SJOE! The Trophy Wine Show got it so right when they honoured the 2019 Thokozani Cabernet Franc as Discovery of the Show in 2022. Best value gold medallist in South Africa’s premier wine competition, open to wines of all categories, this beauty from the Diemersfontein cellar in Wellington was also top of its class at the National Wine Challenge (SA)
Read more2022 HAD ALREADY got underway when Decanter (UK) announced the names of their Wines of the Year 2021. Experts around the world and on the Decanter team nominated those wines that had impressed them most during the year to October 2021, and these were then re-assessed by a panel comprising three of the publication’s judges: Master of Wine Michelle Cherutti-Kowal,
Read moreTHE VERY BEST wines of South Africa at under R120 a bottle in 2021. Recommended by the top panels of wine experts locally and internationally. Better than standard gold (some gold medals count more than others), even including a few platinum award winners and a couple of trophy laureates. 95 points or higher if scored out of 100 (scores of
Read moreIN SUMMARY… South Africa’s White Wines of the Year, Sparkling Cap Classiques of the Year and SA Red Wines of the Year in 2021 – as well as the SA Dessert Wines and SA Port-Style Wines of the Year… Some accolades carry more weight than others, and there’s something to be said for a wine that ticks the boxes for
Read moreSOME AWARDS carry more weight than others, and there’s something to be said for a wine that ticks the boxes for a number of top tasting panels. Over 1500 South African wines were highly rated around the world in 2021, and the following are the red wines among them that received the most glowing reviews of the year – Cabernet
Read moreSOME AWARDS carry more weight than others, and there’s something to be said for a wine that ticks the boxes for a number of top tasting panels. Over 1500 South African wines were highly rated around the world in 2021, and the following are the white wines among them that received the most glowing reviews of the year – Chardonnay,
Read moreSOME AWARDS carry more weight than others, and there’s something to be said for a wine that ticks the boxes for a number of top tasting panels. Over 1500 South African wines were highly rated around the world in 2021, and the following are the sparkling wines among them that received the most glowing reviews of the year – bottled-fermented
Read moreTHE WORDS ‘Private Bin’ on a bottle of Nederburg no longer mean that the wine was sold exclusively on auction. However, they do still indicate that the winemakers have made a special effort, gone the extra mile – and they now also appear on the Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon, beginning with the 2017 vintage. That said, the range of
Read moreSO, THE 2022 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide finally arrived on the bookshelves at around R390 a copy – early December instead of late November. At the time of writing, you still couldn’t buy one on the publisher’s website, where the 2021 version was on sale at R360. An online subscription for roughly half the price gives you
Read moreOld Road Grand-mère Semillon 2017 • Gold Medal, Best in Class at Trophy Wine Show (SA) • Gold Medal at International Wine Challenge (UK) Old Road 12 Mile Syrah 2018 • Gold Medal at International Wine & Spirit Competition (UK) AND THESE ARE just the stars of the range in 2021, two from several tiers of wines offered by the
Read moreTHE LE RICHE cellar has always been there or thereabouts when considering South Africa’s leading producers of Cabernet Sauvignon over the past decade or so! However, the last three years have been particularly successful for the family, with rave reviews from critics locally and internationally, culminating in victory at the Global Fine Wine Challenge in Sydney where the 2018 vintage
Read more70 YEARS AGO, who would have imagined what Roodeberg was to become… Dr Charles Niehaus was appointed as KWV’s chief wine scientist in 1941, during World War II, and he remained a central figure at South Africa’s leading co-operative winery until his retirement in 1971. To think that the KWV’s dry red wine portfolio back in the day comprised just
Read moreA COMPETITION of which the results are talked up in stages, the Global Fine Wine Challenge in Sydney picks up where the Six Nations Wine Challenge left off in 2019, prior to the Covid pandemic sweeping the world, with the 2021 edition contested by wines from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA. At the time of writing,
Read moreMmmm! The 2021 Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships held in England came and went, the CSWWC results were published and, for the second year in succession, the best South African producers could muster were silver medals presented for a couple of Cap Classiques from Graham Beck of Robertson and one from the Cederberg Private Cellar. No golds. This was
Read moreAWKWARD! Who was more embarrassed: the good folk at Spier Wine Farm in Stellenbosch, the South African National Wine Show Association who organise the Veritas Awards, or the sponsors of the competition? Whereas De Grendel Wine Estate in Panorama/Durbanville would be forgiven if they felt robbed! The 2021 prize-giving took place in early November and the Duimpie Bayly Veritas Vertex
Read moreWHAT RUBBISH! Wine Spectator, the biggest and some say the most influential magazine cum online publication for wine lovers in the USA names its Top 100 for 2021 and ONLY ONE of them is from South Africa: De Wetshof Bon Vallon Chardonnay 2020. Incredible! Although better than the zero in 2019… and in 2020 there were only three: Glenelley Estate Chardonny
Read moreDAYS IN ADVANCE of launching the 2022 edition of their book and presenting awards for their choice of Wines and Wineries of the Year, the publishers of Platter’s South African Wine Guide teased followers by divulging the names of their 5 Star laureates – 234 of them, each considered to be ‘Superlative, a South African classic’. However, also disclosed on
Read moreWHAT TO LIKE about Winemag‘s pick of South Africa’s ‘Top 20 Wines’ in 2021, ‘The Best Wines in South Africa’ and their choice of ‘Winery of the Year’? Well, good to see Vergelegen in the spotlight again: top estate, veteran winemaker, impressive track record. Interesting to see what Winemag rated most highly: Cavalli Filly Chenin Blanc 2020 and DeMorgenzon Maestro
Read moreWHEN THE going gets tough, the tough get going! Nearly two years of COVID-19 restrictions had a significant impact on tourism around South Africa and the world in general, let alone that in the Breede River Vally and country towns such as Bonnievale. However, with things beginning to return to some form of normality the Jonker family at Weltevrede had
Read moreTHE STORY of Vilafonté has much to do with the brand, the positioning and marketing thereof. Front and centre though is a commitment to quality and a style that can “stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the great wines of the world”. This is one of South Africa’s leading luxury wines, but not the smoke and mirrors variety. Here the degree of confidence
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