Semillon and Cabernet Franc the standouts in Winemag Minority Report
ACCORDING to Winemag’s 2020 Prescient Minority Report, the focus of the competition is on South African “wines from varieties whose respective total plantings do not exceed 2000ha… this is a chance for the more subordinate varieties to shine!” Catchy name, but talk about sticking your chin out! It wasn’t long before sombebody rushed to the defence of Cabernet Franc, commenting on Winemag.co.za how important the variety is and how it shouldn’t be considered a minority – let alone subordinate! It could also be argued that some of the 55 whites and 60 reds that were assessed don’t need any special favours – certainly not in the case of the super-successful Semillon vintage from Highlands Road in Elgin or the Cab Franc champions of Bruwer Raats in Stellenbosch.
The actual scores of the top wines in this Winemag Report were withheld by the publishers pending an annual awards do at the end of the year. It will be interesting indeed to see how highly the panel comprising Winemag editor Christian Eedes, Roland Peens and James Pietersen (both merchants at Wine Cellar in Cape Town) rated the 2018 Highlands Road Semillon, one of the Wines of the Year and platinum laureate at the National Wine Challenge and Michelangelo Awards respectively, as well as the 2017 Raats Family Cabernet Franc, one of the Wines of the Year in Platter’s SA Wine Guide and gold medallist at the Cab Franc Challenge.
TOP 10 ‘MINORITY’ WHITES
Arcangeli Vesta Semillon 2017
R160pb ex-cellar, Bot River
Bellingham Bernard Series Grenache Blanc 2017
R250pb ex-producer, Franschhoek
Benguela Cove Catalina Semillon 2018
R650pb ex-cellar, Bot River
Bosman Fides Grenache Blanc 2018
R240pb ex-cellar, Wellington
Highlands Road Semillon 2018
R220pb ex-cellar, Elgin
Old Road Grand-mére Semillon 2017
R535pb ex-producer, Franschhoek
Pilgrimage Old Vine Semillon 2018
R500pb at Rickety Bridge cellar, Franschhoek
Shannon Triangle Block Semillon 2017
R250pb ex-producer, Elgin
Shannon Triangle Block Semillon 2018
R250pb ex-producer, Elgin
Vergelegen Reserve Semillon 2018
R325pb ex-cellar, Somerset West
TOP 10 ‘MINORITY’ REDS
Beaumont Mourvèdre 2017
R315pb ex-cellar, Bot River
De Krans Touriga Naçional 2018
R115pb ex-cellar, Calitzdorp
Dornier Tempranillo Reserve 2016
R225pb ex-cellar, Upper Blaauwklippen Valley, Stellenbosch
Old Road Pardonnez-Moi Cinsaut 2019
R115pb ex-producer, Franschhoek
Piekenierskloof Cinsault 2019
R135pb ex-cellar, Citrusdal Valley
Piekenierskloof Heidedal Cinsault 2018
R450pb ex-cellar, Citrusdal Valley
Raats Dolomite Cabernet Franc 2018
R175pb ex-producer, Polkadraai, Stellenbosch
Raats Family Cabernet Franc 2017
R600pb ex-producer, Polkadraai, Stellenbosch
Stellenrust Barrel Selection Cabernet Franc 2017
R170pb ex-cellar, Helderberg, Stellenbosch
Welgegund Grenache Noir 2019
R325pb ex-producer, Wellington
Looking at Winemag’s Minority Report, it’s interesting to observe that the average price per bottle for the white wines is R338 and the average price per bottle for the red wines is R262. Usually it is the other way around.
The national vineyard is not as diverse as it could be. On one hand, it’s unlikely we are going to see big plantings of exotic varieties with limited popular followings, given the distressed state of the economy, but on the other hand, climate change is a very real challenge and the industry needs to explore new varieties better suited to heat and drought.