WELL WOULD YOU look at that! While the trophy winner at this year’s CAPPA Port Challenge is again from Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo, three of the six gold medal-winning producers are not from the ‘Port Capital’ of South Africa! Besides the Cape champion and runner-up overall from Boplaas, a wine from De Krans and another from Peter Bayly (all of Calitzdorp), two of
THE CELLARS of David Nieuwoudt in the Cederberg, Thys Louw at Diemersdal in Durbanville and Nick van Huyssteen at Saronsberg in Tulbagh where Dewaldt Heyns holds the reins have been particularly successful of late, with the Stellenbosch cellars of Kleine Zalze and Simonsig as well as KWV of Paarl also shining again and again in various categories. South Africa’s top-scoring wines at the top tasting panels around the world in
PROBABLY the biggest surprise at the 2014 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show was the revelation that award-winning wine is now also being made in the vicinity of Riversdale, where vineyards were nowhere to be seen prior to 2009. While the 2013 Baleia Bay Chardonnay that earned the trophy for ‘Discovery of the Show’ (best-value gold medallist) can be bought just off the
THERE ARE THOSE that can be too spirity, over the top, but the leading examples are quite wonderful among the dessert wine offerings of the Cape. At their best, the fortified red and white Muscadels and Jerepigos made from Muscat grape varieties – typically d’Alexandrie or de Frontignan – show complexity and alluring sweetness without being cloying. And generally speaking, they’re
THERE WERE raised eyebrows among the Francophiles when results of the eighth Syrah du Monde were announced in the northern Rhône, France. The judges reviewed 405 wines from 26 countries and at the end of three days there were four South Africans among the Top 10, versus two from France. And in their own back yard! Ooh la la!!
THERE’S BEEN much talk again of late about the Top 100 SA Wines and The Cape’s Top 20 Wineries of 2014 – the chatter about South Africa’s Top 100 wines prompted by a selection of various vintages of various types of wine based on the outcome of a local challenge involving some 490 competition entries, and the debate as to the country’s
THE MONT ROCHELLE hotel is nice enough and the Chardonnay can be pretty good, but the estate doesn’t exactly rate among the cream of Franschhoek’s wine properties Allée Bleue, Boekenhoutskloof, Boschendal, Chamonix, Dieu Donné, GlenWood, La Motte, Môreson, Rickety Bridge, Solms-Delta… Not when it comes to best in the bottle. However, that British tycoon Sir Richard Branson views the latest addition to his
WHAT LEADS TO a wine being positioned as ultra-premium price-wise could be a rarity factor coupled with consumer/collector demand, the investment that’s gone into the maturation/ageing of the product, brand value, perhaps simply the cellar’s wish to offer a statement wine demanding attention even when or precisely because it’s beyond the realm of affordability for many folks. Invariably though –
SOMETIMES it’s simply about achieving as good as it gets on a smaller budget. Sometimes it’s a way of handling the left-overs or dealing with what’s declassified after bottling the really good stuff. But, it should go without saying that the second- or third-tier wines from the country’s premier producers are usually worth experimenting with if not already well renowned
ALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest SA Red Blend Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail prices
ALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest SA Shiraz Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail prices if
ALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest Pinotage Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail prices if the
ALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest SA Pinot Noir Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail prices
ALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest SA Merlot Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail prices if
ALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest SA Cabernet Sauvignon Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail prices
ALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest SA Sauvignon Blanc Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail
ALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest SA White Blend Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail
ALL OF THE South African wines given below are included in the Top Wine SA Semillon and Viognier Classifications, with the listing limited to those wines whose top accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail prices if the wine
ALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the 2014 SA Chenin Blanc Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate
ALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest SA Chardonnay Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail
