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THERE ARE wine lovers who are obsessed with pecking orders, rankings, insisting on there being one that is best overall, numero uno. Others, while no less discerning, are relaxed about there being a number of top wines, levels of interest value, degrees of greatness – that when it comes to the best there can be more than one, i.e. somewhat different in character but equally special.

Of those that qualified for the 2024 South African Wine Classification comprising the most highly rated according to the top panels of experts over the past 10 years, between 10 and 20 standouts in each of the larger categories are highlighted, whereas in the case of smaller ones there are fewer shining stars, sometimes none. The Top Wine SA Hall of Fame showcases those producers from whose cellars have come 132 wines with the Best of The Best track records – in some cases the ‘superheros’ have a number of such consistently delightful beauties to their name, in other cases there’s one in particular.

And talking next level consistency… Of the 67 SA wine producers showcased in the 2024 Hall of Fame, 38 were also producers of The Best of The Best when the 2014 SA Wine Classification was published 10 years before – see below:

 

Beaumont – Bot River

Bellingham – Franschhoek

Beyerskloof – Stellenbosch

Boplaas – Calitzdorp

Cape Point Vineyards – Noordhoek

Cederberg Wines – Cederberg

De Krans – Calitzdorp

Delheim – Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

DeMorgenzon – Stellenbosch Kloof

Diemersdal – Durbanville

Eikendal – Helderberg-Stellenbosch

Graham Beck – Robertson

Groot Constantia – Constantia

Hartenberg – Bottelary-Stellenbosch

Heineken Beverages / Distell – Stellenbosch

Jordan – Stellenbosch Kloof

Kanonkop – Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

Ken Forrester – Helderberg-S’bosch

Klein Constantia – Constantia

Kleine Zalze – Stellenbosch

Nederburg – Paarl

Paul Cluver – Elgin

Raats – Stellenbosch

Rijk’s – Tulbagh

Rustenberg – Stellenbosch

Sadie Family – Paardeberg-Swartland

Saronsberg – Tulbagh

Simonsig – Stellenbosch

Spier – Vlottenburg-Stellenbosch

Stark-Condé – Jonkershoek-S’bosch

Steenberg – Tokai/Constantia

Stellenrust – Helderberg-Stellenbosch 

Tokara – Helshoogte-Stellenbosch

Uva Mira – Helderberg-Stellenbosch

Vergelegen – Somerset West

Villiera – Stellenbosch

Warwick – Simonsberg-Stellenbosch

Windmeul – Paarl

 

• For the 2024 Top Wine SA Hall of Fame in full, click here, and for more information about South Africa’s top wine producers, click here.