THE STAND-OUT port-style wines from South Africa, the best reviews of the year… Klein Karoo producers Axe Hill, Boplaas, the Calitzdorp Cellar and De Krans remain dominant, with Bergsig of the Breedekloof and KWV of Paarl offering the main alternatives at this level of quality – a standard that irked the Portuguese so much that the European Union banned South African cellars from using
THE STAND-OUT South African wines made from niche varieties, the best reviews of the year – including a particularly successful Viognier, which many winemakers regard as better suited for blending with other varieties, a Grenache Blanc with great interest value, and a couple of dry reds from cultivars more commonly associated with port-style fortified wines: WHITE WINES Altydgedacht Gewürztraminer
THE STAND-OUT Merlot from South Africa, the best reviews of the year – and how particularly outstanding these are, given the difficulty in producing top quality single-varietal Merlot as opposed to using it in blends. In fact, up to 15% of a so-called single-varietal wine can comprise a variety or varieties other than that which the wine is sold as…
THE STAND-OUT Chenin Blanc wines from South Africa, the best reviews of the year – DeMorgenzon, Jean Daneel, Jordan, Kanu, Stellenrust and Spier shone more often than most, although what great value-for-money from Mulderbosch, Leopard’s Leap, Villiera and Douglas Green Bellingham: Beaumont Hope Marguerite 2011 – 5 Stars in Platter’s Guide Bellingham The Bernard Series Old Vine 2010 – Top 100 SA Wine Challenge
THE STAND-OUT Chardonnays from South Africa, the best reviews of the year – from particularly good value wines courtesy of Durbanville Hills and Douglas Green Bellingham to beauties from De Wetshof, Hamilton Russell, Jordan, Mulderbosch, Paul Cluver, Sumaridge, Tokara, Uva Mira and others that have wowed the critics again and again: Almenkerk 2011 – gold medal at Decanter Awards, 4½ Stars in Christian Eedes
THE STAND-OUT Cap Classique sparkling wines, the best South African bubbly reviews of the year by experts around the globe. Once again the big guns command attention for all the right reasons, but there are now also plenty of other sparklers offering better value than Champagne. Bring on the festive season! Boschendal Grande Cuvée Brut 2007 – trophy at Classic Awards, Top 100
THE STAND-OUT Cabernet Sauvignon from South Africa, the best reviews of the year – from particularly good value wines including Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection, Dieu Donné and Tokara, to Cabs made at the Cederberg Private Cellar and Stark-Condé in the Jonkershoek Valley that have come under the spotlight again and again and again: Cederberg 2009 – Top 100 SA Wine Challenge selection Cederberg Five Generations
THE STAND-OUT Cabernet Franc wines from South Africa, the best reviews of the year: so consistent are Raats and Warwick of Stellenbosch; from Paarl cellars, the rise of KWV’s Mentors range has been meteoric, and interesting to see Nelson back on the radar again; whereas Von Ortloff’s beauty from Franschhoek is already pretty much sold out; Oldenburg’s popularity in the Banghoek
ONLY 2840 BOTTLES. 36% Pinotage, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Shiraz, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Tannat, 5% Mal- bec. 85% Stellenbosch, 15% Paarl. 16 months’ barrel maturation (70% new) KWV’s PEROLD TRIBUTUM has got off to a promising start: silver medal at the 2012 International Wine Challenge, another at this year’s International Wine & Spirit Competition (also in London), and now one of the Top
IT WAS THANKS to KWV cellarmaster Richard Rowe that word first got out that the winners of the 2012 Perold Absa Cape Blend Competition had been announced. At what presumably was a very low-key pre-dinner function somewhere in the winelands, a proud Rowe and Johann Fourie, head winemaker at KWV, were quick to tweet the results as soon as it
YOU MIGHT BE led to believe that Chris and Andrea Mullineux came up with what the team of tasters for the 2013 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide rated 5 Stars and voted Red Wine of the Year based on attention to detail, leaving nothing to chance… But of course there’s a lot more to the 2010 Mullineux Syrah than
YES THERE’S MORE to the quality and character of a wine than the winemaker; naturally the location and condition of the vines, the soil, the climate, the weather and everything else associated with the ‘terroir’ play important roles. However, what a difference the cellarmaster and his team can make! Of course there were exceptions, but before Gottfried Mocke took charge
BOEKENHOUTSKLOOF was judged Platter’s Winery of the Year in 2011/2012 and this year the title goes to Chamonix on the other side of the valley in Franschhoek. The award was presented at the launch of the 2013 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide where the names of the top-rated wines in the book were announced: Chamonix got thenod for
Wine of Show at Five NationsChallenge 2012(R130 a bottle) WHAT ELSE must South Africa do to win the Five Nations Wine Challenge in Sydney?! The guys from the Western Cape dominated half a dozen or so of the 16 categories judged in 2012 and won five trophies including “Wine of Show” (top-scoring wine overall), yet it was competition host Australia
BY AND LARGE, Douglas Green is a range of good everyday-drinking SA wines sourced from producers in various parts of the Cape and sold at very competitive prices. Every now and then, however, along comes a vintage that performs above its station… On more than one occasion fans might have been forgiven for asking whether by mistake perhaps the brand
Jordan, Stellenbosch: one of South Africa’s very best wine estates, especially for whites Jordan Wine Estate is the leading contender for the title of this year’s SA Chardonnay Champion. As one of the Top 10 White Wine Cellars in South Africa and one of the country’s Top 20 Cellars Overall, Jordan also fields good Chenin, Sauvignon, Riesling as well red and dessert
THERE WERE FEW surprises among the top performers at the 2012 International Wine & Spirit Competition in London. What takes a bit of getting used to, however, is the organisers differentiating between “outstanding” gold and silver medal winners on one hand and other gold and silver medal winners on the other. If they’re wrestling with trophy, gold, silver and bronze
Windmeul Cellar, R44, Paarl THE 2012 VERITAS AWARDS include particularly impressive performances by KWV, Nederburg, Cederberg, Durbanville Hills, Marianne, Nuy, Rust en Vrede, Simonsig, Spier and Windmeul – all winning four or more gold or double gold medals at the South African National Wine Show Association’s major competition of the year. However for cash-strapped wine shoppers looking for bargains among
THE TASTING ROOM in a corner of the Flagstone winery is located in a tacky semi-industrial precinct between Somerset West and (the) Strand, but the people behind the clunky metal door to the ‘factory’ are nice, knowledgeable about wine and serving some lovely stuff with some of the coolest labels in the Cape. Many Flagstone followers are fans because of a
THE TRUTH WILL OUT! On 1 October, the Excelsior wine estate outside Ashton in the Robertson district posted an article under the headline “How important is winning medals?” (to read in full, click here). On 2 October, freelance writer and professional wine judge Christian Eedes posted an article under the headline “Bling it on – the relative merits of wine
