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The Garland 2020 “silky, effortless” – Platter's No. 1 Cab

THE GARLAND 2020 from Simonsig in Koelenhof-Stellenbosch is the most highly rated Cabernet Sauvignon in the 2025 edition of Platter's South African Wine Guide. Five ...
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How much is too much for a tasting in the Cape winelands?

THERE ARE still some cellars on the Cape wine routes of South Africa where they don't charge you for a sip of their wines, a ...
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Wine Deck in Stellenbosch features chef's ‘unsung heroes'

IT'S A SMALL, narrow outdoor space, but the new Wine Deck at Mill St Bistro in Stellenbosch promises more than you might think at a glance. Where ...
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Top SA wines over the past 10 years – 2025 Classification

THERE ARE wines that impress occasionally with this and that vintage, then there are those that please on a fairly regular basis, and then there ...
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Casual take on fine-dining at La Motte's friendly new brasserie

AFTER a lengthy closure of the restaurant at La Motte in Franschhoek, the family farm of Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg re-opened its doors during the 2024/25 festive ...
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The Journal from Diemersdal! Top Pinotage in Platter's Guide

IT WAS scored 95/100 at the 2024 International Wine Challenge in the UK and was then judged best Pinotage reviewed in Platter's 2025 South African ...
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A rather rare, very unusual wine… Springfontein Chenel

AT SPRINGFONTEIN, outside the town of Stanford, the focus is on the South African grape varieties Pinotage and Chenel, albeit that the latter's arrival on ...
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Wild Horseshoe 2023! Top-rated white wine in Platter's Guide

THE MOST highly rated Sauvignon Blanc, the most highly rated white wine and one of the three most highly rated wines overall in the 2025 ...
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Saronsberg Shiraz 2022! Top-rated red wine in Platter's Guide

THE VAN HUYSSTEEN family's Saronsberg Cellar is renowned for a number of different wines, but Shiraz is the speciality on this farm in the Tulbagh ...
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Christine 2017! Top-rated red blend in Platter's 2025 Guide

MANY if not most of South Africa's top red wines released in 2024 are from the 2021 or 2022 vintages – two- or three-year-old wines. ...
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‘Moonshine' picnics, why not – between Hermanus and Stanford

IT'S NOT the first year that picnics have been offered alongside the Maanschijn winery at the Stonefields farm on Route 43 between Stanford and Hermanus, ...
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Constantia Glen's white blend on the mark time and again

WHAT A LOVELY place to relax at on a summer's day with a chilled glass of something good and interesting… We're talking Constantia Glen and ...
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Platter's No. 1 Chardonnay from some of THE coolest vineyards

THE MOST highly rated Chardonnay in Platter's 2025 South African Wine Guide: the 2022 vintage from Iona in the Elgin Highlands. It follows the 2021, ...
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2022 Lothian Chardonnay the latest in an Elgin success story

THE TROPHY winner, the best white wine from South Africa at the 2024 International Wine Challenge in London, UK – one of the biggest, one ...
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South Africa's Red Wines of the Year 2024… Top Wine SA

ALL THE top trophy winners, all the wines scored 96+ and those that were highly rated by two or more of the top panels – ...
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Top Wine SA… South Africa's White Wines of the Year 2024

ALL THE top trophy winners, all the wines scored 96+ and those that were highly rated by two or more of the top panels – ...
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And then there were more seriously good wines at < R150

5 STARS in Platter's 2025 SA Wine Guide, from one of the country's top winemakers in Donovan Rall, using grapes grown on the mountains in ...
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Top 3 in Platter's 2025 Guide from Elgin, Durbanville, Tulbagh

THE TOP-RATED wines in the 2025 edition of Platter's South African Wine Guide – scored 98/100 – are the Cap Classique sparkler Cipher Blanc de ...
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Endura Chenin remarkable in many ways… The origin, for one!

AT THE TIME of writing there were fewer than 400 bottles / 60 cases left at the cellar in Paarl. Which is hardly surprising, given ...
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New Table at Oak Valley and Bloem Restaurant at Paul Clüver

AND THEN there were two… Many who love wining and dining in South Africa's Cape winelands have fond memories of lunching alfresco on the lawn ...
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Some trophies mean more than others at the IWSC, London

CONTRARY TO what some people might think, certain wine producer trophy laureates at the mega International Wine & Spirit Competition in the UK are determined ...
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Vilafonté the Most Outstanding Wine Producer at IWSC 2024

OF THE 36 South African gold medallists chosen from nearly 7000 wines entered in the 2024 International Wine & Spirit Competition (UK), three went on ...
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Year after year… Apogée among best of the best SA Pinot Noir

YOU CAN'T miss it as you leave Hermanus and motor along the R320 between the vineyards and up the hill out of the ‘Hemel-en-Aarde Valley' ...
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Colombe and Chefs Warehouse still best SA wine farm eateries

THREE CAPE wine farm restaurants have retained their rankings among THE most highly rated establishments in the annual JHP Gourmet Guide to South Africa's best ...
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One-of-a-kind Pinot Meunier Cap Classique now for everyone

RELEASED exclusively to their club members when launched a few months earlier but then made available to all wine lovers, Graham Beck Pinot Meunier 2022 ...
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Taste what’s possible with the Alvi’s Drift Reserve range

Six exceptional wines, passionately crafted for discerning palates in the relentless pursuit of excellence – the expression of head winemaker Alvi van der Merwe’s drive ...
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Top scores at Veritas revealed! Eight wineries awarded 95+

THE DOUBLE GOLD winners at the 2024 Veritas Awards have disclosed what the competition organisers will not… Apart from presenting the Vertex trophy for the ...
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Bottle of mysterious GS Cabernet 1966 auctioned for R32 830

THE TOP price paid at Strauss & Co's timed, online Bordeaux-themed auction concluded on 21 October '24 was R32 830 (US$1862) for a bottle of ...
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Winemag declines to give really high score in Cabernet Report

OF THE 61 entries from the 48 producers who submitted their wines for assessment in the 2024 Prescient Cabernet Sauvignon Report published by Winemag.co.za, 28 ...
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Overberg wine top-scores in South African Chardonnay Report

NOT MANY wine producers have access to vineyards in the Elandskloof valley of the Overberg district, Western Cape. Anthonij Rupert Wyne of Franschhoek is one ...
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