IT’S RIDICULOUS! A number of top winery proprietors or cellarmasters in the Cape winelands turned down the invitation to be listed in Platter’s 2024 South African Wine Guide. In this the 44th edition of the book, the printed version of which finally went on sale more than a month after the top ratings therein were divulged online, you can read
ITALIAN for Bacchus, the Roman God of Wine, Bacco is also the name of a new wine estate in the Simonsberg area of Paarl where proprietor Nathan Jankelowitz and his team are attracting attention in more ways than one. Opened to the public at the end of 2022, the Bacco tasting room and restaurant present a multi-sensory experience. There’s the
THE VERY BEST wines of South Africa at under 150 rand a bottle as reviewed by the top panels of experts locally and internationally in 2023. There is even a platinum award winner and a trophy laureate among these recommendations, and those highlighted in RED are either included in the 2023 SA Wine Classification, such are their good track records
IT’S GOODBYE to the Longtable restaurant at Haskell Vineyards and hello to Stellenbosch Reserve – for lunch (Tue-Sun) and dinner (Thu-Sat), classy yet casual, and a tasting room offering wines from the ‘Stellenbosch Collection’. Think pizza and chicken from the rotisserie, but also a lamb dish, beef fillet, pan-seared fish… On the the winelist and in the tasting room: the
FOR THE December 2023 issue of Decanter Magazine in the UK, a panel comprising Masters of Wine Anne Krebiehl (chair), Justin Knock and Dirceu Vianna Junior assessed 134 Pinot Noirs from Australia (44), New Zealand (63) and South Africa (27) – all priced at £30+ per bottle in the UK or the equivalent in their domestic markets. Of these, 12
WHAT WERE the odds! Okay, so the 2019 wasn’t quite the maiden vintage of Beyerskloof’s Eerste Ry Cab – the 2018 and 2019 were released together. Nevertheless, like a front row forward earning his Springbok blazer, the achievement of being the most highly rated Cabernet Sauvignon in the 2024 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide ahead of Cabs that
BEFORE being honoured with a trophy at the Global Fine Wine Challenge in Sydney, Australia, Tokara’s 2020 Director’s Reserve White blend was a 95-pointer at Decanter’s World Wine Awards in the UK and then a gold medallist at the Global Masters, also in the UK. Tough to better this, and yet… Stellenrust’s 2022 Barrel Fermented Chenin was applauded with the
IF YOUR WINERY is fairly off the beaten track, perhaps your tasting room isn’t attracting quite as many guests as you’d like and you want to bolster your public profile, to take things to the next level, why not relocate where you do your entertaining? The Vondeling farm is in that corner of Paarl called Voor-Paardeberg, just ‘over the hill’
AS IF it had been stage-managed! Just over a week after The Sadie Family was lauded for the umpteenth time as South Africa’s top cellar in the 2024 edition of Platter’s guide, the results of a poll conducted by Winemag.co.za and then of an auction by Strauss & Co served to confirm the status of the country’s No. 1 –
2018 is the eighth vintage of Babylonstoren’s Cap Classique. How time flies! The bottle-fermented sparkler has a good track record and this year could be the best to date. It’s certainly got off to an impressive start, released five years after harvest, gaining in complexity. Not just 5 Stars in the 2024 edition of Platter’s SA Wine Guide but, at
IF YOU DEFINE the Simonsberg Wine Route in Stellenbosch as including those cellars on either side of the R44 between the boundary with Paarl to the north and Stellenbosch suburbia to the south, before you turn east to the Helshoogte Pass in the direction of Franschhoek, then there are only a few places of note if you fancy a table
THEY’RE IN AGREEMENT… The Top 3 places to eat at on South African wine farms are Chefs Warehouse at Beau Constantia, La Colombe at Silvermist in Constantia and La Petite Colombe at Leeu Estates in Franschhoek, i.e. included among both the 3-Star Restaurants honoured at the Eat Out Awards of New Media/Media 24 and those deemed worthy of a ‘Three
THERE are SIX producers in various parts of the Cape winelands who are most applauded in the 2024 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide. Congratulations to The Sadie Family outside Malmesbury, Platter’s Winery of the Year, to Bosman Family Vineyards of Wellington and the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde outside Hermanus, recipient of The Editor’s Award, as well as to those producers
THE TOP sparklers from South Africa are applauded around the world, not just locally. Some of them are now commanding prices in line with Champagne, although most still present better value for money. These are the country’s bottle-fermented bubblies most highly rated by the top panels internationally in 2023 to date, and highlighted in red are those included in the SA
THESE ARE the red blends from South Africa’s winelands that most impressed the top panels internationally in 2023 to date, with by far the majority of them – those highlighted in red – included in the SA Wine Classification showcasing good track records over the past 10 years. Many of these producers have been pulling it off virtually vintage after
FOR A WHILE longer at least, most of South Africa’s leading blended whites remain combinations of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, but the number of outstanding Chenin-led blends seems to be on the increase. These are the country’s white combos that were most pleasing to the top panels internationally in 2023 to date, and highlighted in red are those that qualify
SOME SAY Shiraz, some say Syrah… These are South Africa’s top-rated expressions of the variety from the top panels of wine judges internationally during 2023 to date, and highlighted in red are those that qualify for the SA Wine Classification showcasing good track records over the past 10 years. Bloemendal Tyger Syrah 2016 96 points at Trophy Wine Show
IF YOU LIKE Sauvignon Blanc, no doubt you’ll love these beauties – the most glowing reviews of South African expressions by the top panels of wine judges locally and around the world in 2023 to date. Highlighted in red are those Sauvignons that qualify for the SA Wine Classification showcasing good track records over the past 10 years. De
‘BORN’ in South Africa and, at its best, one of the country’s delightful ambassadors. These are the expressions of Pinotage that really wowed the top panels around the world in 2023 to date, and highlighted in red are those that qualify for the SA Wine Classification showcasing good track records over the past 10 years. Alvi’s Drift Verreaux Pinotage
SOUTH AFRICA’S Chenin Blanc is such a strong category and getting stronger, pulling ahead of France, with over 40 wines receiving particularly good reviews from the top panels internationally during 2023 to date. Delights from Paarl, Wellington and the Breedekloof, Stellenbosch and the Swartland, Durbanville, Bot River and Franschhoek. One of the country’s ‘signature’ varieties, and highlighted in red are
