IT WAS inevitable, after another round of prohibition in South Africa, once wine sales were allowed again end-July 2021 at Lockdown Level 3 in terms of the COVID-19 Disaster Restrictions, top priority among those needing to stock up again was to look for the bargains on offer. People needed to get a case of something / anything decent onto those bare racks and into the empty wine cupboards before contemplating extra-special purchases once again. Many online retailers were running promotions and plenty of wine farms were offering free deliveries and discounts up to 25%. The most-visited pages on Top Wine SA were those highlighting the respected panels' FAVOURITES and those among them that had been released at UNDER R120 a bottle.
Among the standouts still on sale – even at under R100 a bottle – at the time of writing included: Cathedral Cellar Sauvignon Blanc 2019 from the KWV in Paarl (using grapes from Darling), which scored 97/100 (platinum) at the international Decanter World Wine Awards; Land's End Syrah 2018 (WO Cape Agulhas) from the Du Toitskloof cellar in the Breedekloof, which did well at the Decanter Awards and South Africa's National Wine Challenge; Landskroon Cabernet Franc Merlot 2019 from Paarl, which placed among the top three blends in the Cab Franc Challenge; Piekenierskloof Chardonnay 2020 from outside Citrusdal, which earned a gold medal (95/100) at the Decanter Awards; and the Retief Reserve Cape White Blend 2019 from Van Loveren in Robertson, a class winner at the National Wine Challenge.
On day one after the ban on wine sales was lifted, Top Wine SA received the following communication from one of the desperate: “Please send me a list of wines Under R40 per bottle white, R50 red. Please!” Fat chance of anything decent at these levels these days. Best the panels of experts could come up with in 2021 to date is the 2020 vintage of Douglas Green Chenin Blanc at under R65pb in the supermarkets – gold at Mundus Vini in Germany, silver at the Decanter Awards, UK.