THE TOP Chardonnay from South Africa as rated 96+ locally or internationally in 2025 by one or more of the respected panels tasting ‘blind’, i.e. labels out of sight – excluding wines made specifically for sale on auction, export-only wines and museum-class wines. For details of the ratings and for
FROM a vineyard that recently turned 50, the current-release 2022 Stellenbosch 1679 Old Vine Pinotage is probably the best vintage of this wine since the maiden 2019. Its rating of 97+ at the Global Wine Masters (UK) followed a score of 95/100 at the Fine Wine Awards (SA), which came
Talk about a success story! Launched in 2019, the first of Koelenhof Winery’s flagship Stellenbosch 1679 range was the 2017 Bush Vine Chenin Blanc. Soon thereafter The Legacy red was introduced, a Cape Bordeaux-style blend, and then came the Pinotage and the Cabernet Sauvignon. All now with awards and high
TWO WINES scored 99 points on their 100-point scale. A first for Platter’s South African Wine Guide. Most highly rated in the 2026 edition, the hardcover version available in book stores from December 2025: A Chenin Blanc, Botanica Mary Delany 2024, grapes from the Citrusdal Mountain district in the Olifants
WITHIN the large Perdeberg outfit in the north-western reaches of South Africa’s Paarl district there’s a boutique cellar where dry-farming (unirrigated) culminates in two special wines under the Endura label, one white and one red – a single-vineyard Chenin and a Pinotage-driven Cape Blend. With 2017 having been the first
SOUTH AFRICA’S good showing at the 2025 Global Chardonnay Masters in the UK was remarkable for a number of reasons. Among the gold medallists announced mid-November is Springfield of Robertson, who usually try to avoid having their wines rated in panel tastings conducted ‘blind’. Also among the standouts are Cape
At the heart of Perdeberg’s winemaking philosophy lies a profound respect for resilience, and nowhere is that spirit more beautifully captured than in the Endura range. These wines pay tribute to the enduring journey of dry-farmed vines, which thrive against the odds to deliver fruit of remarkable concentration and flavour.
THE GRAPES for négociant Neil Ellis’s Whitehall Chardonnay don’t come from the same vineyard that was used originally, but the Elgin beauty is as delightful as ever – and apparently it gets better with time in the bottle. Scored 94/100 in Winemag’s 2024 Report on South African Chardonnay, the 2022
THE TOP-RATED wine going into the final round of judging at the 2025 Veritas Awards – the biggest, longest-running wine competition in South Africa where very high scores are tough to come by. The 2021 vintage of Dornier’s Cape Bordeaux-style red blend Donatus – the name being Latin for a
ONCE AGAIN the food critics have spoken – those whose votes count towards South Africa’s JHP Gourmet Guide. And once again, La Colombe at Silvermist on Constantia Nek is their choice as the top-rated restaurant in the Cape winelands, i.e. on the farms, among the vines, as well as one
Caroline’s 2025 edition of her annual White Wine & Cap Classique Review, one of the most prestigious tasting events on the South African wine calendar, will be staged on Thursday 6 November from 17h00 to 21h00 at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town. Hosted by Caroline Rillema of the legendary
For the first time, the story of South Africa’s most popular white wine cultivar has been brought together in a single publication: The Story of South African Sauvignon Blanc. The 248-page book offers the most complete overview of the variety to date, tracing its journey from the first plantings at
