OF THE 48 entries in South Africa’s 2026 Top 10 Merlot competition, the wine most preferred by the panel of judges was the 2024 Provenance Merlot from L’Avenir on the slopes of the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch. The Judges’ Choice Award winner also offered great value at R140pb – this in
WHAT A PITY that South Africa’s ‘Best in Show’ Stellenbosch Reserve Hangbrug Chenin Blanc 2025 was already ‘sold out’ ex-cellar when the winners of the 2026 Decanter World Wine Awards were announced in London. Just R175 a bottle, so perhaps it’s no wonder. Fortunately, there were a number of good
THE 2021 vintage of the flagship Cab from Kleine Zalze in Stellenbosch received such rave reviews in the first half of 2026 that the ‘sold out’ signs went up ahead of schedule – just days after it excelled at the Investec Trophy Wine Show in Paarl, South Africa’s most prestigious
SOME OF the trophy and gold medal laureates at the 2026 Investec Trophy Wine Show will set you back over R500 a bottle – three times that for the most highly rated red. South Africa’s best wines rank with the best from elsewhere in the world and this is being
A CHENIN from the Cederberg and a Cabernet from Delaire Graff in the Banghoek area of Stellenbosch were the ‘top guns’ at South Africa’s 2026 Investec Trophy Wine Show – the most highly rated white and red wines in a competition contested by 650 entries from all corners of the
JUST WEEKS after Kleine Zalze was awarded a trophy for their 2021 Family Reserve Cab at the 2026 International Wine Challenge in the UK, the Stellenbosch producer won gold for this wine at the Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters competition hosted by London publication The Drinks Business. Kleine Zalze was one
159 WINES from 20 countries were entered in the 2026 edition of Syrah du Monde held at the Ampuis Castle in the Rhône Valley, France. After two days of judging, 52 wines were considered medal-worthy – 23 silvers and 29 golds, including one from the only winery on the slopes
SOUTH AFRICA’S showing at the 2026 International Wine Challenge in the UK “reinforced the country’s strength across classic Cabernet Sauvignon, premium white blends and modern Shiraz”, as was borne out by what the judges chose to elevate from gold to trophy status – their favourites among the Cape beauties scored
FOR their 2026 ‘Autumn Series’ of panel tasting reports, Winemag.co.za assessed around 200 South African wines including Chenin Blancs and Cape White Blends
THREE wines among the ‘outstanding’ South African red blends particularly impressed in a panel tasting report for the March ’26 issue of the UK’s Decanter magazine. The Sacrament 2023, Abrie Beeslaar’s Cape Bordeaux-Style red blend under his own label after stepping down as cellarmaster at Kanonkop: Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet
CABERNET Franc from the southern hemisphere. 112 wines tasted for the report in the UK’s Decanter Magazine, December ’25 issue. Ten wines rated 95–97 points, including four from South Africa. Top-scoring wine: Warwick’s 2022 vintage, WO Stellenbosch – with the Cape’s Damascene, Lisha Nelson and Raats also among the panel’s
THE BEST track records over the past 10 years… South Africa’s top wines on a consistent basis, rather than according to a single vintage or two, based on reviews by the top panels judging in the fairest way possible to counter positive or negative bias, i.e. without knowing the identities
