A NUMBER of South Africa’s Top Pinotage cellars are represented among the 2019 Absa Top 10 Competition finalists. There are no surprises among the Top 20, with all of the producers having excelled before with previous vintages. Odds-on favourites to be called to the podium on 14 August? Beyerskloof, Kanonkop, Wildekrans… Most notable absentees? Rijk’s, Flagstone, Diemersfontein… That the Pinotage Association
Read moreAFTER assessing over 16 500 entries, the 2019 Decanter World Wine Award judges selected 50 considered ‘Best in Show’. France was the most successful of the 57 wine-producing countries participating at this international competition held in London, followed by Spain, Australia, Portugal and Italy in terms of their number of show-stoppers. No South Africans cracked the nod for one of
Read moreA SAVING of over R150 a bottle on one of South Africa’s Top 10 Chenins! R200pb less for the most highly rated Shiraz and top wine overall at the Michelangelo Awards!! R55 a bottle for one of the country’s Top 10 white blends!!! Almost 50% less than at the farm for a Cabernet in the Top Wine SA Hall of
Read moreYOU COULD hardly script a better year for a winery, such have been the achievements surrounding the 30th anniversary of Beyerskloof. One of South Africa’s top red wine cellars, the Stellenbosch producer is unrivalled as a Pinotage specialist with four single-varietal expressions of South Africa’s most successful ‘indigenous’ wine grape cultivar, three Pinotage-led Cape Blends, one of the very few white
Read morePRODUCED “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
Read moreSEEING 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
Read moreBEYERSKLOOF 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
Read moreTHE ANNOUNCEMENT of the Absa Top 10 for 2018 served to reiterate a number of truths and trends: ‘old’ vines make for good wines; the more experience you have with the variety and the vineyards, the higher the likelihood of greatness in the bottle; while the benchmarks remain steadfast, those contesting the premier league have grown in number and location;
Read moreENTRIES in the Perold Cape Blend Competition are required to have Pinotage as a leading component – a minimum of 30% but no more than 70%. According to Pinotage Association chairman Beyers Truter: “When the Absa Perold Cape Blend competition was initiated in 2011, the aim was to promote a category that would yield bold, vibrant wines truly representative of South
Read moreSMALL POINT BUT… Why have a menu at the home of such South African marvels as Beyerskloof Pinotage, blends including the country’s ‘indigenous’ variety, and the Pinotage burger, that lists some items in French, Italian, etc? However, moving right along… The Red Leaf Bistro is one of the hotspots on the Stellenbosch wine route, particularly since the restaurant was revamped and the range of
Read more“PINOTAGE has the heart of a lion and the tongue of a woman; after drinking a certain quantity you can talk forever and fight like the devil!” – Anonymous. More memorable wine quotes here. The Top 10 Pinotage in terms of South African wines with the best track records over the past 10 years (2006 – 2015) are the following: Beyerskloof
Read moreTHE 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
Read moreTHE TERMS Rosé, Blush and Blanc de Noir describe ‘white’ wines made from ‘black’ grapes, grapes that are actually red in colour… Typically they involve a gentle pressing of the grapes, limiting the time that the juice and the skins spend in contact with each other, and then proceeding with production along similar lines to wines made from ‘white’ grapes, grapes which actually range from
Read moreTHERE ARE FEW surprises among the winners of the Pinotage Association’s 2014 Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition… Delheim Vera Cruz is better known for its prowess in the Shiraz category – the Vera Cruz Pinotage is a maiden vintage. And it’s suspected that certain Pinotage heavyweights including Kanonkop didn’t enter on this occasion – there is also no Kaapzicht Steytler,
Read moreBEYERSKLOOF, Kanonkop, KWV, L’Avenir and Rijk’s top the list of contenders for Champion Pinotage Producer in 2013… The following wines achieved outstanding reviews from the judges at blind-tastings around the world during the past 12 months: TOP PINOTAGE RATINGS IN 2013 Anura Reserve 2011 – Top 10 in Top 10 Pinotage Competition, Double Gold Medal at Michelangelo Awards Beyerskloof Diesel 2010 –
Read moreTHE RESULTS of the 2013 Classic Wine Trophy competition are hardly surprising in terms of the class winners. Particularly not when it comes to the overall victor, with Chamonix scooping three of the 14 trophies awarded in various categories at the Taj Hotel in Cape Town just a few months after being named Winery of the Year in the 2013 edition of
Read moreGREAT BUYS for the festive season… Pinotage that has been highly recommended this year by one or more of the expert tasting panels around the world AND that costs less than R80 a bottle – with prices given ex-cellar, or approximate retail if the public can’t buy directly from the producer: ALLEE BLEUE Starlette 2011 – R42 BEYERSKLOOF 2011 – R55 BOLAND CELLAR Reserve No
Read moreONLY 2840 BOTTLES. 36% Pinotage, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Shiraz, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Tannat, 5% Mal- bec. 85% Stellenbosch, 15% Paarl. 16 months’ barrel maturation (70% new) KWV’s PEROLD TRIBUTUM has got off to a promising start: silver medal at the 2012 International Wine Challenge, another at this year’s International Wine & Spirit Competition (also in London), and now one of the Top
Read moreIT WAS THANKS to KWV cellarmaster Richard Rowe that word first got out that the winners of the 2012 Perold Absa Cape Blend Competition had been announced. At what presumably was a very low-key pre-dinner function somewhere in the winelands, a proud Rowe and Johann Fourie, head winemaker at KWV, were quick to tweet the results as soon as it
Read moreGREAT VALUE Pinotage wines under R75 a bottle that have received good reviews by one or more of the top tasting panels around the world during the past 18 months. Prices given in South African rand, ex-cellar or approximate retail where cellars are closed to the public: @ R44pb – Koelenbosch Pinotage 2009 from Koelenhof, silver medallist at 2012 Trophy Wine
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