THERE ARE very few if any other sport stars in the world whose wine is as smiled-upon as that of Ernie Els. Not that he’s the sole proprietor of the farm these days, not since 2015 when Baron Hans von Staff-Reitzenstein (LVS Capital) of Germany became a partner in the Stellenbosch business – the same real-estate investor and industrialist who subsequently
Read more100 SUBMISSIONS from 78 producers was an impressive level of involvement by the South African wine industry in Winemag’s 2020 Prescient Cabernet Sauvignon Report. Most of the top seeds participated, the majority of the country’s benchmark Cabs on the tasting bench for assessment by the panel comprising editor Christian Eedes (chair) with fine wine retailers Roland Peens and James Pietersen
Read moreTHERE WAS little fanfare associated with Winemag’s 2020 Cape White Blend Report. Perhaps in part this had to do with the uphill battle to establish a new category which Winemag reasons should hinge on the most widely planted grape vine in South Africa, Chenin Blanc. Some of the country’s finest wines are single-varietal Chenins, and the best-value blend as reviewed
Read moreTHE POWERS that be at Winemag.co.za delay the announcement of exactly how the panel rated their South African favourites in the publication’s various category reviews – a Top 10 is all they’ll tell us in each instance until divulging the rankings / scores out of 100 and the names of all the winners at a gala function come the end
Read moreFOR THE QUESTIONS, answers and in part heated outbursts that ensued after publication of Winemag’s 2020 Prescient Cap Classique Report, click here. For the full report and reviews of 50 South African sparkling wines made according to the traditional method, click here. Suffice to say: some of the online publication’s readers faulted the findings for being based on a competition
Read moreTHAT DE GRENDEL top-scored (95/100) in the South African Winemag’s 2019 Shiraz Report was not surprising: the cellar is one of the country’s Top 10 producers in this category. However, whereas the better-known Shiraz from this outfit on the Durbanville Wine Route is made from grapes harvested in Paarl and Stellenbosch, the loyalty-club exclusive orginates outside Elim in the district
Read moreMORGENSTER Cab 2014 at R100 a bottle, Croydon Covenant Cab 2017 at R110, Glenelly Glass Collection Cab 2016 at R115 and Maastricht Cab 2017 at R120. These are the best-priced of the top-scoring wines in the 2019 Prescient Cabernet Sauvignon Report compiled by Winemag.co.za. The most glowing assessments went to the Croydon and to a 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon from Rust
Read moreIN THE 2018 report on South African Bordeaux-Style Red Blends by Winemag.co.za, six wines were rated outstanding (93 to 94 out of 100) and 27 were considered excellent (90 to 92). In total, 81 wines from 64 producers were reviewed by the panel comprising Winemag’s Christian Eedes (chair), Roland Peens and James Pietersen (both of Cape Town merchant Wine Cellar).
Read moreNO FEWER than 34 of the 89 wines reviewed for the 2018 Prescient Cabernet Sauvignon Report were considered excellent (90 to 92 points on the 100-point scale). Better still, six more of South Africa’s beauties were regarded as outstanding (93 to 95). And interestingly, the judges’ favourite on the day is from outside Stellenbosch! Full report here. TOP 6 IN
Read moreTHERE WERE 52 entries from 33 South African producers assessed for the 2017 Pinot Noir Report on Winemag.co.za. The top-scoring wines were as follows (see below), with Creation Reserve Pinot Noir 2015 judged best overall: “Gleaming garnet with an inviting bouquet… Peppercorn and clove… Layers of dried fruit mingle with hints of raspberry and piquant spice… A lingering wine with
Read moreIN THE fifth Winemag.co.za Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend Report (referred to in previous years as the White Hot Wine Awards) now presented together with Wooded Sauvignon Blanc reviews, 34 of the 56 South African wines assessed scored 90 points or higher in accordance with the online publication’s 100-point quality scale. Judged Best Overall: Nitida Coronata Integration 2016, WO Durbanville. According
Read moreFOR THE third annual South African Bordeaux-Style Red Blend Report by Winemag.co.za, see here. There were 60 wines from 45 producers assessed by a panel comprising the website’s editor Christian Eedes (chair) with Roland Peens and James Pietersen of the Wine Cellar in Observatory, Cape Town. Twenty-five wines were rated 90-plus, with Thelema Rabelais 2013 emerging as the trio’s favourite
Read moreACCORDING to statistics announced by the Paris-based International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), the world’s area under vine stands at 7.5 million hectares with total wine production at 274.4 million hectolitres. South Africa now ranks eighth among the biggest wine-producing countries in the world: 1 Italy (49.5 million hectolitres), 2 France (47.5 mhl), 3 Spain (37.2 mhl), 4 USA (22.1 mhl), 5 Argentina (13.4
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