SO CONSISTENT! None of South Africa’s other great white blends have been as highly rated for as long. With their Bordeaux-style Sauvignon Blanc Semillon combo, Vergelegen hasn’t missed a beat, so to speak. Anglo American’s flagship white wine from their estate on the slopes of the Helderberg in Somerset West has been a hit since the maiden vintage 2001 right
BASED ON THE BEST track records in over 30 top local and international forums for the assessment of wine quality and interest value during the past 10 years, the South African Wine & Cellar Classifications showcase the country’s leading outfits – those regularly on top form, their product judged excellent to outstanding again and again, year after year. Newcomers and
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 LATE Giulio Bertrand established a tradition at his Morgenster wine and olive farm in Somerset West of releasing Bordeaux-style reds only when they have had the benefits of ageing, although he and his winemakers weren’t averse to strutting the qualities of their beauties in their youth, too. So it is again with the 2014 Estate Reserve, a small quantity of
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
EIGHT WINES from Sauvignon Blanc, with Eight Rows in the Hall of Fame, four Sauvignons in the SA Wine Classification, three in the Top 20 and two in the Top 10. Diemersdal Estate of Durbanville is not the only leading Sauvignon producer in South Africa, but no other winery comes close as regards their success as a specialist with so many versions of
FROM one of South Africa’s Top 20 wineries, one of the nation’s Top 10 expressions of Sauvignon Blanc, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame… Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Sur Lie is consistently rated as among the Cape’s top quality, more interesting Sauvignon Blancs, and the 2017 vintage is no exception: a winner at the SA Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition plus
BASED ON THE BEST track records in over 30 local and international forums for the assessment of wine quality and interest value over the past 10 years, the South African Wine & Cellar Classifications celebrate the country’s leading outfits – those regularly on top form, their product judged top-notch again and again, year after year. To be eligible for the
FROM TIME to time Top Wine SA has fielded queries regarding how the South African Wine & Cellar Classifications compare with the South African Wine Index, which also has to do with good track records. For those who remain curious about the SAWi Wine Excellence Awards or how Top Wine SA’s selection of the country’s Top 100 and the Hall of Fame differ from
CONSIDERING the most highly rated of South Africa’s most successful wines of the 10 years 2007 to 2016, the country’s strongest suits are not surprising. What might raise eyebrows is that there aren’t more Cap Classique sparkling wines or that there isn’t a single varietal Merlot or Semillon in the 2017 Top 100 SA Wine Classification or Top Wine SA Hall
BASED ON THE BEST track records in 28 local and international forums for the assessment of wine quality and interest value over the past 10 years, the South African Wine & Cellar Classifications celebrate the country’s leading outfits – those who are regularly on top form, their product judged top-notch again and again, year after year. To be eligible for
THE SA Wine & Cellar Classifications point to the current ‘who’s who’ of the South African winelands – all of the top wines and cellars over the past 10 years, including the very best in each class. Ten years’ tasting results, the best track records, involving the TOP TASTING PANELS, local and international – a pooling of expert opinions about South
BASED ON THE best track records in 26 local and international blind-tasting forums over the past 10 years, the South African Wine & Cellar Classifications celebrate the country’s leading outfits – those who are regularly on top form, their product judged top-notch again and again, year after year. To be eligible for the Classification, updated annually since 2004, a wine must
ALTHOUGH THE EXACT pecking order regarding the very best wine producers in South Africa will forever be debatable, there is little argument amongst the cognoscenti that The Sadie Family is comfortably among the Top 10 in terms of the special nature and interest value of what they produce. Yet to many, this cellar in the foothills of the Paardeberg outside Malmesbury in the
RELATIVE to many other top South African wine estates, Diemersdal is humble in appearance – nothing very fancy, a rustic farm that in some ways has been slow to change with the times, and all the more charming for it. Within the ward of Durbanville, the farm stands apart to the north of the town – quite separate from most of
THE TULBAGH WINES with the best track records over the past 10 years stand out as follows – all regular recipients of good reviews by top judges internationally: TOP REDS PINOTAGE – Rijk’s, Manley, Klein Tulbagh SHIRAZ – Saronsberg, Rijk’s, Saronsberg Provenance RED BLENDS – Saronsberg Full Circle, Saronsberg Seismic, Saronsberg Provenance Rooi TOP WHITES CHENIN BLANC – Rijk’s VIOGNIER – Saronsberg WHITE BLEND – Fable
SOUTH AFRICA’S 2014 Wine & Cellar Classifications based on the best track records in 25 local and international blind-tasting forums over the past 10 years feature eight new inclusions among the Top 100 Cellars: De Morgenzon, Laborie Wine Estate, Newton Johnson Family Vineyards, Nitida Cellars, Quoin Rock Winery, Rall Wines, Reyneke Wines and Van Loveren. However the majority of the
FOR SOME the annual Cape Winemakers Guild Auction is an opportunity to acquire some of what amounts to the best tanks or barrels before they’re combined with others nearly as good for sale in commercial quantities. For others it’s a chance to get one or more of the special cuvées from top cellars, wines made in tiny quantities, sometimes very unique,
WITH HIGHLIGHTS of the 2013 SA Wine & Cellar Classifications announced during the past few days, we now focus on a very select group of wines that stand out as having received good reviews from one or more of the top tasting panels for AT LEAST EIGHT VINTAGES over the past 10 years. Literally wines of distinction, these 16 whites, 23
