HARTENBERG Estate’s charming underground cellar is not only the home of maturing Shiraz and then some, but also a gallery of 12 artworks by German coppersmith Karl Heinz Wilhelm depicting the various phases of cultivating and producing wine. On the surface, the Mackenzie family’s vineyards are planted to a number of different varieties, however this farm in the Bottelary
Read moreTHERE were 9150 wines from 46 countries judged at the 2019 edition of Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in Aigle, Switzerland. Spain won 626 medals, followed by France (614), Italy (383) and Portugal (365). The host country won 172 awards and South Africa was also among the 10 most successful wine-producing nations in the competion, with a medal haul of
Read moreBeyerskloof Faith 2014 (Stellenbosch), DeMorgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2017 (Stellenbosch Kloof), Des Dieu Claudia Brut 2012 (Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge), Groot Constantia Grand Constance 2015 (Constantia), Kaapzicht Steytler Pinotage 2015 (Stellenbosch-Bottelary), Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2014 (Constantia), Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Shiraz 2015 (Stellenbosch), Leeuwenkuil Heritage Syrah 2015 (Swartland), Neil Ellis Jonkershoek Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 (Stellenbosch), Oak Valley Groenlandberg Chardonnay 2017 (Elgin), Paul Cluver Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2017 (Elgin), Paul Cluver Seven Flags Chardonnay 2017 (Elgin), Rustenberg Peter Barlow Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 (Simonsberg-Stellenbosch), Saronsberg Full
Read moreIT’S AMONG The Bernard Series that you’d typically expect to find the flagships in the Bellingham portfolio. However, as there currently isn’t a Sauvignon Blanc in this range from the DGB cellar in Wellington, for the best of the variety in Bellingham kit we look instead to a wine that has a label picturing the Bellingham homestead in Franschhoek – a
Read moreINCREDIBLE? First a double gold medal at the Michelangelo awards in South Africa and now gold at Chardonnay du Monde in Burgundy, France. At around R56 a bottle, the 2017 Douglas Green Chardonnay is the latest in a string of vintages that have had wine cognoscente doing a double take – the 2016 having also won gold in France, the
Read moreWE ARE NOT crazy about the name of this competition; a case of lost in translation! Effervescents du Monde reminds some of us about the sort of fizzy fruit salts you might take to sort out a bout of indigestion: ENO! But there are plenty of Champagne and other bubbly houses that participate in this ‘Sparkling World’: the 2017 edition attracted over
Read moreTHE VERTEX Award for the highest-scoring wine at the Veritas Awards has gone to Spier – the first time that a single ‘South African Champion’ has been honoured in this way since the inaugural event in 1990. Plus, the Stellenbosch cellar was the most successful winery on show, collecting six double gold medals, nine golds as well as plenty of
Read moreSYRAH du Monde 2017 involved 372 entries from 26 countries. Judging took place over two days at the Ampuis Castle overlooking the Rhône River and surrounded by grapevines in the heart of the Côte-Rôtie, France – although 55 of the 100 panel members were from outside France. Once all was said and done, gold medals were awarded for 33 wines,
Read moreOH DEAR! Ninety ‘grand golds’ go to wonderful wines from around the world at the 2017 edition of Concours Mondial, but none of them to South Africa – despite the entry of some vintages from Cape cellars that have built up some pretty solid reputations for their Cabernet, Shiraz, Pinotage and various red blends, for example. Nevertheless, 10 gold medals for
Read moreAT THE 2017 edition of Concours Mondial du Sauvignon in Bordeaux, France, 861 wines from 22 countries were scored by 65 judges from 17 countries over two days, with trophies awarded for eight wines and medals for 242 – 87 gold and 155 silver. Two of South Africa’s 45 Sauvignon Blanc entries – one from Diemersdal and another from Steenberg – won
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 moreOF THE 16 000 entries for the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards in London, 31 were deemed worthy of ‘Platinum – Best in Show’ (previously referred to as ‘International Trophies’), one of which was DeMorgenzon Reserve Chardonnay 2015 from Stellenbosch Kloof, which a month earlier won a trophy at the International Wine Challenge. There were five other Platinum Awards that went
Read moreTHOUGH denied a trophy, three of South Africa’s classified Sauvignon Blancs triumphed with gold medals and another five were among seven SA silver medallists at the international 2016 Concours Mondial du Sauvignon taste-off hosted in Tordesillas, Spain. Leading the medal charge for the Cape were Ghost Corner 2015 from David Nieuwoudt’s cellar in the Cederberg using grapes from Cape Agulhas, one
Read moreTHE GOOD people of Kanonkop on the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch regularly mention that doing well in competitions is not of prime concern… Yet the estate and/or their agents continue to enter various vintages in various taste-offs and they continue to shine with their Pinotage, their Bordeaux-style red blend Paul Sauer, their Cabernet. And it can be frustrating, albeit understandable, when the award winners are ‘sold out’ at
Read moreSYRAH du Monde is held in May every year at Château d’Ampuis in the northern Rhône, France. A taste-off involving some of the world’s best Shiraz, it’s a respected international competition which in 2013 involved 423 wines from 28 countries. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded, with much praise heaped on the Top 10. This year five South African
Read moreTHE BIGGEST wine competition in the world takes place in London and involves over 400 judges including over 40 Masters of Wine (UK) as well as wine journalists and wine buyers from around the globe. Medal winners are announced in May every year with trophies presented at an awards dinner held in September. The top-performing South African wines this year
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