BOTTLES of the mysterious and rare George Spies Cabernet (Durbanville grapes, Paarl cellar) are regularly made available via the South African auction house Strauss & Co, with 750ml of the 1968 vintage sold during the Bordeaux Theme sale on 17 September 2023 going for over R23K – the highest price paid
THEY MAKE at least half a dozen Chenins at the Stellenrust winery in the Helderberg and another at their boutique ArtiSons cellar in Bottelary. Even the ‘standard’ version (currently R89pb) has won at the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Challenge before and is one of three Stellenrust wines with such good
SHINING in a line-up of 157 sparklers on the tasting bench at the 2023 Amorim Cap Classique Challenge, the 2017 vintage of KWV’s Laborie Blanc de Blancs was judged the best dry bottle-fermented wine made exclusively from Chardonnay and the best wine overall. This on top of the Paarl bubbly
THERE IS more than one South African wine made using the Tannat variety of grapes, but they are very few and far between – and this one comes from grapes grown on an organic farm hundreds of kilometres from the heart of the winelands, a nine-hour drive from Cape Town.
HIGHLIGHTS of the Chenin & Pinotage online sale by South African auction house Strauss & Co on 11 September ’23 – wines that fetched over R2000 a bottle on the day: CHENIN BLANC Sadie Family’s Skurfberg 2015 R44 555 (US$2360) paid for 6×750ml: R7425/750ml Sadie Family’s ‘T Voetpad 2017 R18 760
WHO HASN’T seen one of those wine bottle stickers denoting a Tim Atkin rating or award! The assessments by this British Master of Wine are conducted with full knowledge of whose wine it is and where it comes from, what vintage it is and how it was made – they
Overlooking the Franschhoek Valley, La Petite Ferme – the name translates simply as ‘the small farm’ – is situated alongside the Oliphants Pass on the slopes of the Middagkrans Mountain Range. Over the decades, it has evolved into a memorable winelands destination that includes a boutique hotel, an award-winning restaurant
MOST of South Africa’s top-rated wines these days cost over R250 a bottle – more than 300 of the wines scored 93 points plus in 2023 to date are positioned at R300+, with 180 or so at R400+ and over 100 at R500 to R2000. And yet, during the past
HOW ABOUT THAT! The Grand Prix trophy winners for the top-scoring red and white wines at the 2023 Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards (SA) are Allée Bleue of Franschhoek for their 2018 Single Vineyard Syrah, and Rooiberg of Robertson for their 2023 Game Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. Who said Sauvignon
IT SELDOM happens that a winemaker has a hand in two Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition laureates in the same year, but what do you know… In 2023 there were two of them: Abrie Beeslaar, cellarmaster behind the winning 2017 vintage from Kanonkop Estate in Stellenbosch and also coming top
WHEN THEY put it like that, it’s hard to swallow… that the “Top 10” Sauvignon Blanc wines of South Africa don’t include even one worthy of a top rating in their book (96+). “Inherently simple,” says Winemag editor Christian Eedes in the publication’s annual report on the category, sponsored by
59 WINES from 49 producers were reviewed for Winemag’s 2023 Report on Cape Bordeaux Red Blends, i.e. combinations of two or more of the varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Delaire Graff’s Botmaskop of Stellenbosch came top in the tasting, although it was scored the same
