from the cool-climate crop. The 2023 Illimis just proves the trend: grapes from a bushvine plot, planted in 1974 on well-drained red, loam soils with granitic origin. Evocative perfume of fresh red roses, limpid red fruit, some stemmy spice, and flint. The palate of cherries, strawberries is mouthcoating yet translucent, like paint washed over paper. Delicate, yet held in a fine grip of chalk, finishing dry with an echo of cherry fruit.
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