AFTER MUCH anticipation, the trophy laureates at the 2017 Amorim Cap Classique Challenge were announced at an awards function in Cape Town: Simonsig Cuvée Royale Blanc de Blancs 2012 (overall winner), Domaine des Dieux Claudia Brut 2011 and Simonsig Woolworths Pinot Noir Rosé 2015, as well as Graham Beck Brut Zero 2005 in the Museum Class for wines no longer on
Read moreTHERE WERE 161 entries in the 2017 edition of Rosé Rocks – 128 still and 33 sparkling Cap Classique. According to the competition chairman, Cape Wine Master Allan Mullins: “The quality of rosé wine being produced in South Africa is on par with the best that Spain and France produce!” And we’ve seen some consistency from top producers of the drier styles
Read moreTHE ORGANISERS of the Decanter World Wine Awards in the UK describe their competition as the “most influential”. Ditto the International Wine Challenge, also of the UK, which goes further in claiming to be “the finest” and the “most meticulous”. But these are modest compared to The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships: “The most respected, prestigious and rigorous… No
Read more113 ENTRIES, 93 laureates, 36 bronze medallists, 47 silvers and 11 gold medal winners. Only 11 duds. What a fantastic hit rate! And the grand champion at the 2016 Amorim Cap Classique Challenge from Paarl: Anura Brut 2011 – R180 a bottle from the tasting room at the farm in the foothills of the Simonsberg. Anura Vineyards might not immediately spring
Read moreGOLD MEDAL winners at the third Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships in London included two of South Africa’s Cap Classiques: the premium Graham Beck Cuvée Clive 2009 from Robertson and Domaine des Dieux Claudia Brut 2010 from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge outside Hermanus. All told, there were 149 gold and 143 silver medallists – the Cape’s Le Lude and Wildekrans among
Read moreGOODBYE to Pheasants’ Run Sauvignon Blanc, hasta la vista Bowed Head Chenin Blanc, The Ridge Syrah, Coffeestone Cabernet and then some – at least under the Graham Beck banner, that is! In a brand rationalisation that will see everything without a bubble stripped from the range, Robertson’s leading sparkling wine producer and one of South Africa’s top three Méthode Cap Classique
Read more“I only drink Champagne when I’m happy, and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty” – Lily Bollinger (1899 – 1977), proprietor of French Champagne house
Read moreASKED to come up with a line-up of wines he “considered as South Africa’s aspirational Cap Classiques” that wine lovers won’t buy or drink every day, Graham Beck cellarmaster Pieter Ferreira chose a selection that he regarded as “under the radar but sparkling up a storm”. His presentation along these lines was at the 2015 Cape Wine trade show in the
Read moreA SURPRISING result, to say the least! The winner of the 2015 Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge contested by 114 bubblies comes from a farm better known for red wines, especially Pinotage, aromatic whites including Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc – and not forgetting the Italian variety Barbera. However, while Altydgedacht has been making sparklers from Chardonnay in the traditional way since 2008,
Read moreSTELLENRUST Clement de Lure MCC Brut NV was recently chosen as the favourite sparkling wine in a line-up of 44 bubblies judged ‘blind’ (labels out of sight) by a group of knowledgeable wine folk who’d gathered at the upmarket Harrow restaurant at Little Bedwyn in Marlborough, Wiltshire UK. A “shock result” was how the organisers of the inaugural Little Bedwyn World Sparkling Wine
Read moreAT THE DAWN of the new millennium there were only 20 or so South African wineries producing sparkling wine according to the traditional or classic method for which the French are famous. Today there are over 100 cellars in the Cape making Cap Classique on a regular or occasional basis. The category has been booming, in part at least thanks
Read moreSOUTH AFRICA’S 2014 Wine & Cellar Classifications on the basis of the best track records in 25 local and international blind-tasting forums over the past 10 years have just been released. To be eligible for Classification, a wine must have been made and bottled in South Africa and must have earned very good reviews by at least one of the
Read moreFAMILIAR AND not-so-familiar names among South Africa’s most successful sparkling wine producers in 2013… The following bubblies achieved outstanding reviews from the judges at blind-tastings around the world during the past 12 months: TOP SOUTH AFRICAN SPARKLING WINE RATINGS IN 2013 Ayama Blanc de Blanc 2008 – 4½ Stars in Classic Wine Magazine Bon Courage Jacques Bruére Brut Reserve 2008 – Double Gold
Read moreBOSCHENDAL bubbly winemaker Lizelle Gerber is on a roll. The 2008 vintage of the Grande Cuvée Brut didn’t perform as spectacularly as her 2007 but the 2009 is off to a great start with a gold medal at the recent Michelangelo Awards and now first place in the latest Amorim Tsogo Sun Méthode Cap Classique Challenge even before the wine is
Read moreSPARKLING DAY OUT: scene from the inaugural Casa Labia Bubbly Festival CAN’T WAIT for midday Saturday (16 March) and an afternoon of sipping sparklers on the lawn of Casa Labia in Muizenberg while nibbling various delights and gazing at the waves, surfers and boats on one of the quaint strips of False Bay coastline… From the time the first drinks
Read moreJC Le Roux Scintilla 2003 is theMCC Challenge winner for 2012 THE HOUSE OF KRONE was among the highlights of this year’s Méthode Cap Classique Challenge, sponsored by Amorim Cork and organised together with the Cap Classique Association which represents South Africa’s leading bubbly producers. The House of JC Le Roux won the competition with their 2003 Scintilla blend and scooped
Read moreVILLIERA cellarmaster Jeff Grier and sales boss Cathy Grier-Brewer are among the best ambassadors for the Stellenbosch wine route. Cape Wine Masters of many years standing and, together with fellow director and viticulturist Simon Grier, at the helm of a winery with a reputation for good Cap Classique sparklers and several other fine wines, the siblings were as welcoming as
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