WHAT to take away from Winemag's 2020 Prescient Report on South African Sauvignon Blanc… For starters, editor Christian Eedes and fellow tasting panel members Roland Peens as well as James Pietersen of Cape Town merchant/cellarer Wine Cellar are among those who generally regard the Bordeaux-style blends and Wooded Sauvignons as generally superior to unwooded Sauvignon. “Whereas unwooded Sauvignon often succeeds on account of its primacy of flavour,” says Eedes, “the use of oak and the addition of Semillon as a blending component are both intended to add complexity, and it would seem that producers are largely successful in this regard.”
Of the country's most-planted varieties, only Sauvignon and Pinotage are more widely planted than a decade ago. “Sauvignon Blanc is a huge success story.” Still, given that of the 115 wines submitted for review (only) 22 were blends and 28 wooded, perhaps they should have highlighted a Top 5 rather than a Top 10 in these categories. As it is, they awarded more than half the field in each case – no doubt including some wines scored less than 93/100, which equates to silver medal status rather than gold. (The scores of the Top 20 × 3 are being withheld until a prize-giving end-2020).
Some of the standout wines among Winemag's Top 10s below are the 2020 Zevenwacht 7even, the 2019 Iona Wild Ferment and the 2019 Stark-Condé Round Mountain, all finalists in the FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition, with the latter also a gold medal winner (95/100) at the Decanter World Wine Awards in the UK. And best value Sauvignon Blanc at under R100 a bottle: the Zevenwacht 7even 2020, as well as Rietvallei 2020, Mulderbosch 2019, Lanzerac 2019 and Bloemendal Waterlily 2019 – not all of them unwooded!
SAUVIGNON BLANC SEMILLON
Brunia 2018
R250pb ex-cellar, Stanford
Constantia Glen Two 2019
R290pb ex-cellar, Constantia
Delaire Graff Reserve 2018
R425pb ex-cellar, Helshoogte, Stellenbosch
Durbanville Hills Tangram 2019
R375pb ex-cellar, Durbanville
Flagstone Treaty Tree Reserve 2018
R145pb ex-cellar, Somerset West
Iona One Man Band 2017
R290pb ex-cellar, Elgin
Lanzerac Keldermeester Versameling Bergstroom 2017
R200pb ex-cellar, Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch
Shannon Capall Bán 2017
R295pb ex-cellar, Elgin
Tokara Director's Reserve 2017
R280pb ex-cellar, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch
Vergelegen G.V.B 2018
R440pb ex-cellar, Somerset West
WOODED SAUVIGNON BLANC
Benguela Cove 2019
R170pb ex-cellar, Bot River
Cape Point Reserve 2019
R210pb ex-cellar, Noordhoek
DA Hanekom Klipmeer 2018
R185pb from producer, Durbanville
Giant Periwinkle Blanc Fumé 2019
R200pb ex-cellar outside Elim, Cape Agulhas
Groote Post Seasalter 2020
R151pb ex-cellar, Darling
Iona Wild Ferment 2019
R195pb ex-cellar, Elgin
Le Bonheur Blanc Fumé 2019
R200pb ex-cellar, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch
Le Bonheur Weather Blocks 2020
R100pb ex-cellar, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch
Mulderbosch 2019
R95pb ex-cellar, Polkadraai, Stellenbosch
Stark-Condé Round Mountain 2019
R125pb ex-cellar in Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch
UNWOODED SAUVIGNON BLANC
Bloemendal Waterlily 2019
R95pb ex-cellar, Durbanville
Cape Point Noordhoek 2019
R135pb ex-cellar, Noordhoek
Durbanville Hills Collectors Reserve Cape Mist 2019
R160pb ex-cellar, Durbanville
Groote Post 2020
R103pb ex-cellar, Darling
Lanzerac 2019
R95pb ex-cellar in Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch
Paul Cluver 2019
R110pb ex-cellar, Elgin
Rietvallei 2020
R95pb ex-cellar, Robertson
Vergelegen 2020
R120pb ex-cellar, Somerset West
Wildeberg Terroirs 2019
R240pb ex-cellar, Franschhoek
Zevenwacht 7even 2020
R70pb ex-cellar in Kuils River outside Stellenbosch