“BRIGHT GOLD colour with brioche, buttered toast and apple pie nose. The fine bubbles are creamy on the rounded, full palate. Intense with a silky-smooth long finish. A joy!” These are the tasting notes of the judges at the 2018 International Wine & Spirit Competition who considered Villiera Monro Brut 2012 the best of over 200 sparkling wine entries from around
IF THE QUALITY isn’t up to spec, Kleine Zalze won’t bottle their top-of-the-range Family Reserve. There wasn’t a 2011 Shiraz, nor a 2014, but after the current-release 2013 comes the 2015 Family Reserve Shiraz, which will go on sale already highly recommended by panels of experts at first the International Wine Challenge, then the International Wine & Spirit Competition (also
PRODUCED “to exhibit the individuality of South Africa’s indigenous grape in ultimate cellar artistry” – and to honour a dog! Diesel was the name given to a beloved canine friend of South Africa’s Pinotage ambassador Beyers Truter, and it’s the name of the flagship wine from the Pinotage specialists at Beyerskloof, Stellenbosch. Diesel Pinotage has pretty much everything going for
SEEING IS BELIEVING! Wine lovers might have wondered why, when announcing most of their 2018 results as regards South African entries in September, for some reason the organisers of the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London chose to include Warwick among the few South African wineries singled out for special mention, i.e. even though this Stellenbosch estate wasn’t among the
SPIER 21 GABLES is a range of single varietal wines, the premium offerings from this Stellenbosch outfit. The name pays tribute to the farm’s Cape Dutch architectural legacy, and forming the cornerstone of the range are a Chenin Blanc and a Pinotage, both included among the Top 10 of their type in the SA Wine Classification, with the portfolio having
BEYERSKLOOF of Stellenbosch has been awarded the trophy for best Pinotage in the 2018 International Wine & Spirit Competition, with the judges commending the 2014 vintage of Beyerskloof Diesel for its “great concentration of flavours on the palate, silky smooth texture, and long finish with a hint of chocolate”. The Pinotage specialists were also honoured for their Cape Blend, Faith, among
TROPHY WINNERS: • Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Merlot 2014 (Bergkelder) • Jordan Nine Yards Chardonnay 2015 • Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage 2013 • Nederburg Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 • Plaisir de Merle Grand Brut 2014 (Cap Classique Sparkling) • Stellenrust Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2016 ABOVE ARE the names of the most successful South African entries at the 2017 International Wine & Spirit
KANONKOP, Spier and Nederburg have placed top of their class in the 2017 International Wine & Spirit Competition, London – Kanonkop leading with three vintages of their Cabernet Sauvignon from the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch, Spier of Stellenbosch excelling with the same vintage of their Pinotage that triumphed at Mondial earlier in the year as well as at the 2016 Veritas
DeMORGENZON is unquestionably one of South Africa’s top white wine producers and the success of this Stellenbosch outfit on the show circuit internationally over the past couple of years has been particularly impressive. The team returned from the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards in London with a trophy for best Chardonnay, which could have put a few Burgundian noses out of joint,
THE GOOD people of Kanonkop on the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch regularly mention that doing well in competitions is not of prime concern… Yet the estate and/or their agents continue to enter various vintages in various taste-offs and they continue to shine with their Pinotage, their Bordeaux-style red blend Paul Sauer, their Cabernet. And it can be frustrating, albeit understandable, when the award winners are ‘sold out’ at
A GROWING NUMBER of wine lovers today are falling for Groot Constantia’s Grand Constance – a Grande Dame reborn, you might say. The thing is, this unfortified dessert wine is coming of age (again) after some of the vintages following the (re)launch eight years or so ago were met with mixed reviews – down-to-earth cellarmaster Boela Gerber is open about how things weren’t quite
THERE WERE FEW surprises among the top performers at the 2012 International Wine & Spirit Competition in London. What takes a bit of getting used to, however, is the organisers differentiating between “outstanding” gold and silver medal winners on one hand and other gold and silver medal winners on the other. If they’re wrestling with trophy, gold, silver and bronze
