THERE WERE 75 single-variety South African Chenins submitted for assessment in Winemag’s 2024 Prescient Chenin Blanc Report, with 49 rated 90-plus and three of these regarded as particularly outstanding, worthy of 95 according to the panel’s 100-point scoring system. However, their favourite among the top three, the Best Overall: Flagstone
THE TASTING PANEL of South Africa’s Winemag.co.za has never scored any glass of red or white higher than 96 out of 100, and prior to May 2024 had only awarded such a score to nine wines since they began using a 100-point scale. In 2023 they found just one wine
THERE ARE very few SA wines selling for Under R150pb being showcased on Top Wine SA as of May ’24. Which says a couple of things: that prices are climbing, to state the obvious, and that only those wines that have been highly rated by a top panel during the
CHARDONNAYS from Lothian Vineyards of Elgin and Whalehaven of Hermanus were South Africa’s top-scoring gold medallists at the 2024 International Wine Challenge in London. The 2022 vintage from Lothian and the 2023 Seascape Reserve (WO Upper Hemel-en-Aarde) from Whalehaven achieved 96/100 – just above 13 other gold medal winners from
SPECIALIST retailer Wine Concepts is thrilled to invite Cape Town residents and visitors to their annual festival unlike any other in South Africa: The Grape Escape! Following the success of the event in previous years, this year’s festival – to be held at Kirstenbosch for the first time – promises
THISTLE & WEED is what winemaker Stephanie Wiid and viticulturist Etienne Terblanche call their boutique cellar alongside the Jonkershoek Road in Stellenbosch – on the Leef op Hoop Farm before you enter the valley en route to the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve. They are Chenin Blanc specialists who also have a
SPEAKING about the state of the wine industry worldwide from the International Organisation of Vine & Wine headquarters in Dijon, France, the OIV’s director general John Barker (of New Zealand) stressed the downward trend in consumption, rising prices and inflation that continues to “bite”. The key highlights in the organisation’s
THERE ISN’T much of South Africa’s 2024 Cab Franc Challenge winner, and at the time of writing – after the results went public, a week after the awards presentation – the bottles had yet to be labelled, let alone released onto the market! Hopefully the 2021 vintage of Mitre’s Edge
IT WAS A tussle between Meerlust and Kanonkop for the highest price fetched by South African wine at Strauss & Co’s ‘Bordeaux Auction’ conducted online mid-April 2024 – R4885pb paid for both a Meerlust Rubicon from the 1980s and a Kanonkop Paul Sauer not yet 10 years old. As for
SOUTH AFRICA’S old-vine wine certification requires that the plants should be more advanced in years than the majority, however some would argue that the authorities haven’t gone far enough. To be labelled as ‘Certified Heritage Vineyards’, the brains trust behind the Old Vine Project feel that 35 years is a
GENERALLY SPEAKING, these are not wines submitted for reviewing by any of the top panels locally or internationally – although occasionally there are some wonderful exceptions to the rule. In most cases they’re presented as the very best that can be produced in these cellars, finish and klaar, i.e. according
“Fairview Wine and Cheese unveils revolutionary ‘Goat Labour’ initiative” “In a move that has raised eyebrows and provoked uproar among traditionalists, Fairview Wine and Cheese, under the visionary leadership of Charles Back, has announced a groundbreaking strategy to tackle economic challenges head-on. Brace yourselves, because the era of vineyard workers
