ALBERTUS VILJOEN was the founder of Worcester farm Alvi’s Drift back in 1928: charismatic, athlete, Springbok rugby player of note. Bismarck was Alvi’s Great Dane: superior in stature, commanding respect, providing a friendly welcome to visitors. And the red blend named in honour of the man and his hound is among the ‘ultra premium’ offerings from Alvi’s Drift: multiple award
YOU MIGHT well scratch your head on hearing the results of South Africa’s National Wine Challenge. Convener Robin von Holdt of BuyBetterWine chooses to release the results in tranches, and whereas it might seem logical to either build up to a climax or begin with the most special awards, he prefers to kick off with a function where only the
BEST in Constantia, one of the Top 10 in South Africa. Groot Constantia Chardonnay is one of the three most successful wines from the grandest estate on the Cape Peninsula, among the country’s Top 100 Wines Overall and in the Top Wine SA Hall of Fame. Last year the 2017 vintage was a star at the National Wine Challenge and considered Outstanding
THE WINELANDS of Tulbagh are best known for Cap Classique, Pinotage and Shiraz. Or vice versa, you could say. And when it comes to Shiraz from this district in the Upper Breede River Valley, Saronsberg is second to none. From one of the Top 20 cellars in the country, both the Rhône-style blend Full Circle and the single-varietal Shiraz are among
THE CREATIVE Block range of wines from Spier in Stellenbosch is one that explores the art of blending, which in the case of No. 3 is about balancing the components of a Rhône-style combination, with Shiraz playing the leading role. The figure has to do with the number of varieties in the blend. And like its predecessors, the 2015 is rather
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
NOT FROM Stellenbosch or Tulbagh, nor from Bot River, Wellington, Paarl… Flagstone’s super-successful Pinotage is from vines on the farm of Anton Roos in the Waaihoek Mountains, one of the highest vineyards in the Breedekloof district of South Africa’s winelands – the place and the wine so astounding that Flagstone founder Bruce Jack was once ‘stumped’ for words! The first
ONE OF THE three most topical wines of the Breede River Valley during the first half of 2018 originates half in Robertson, half in Worcester… From the South African wine region that stretches southeast of Tulbagh and Ceres to Bonnievale, northwest of Swellendam, comes the sparkling wine judged best Cap Classique at the National Wine Challenge. Celine Brut NV, which
OVER THE TOP? Perhaps. But while there are very few occasions when you can feel relaxed talking about a No. 1 rather than a Top 10, say, surely this is one of them. The 2015 vintage of Mount Bullet from Shannon Vineyards was judged Best Merlot in South Africa’s 2018 National Wine Challenge and awarded top score in Winemag’s annual Merlot
THERE WERE around 600 wines judged at South Africa’s National Wine Challenge 2018 convened by Robin von Holdt’s Buybetterwine.com. The judges comprised chairman Greg Sherwood (UK Master of Wine), Ginette de Fleuriot (Cape Wine Master), sommelier Wayve Kolvesohn, with winemakers Duncan Savage, Matthew Day of Klein Constantia, Richard Kershaw (Master of Wine) and JD Pretorius of Steenberg. Sommelier Higgo Jacobs was
IT’S REPORTED that there were over 500 entries in the 2017 edition of the National Wine Challenge, now in its seventh year as a competition that culminates with awards for the Top 100 entries from South African vintners and Grand Cru awards for the wines judged to be best in each class. The number of submissions is some way off the
NOW IN ITS third year, the Top 100 SA Wine Challenge is a competition with objectives that include “helping to re-position South Africa’s top wines”. According to the organisers: “Consumer friendly and simple, we de-myth the bunk yet keep the romance of fine wine flowing.” The judges are predominantly Masters of Wine (UK), and the Challenge culminates in April each year
NOW IN ITS second year, Top 100 SA Wines has a few things going for it as an authoritative competition, e.g. the sommelier, several Masters of Wine and some leading winemakers involved in managing the tasting procedures and judging processes, contributing to credible results. However, although there are a number of top cellars among the entrants there are too many
