WHO HASN’T seen one of those wine bottle stickers denoting a Tim Atkin rating or award! The assessments by this British Master of Wine are conducted with full knowledge of whose wine it is and where it comes from, what vintage it is and how it was made – they are not ‘blind’ tastings, labels out of sight, and sometimes he scores in the company of the winemaker or owner of the cellar. The ratings are those of one person, as opposed to a panel of wine experts, although he explains that a score of 95+ is his equivalent of a gold medal in competition terms – whereas 90 to 94 is tantamount to silver. And yet, anything over 90 from him is regarded by plenty of wine producers as more prestigious than a good review from a number of the local and international wine shows and competitions.

Based in England, Atkin has just come up with the 2023 edition of his South Africa Special Report, the 11^th such annual publication involving two trips a year to the Cape winelands. He is well acquainted with many of the leading cellarmasters, viticulturists and wine estate proprietors. He knows the lie of the land, and that of numerous other wine-producing countries – one of the top wine judges in the world, qualified, experienced, and a senior juror on the panels at the International Wine Challenge in the UK. There are very few other critics of South African wines who also publish scores as individuals on a regular basis with the labels in view. But others there are…

Greg Sherwood is a fellow MW, a South African involved in the UK wine trade for some time, often returning to the country to keep in touch with the winemakers first-hand and whose blog/website is A Fine Wine Safari. Whereas Christian Eedes is the Cape Town-based editor of Winemag.co.za, a website on ‘everything to do with South African fine wine’. Both critics are also on the judging panels of various competitions locally and internationally, and on Winemag, Eedes publishes both his personal wine ratings and those of the various panels he chairs in compiling a number of category reports on an annual basis.

Atkin’s top-rated wines over the past 12 months? Boschkloof Epilogue Syrah 2021 (100 points), as well as Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2020, Porseleinberg Syrah 2021 and Alheit Huilkrans Chenin Blanc 2022 (all scored 99). For the rest of his ratings he asks that you pay £20 to download the full report.

Sherwood’s top-rated wines as reviewed on his website over the past 12 months? Mullineux Olerasay 3° Chenin Blanc Straw Wine NV (100 points), as well as Alheit Lost & Found Hanepoot Straw Wine 2019, Klein Constantia Vin de Constance Natural Sweet 2019, Leeu Passant Radicales Libres Chardonnay 2017 and the red blend MR de Compostella 2020 from Raats (all scored 98).

Eedes’ top rated wines over the past 12 months? Boschkloof Epilogue Syrah 2021, David & Nadia Skaliekop Chenin Blanc 2021, Mullineux Olerasay 3° Chenin Blanc Straw Wine NV, Rall Ava Syrah 2021 and 2022, Sadie’s Mev Kirsten Chenin Blanc 2021 and Storm Ridge Pinot Noir 2020 (all scored 98 points). For access to his ratings database, Winemag charges a subscription fee of R50pm.

The individual reviews by these critics don’t count towards the annual SA Wine & Cellar Classifications, the best track records in terms of ratings awarded by the top panels around the world. However, while there are a lot more world-class wines from the Cape than those most raved about above, there is general agreement that South Africa’s Top 100 wine producers over the past 10 years include Boschkloof, David & Nadia, Klein Constantia (Vin de Constance), Le Riche, Mullineux & Leeu, Raats, Rall, the Sadie Family and then some…