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.