Best red, top cellar... Tokara dominates Winemag ratings |

Best red, leading cellar… Tokara dominates top Winemag ratings in 2020

12/2020 Mike Froud Leave a comment

AMAZING ACHIEVEMENT! A Top 10 rating for every red and white that Tokara submitted for assessment in the various Winemag reports of 2020, with three of the bottlings judged best in their category: the 2017 Director’s Reserve (White Blend), the 2019 Reserve Chardonnay and the 2017 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – the latter also getting the nod as Best Red Wine Overall. The Tokara trio were all rated 95/100, the top score awarded by the Winemag panel during the year and on just 12 occasions – see below. It’s no wonder that GT Ferreira’s estate in Stellenbosch was the publishers’ choice as South African Winery of the Year!

Located among the foothills of the Simonsberg alongside the Helshoogte pass, Tokara has been one of the country’s top cellars for some time. Many of the wines are classified at or near the top of their class and they’re no strangers to the Hall of Fame. Also acknowledged as one of South Africa’s top producers and particularly in respect of Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay is DeMorgenzon, with the 2018 Reserve Chenin from Wendy Appelbaum’s Stellenbosch Kloof estate singled out as Winemag’s pick for Best White Wine Overall.

Apparently Chenin is a favourite of the panel comprising Winemag editor Christian Eedes and Wine Cellar merchants Roland Peens and James Pietersen, given that five of the 12 wines they rated most highly in 2020 were made from this grape. No Shiraz, no bubbly, no sweets…