USED TO BE that Chateau Libertas from SFW/Distell represented many a South African wine lover’s staple red. That and the likes of a Groot Constantia dry red and KWV Roodeberg, if you could get it, Douglas Green St Augustine if you couldn’t. The sort of red you might graduate to after Tassenberg, before going on to, say, Alto Rouge or a dry red from Nederburg, Rustenberg, Kanonkop or Rust en Vrede. But how things change… Roodeberg is now widely available, Constantia Rood costs twice as much, and Chateau Lib is hardly recognisable, relative to the wonders of way back, the production plant now owned by a brewer, as is the Nederburg winery for that matter!

These days there are so many more options. And agreed, you can also have good value in the premium price sectors of the market, at hundreds of rand or tens of dollars or pounds per bottle. But if we’re talking best value on a limited budget, at ‘entry level’ or when times are tight, everyday wines versus those for a really good meal or special occasions… For many, for quite a long time, we wanted to know about the best buys at under R100pb, less than $20 or below £6 a bottle. What with inflation etc, we pushed this up to R120pb, others opted for R130pb, and now we’ve raised the ceiling to R150pb: click here.

The following are some of the benchmark SA wine producers in various red and white categories together with what they were charging for their various tiers at the time of writing, from second or third labels up to premium as well as luxury wines in certain instances. It’s long been argued that top South African wines are worth more than what they’re fetching in various export markets, and with an increasing number of the country’s wineries exporting in excess of 50% of what they bottle, it shouldn’t be too surprising if what’s offered in the bargain bins at the local supermarket begin to approach the R200 mark within a couple of years.

 

SOME WHITE WINE PRICE TIERS

Cape Point Sauvignon Blanc
R105–R155–R210pb from the cellar, Noordhoek

Cederberg Sauvignon Blanc
R110–R125–R235–R275pb from the cellar, Cederberg

Diemersdal Sauvignon Blanc
R80–R120–R155–R170–R230–R265 from the cellar, Durbanville

Jordan Chardonnay
R90pb–R135–R225–R360–R470pb from the cellar, Stellenbosch Kloof

Kleine Zalze Chenin Blanc
R77–R136–R260–R460pb from the cellar, Stellenbosch

Paul Cluver Chardonnay
R125–R280–R850pb from the cellar, Elgin

Perdeberg Chenin Blanc
R70–R95–R145–R250pb from the cellar, Paarl

Rustenberg Chardonnay
R100–R200–R500pb from the cellar, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

Stellenrust Chenin Blanc
R85–R281pb from the cellar, Helderberg-Stellenbosch

 

SOME RED WINE PRICE TIERS

Alto Rouge (Red Blend)
R119pb from the cellar, Helderberg-Stellenbosch

Beyerskloof Pinotage
R100–R195–R280–R950pb from the cellar, Stellenbosch

Boekenhoutskloof Shiraz
R70–R495pb from the cellar, Franschhoek

Diemersdal Pinotage
R110–R180–R335pb from the cellar, Durbanville

Groot Constantia (Red Blend)
R170–R227–R525pb from the cellar, Constantia

Hartenberg Shiraz
R115–R250–R895–R995pb from the cellar, Bottelary-Stellenbosch

Kanonkop (Cabernet, Pinotage, Red Blend)
R130–R140–R150pb–R490–R540–R850–R2000pb from the cellar, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

Kleine Zalze Cabernet Sauvignon
R89–R185–R435pb from the cellar, Stellenbosch

Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon
R105–R225–R515pb from the cellar, Paarl

Rijk’s Pinotage
R170–R290–R560–R1450pb from the cellar, Tulbagh

Roodeberg (Red Blend)
R89–R149–R259pb from the KWV cellar, Paarl

Saronsberg Shiraz
R120–R290–R1500pb from the cellar, Tulbagh