Given its tiny production, combined with the fact that the first four vintages were never commercially released, few wine lovers are on particularly familiar terms with The Journeyman. The idea for this Cabernet Franc-led Bordeaux-style blend was dreamed up by winemaker Marc Kent a few years before it became a reality. Kent is technical director and managing partner of Franschhoek’s prestigious property, Boekenhoutskloof, and was instrumental in putting new-wave South African Syrah on the fine wine map with his now-almost-mythical 1997 vintage of Boekenhoutskloof Syrah. But as well as a passion for Syrah, he nurtures a deep love of Cabernet Franc – the grape variety he felt was best suited to Boekenhoutskloof’s Franschhoek vineyards.

A trip to Bordeaux in 2001 saw Kent visit Thibault Despagne in the Entre-Deux-Mers and watch – mesmerised, I am assuming, from the way he tells the story – as the team meticulously hand de-stemmed, chilled and then proceeded to transfer the fruit berry by berry into barrel through the bunghole. Fermentation and maceration was to take place in barrel, then the cooper would remove the barrel heads for the wine to be racked and pressed, before being returned to the reassembled barrel for maturation. All this time, Kent was ‘stealing with his eyes’, as he envisaged making his own barrel-fermented and matured red wine back at Boekenhoutskloof – ‘a real winemaker’s wine’, in his words. Châteaux Figeac, Cheval Blanc and Ausone were all cited as reference points for him. Needless to say, Kent has never lacked ambition.

Unashamedly, Kent declares he is ‘a technical guy rather than a viticulturist’ and loves all the ‘toys in the cellar’. Given the zeitgeist is for people in Kent’s position to present an image of a winegrower dedicated to the vines, his matter-of-fact honesty about where his own fascinations lie is refreshing. His love for cellar technology springs from a determination – even an obsession – to do the best job he possibly can once the fruit is harvested. Though he doesn’t say as much, it comes from a deep respect for those vineyards (some of which he planted, though he gives himself little credit for this), and from a wish to let their true potential shine. He almost mentions in parentheses that all Boekenhoutskloof vineyards are farmed organically with minimal or no tillage (just to sow and disc the cover crops), thereby protecting soil life. Kent doesn’t spell out the connection between this and the fact that all the fruit processed at Boekenhoutskloof is fermented with native yeasts (some 400 tons in total) but it is clear that his overarching philosophy is to express a sense of place.

2002 was the first vintage that Kent tried to make The Journeyman but it would not be until 2007, with the 2005 vintage, that he would be happy enough with the wine to start introducing it to the world (although it wasn’t until the 2015 vintage that it would be commercially released). At this point it had no name but Kent came across his father’s birth certificate following his death, which listed his grandfather’s occupation as ‘paper hanger (journeyman)’. This struck a chord with Kent, who has always made a point of honouring his humble origins. As he reflected on his own journey to make the best wine he could from the vines at Boekenhoutskloof, he decided to christen that 2005 wine, in characteristically self-deprecating style, ‘The Journeyman’. At 20 years old, this wine is very much alive – deliciously mature, complex and distinguished – and its youngest siblings promise to live up to and even surpass its accomplishment and ageing potential.

With its intensive oak regime (fermented and aged in 100% new French barriques) and long maturation period (between 24 and 30 months), The Journeyman benefits from time in bottle to relax into itself, so a vertical tasting of this kind, spanning almost two decades, is invaluable. I got the impression that Kent organised it as much for himself as for us – to satisfy his curiosity about how the vintages would appear next to each other and to share in a wine that may not be Boekenhoutskloof’s calling card but which has been defining for him. He didn’t bombard us with facts about the vintage conditions or what he thinks about the wines, he just gave us the time to taste quietly…

In truth, I would have liked longer with the seven renditions of Boekenhoutskloof The Journeyman, but I had time enough to appreciate that the cuvée far exceeds its modest name.

Boekenhoutskloof The Journeyman has an RRP of £140 per bottle. Certain vintages will shortly be available in small quantities from selected merchants in the UK.