AS IF it had been stage-managed! Just over a week after The Sadie Family was lauded for the umpteenth time as South Africa’s top cellar in the 2024 edition of Platter’s guide, the results of a poll conducted by Winemag.co.za and then of an auction by Strauss & Co served to confirm the status of the country’s No. 1 –
Read moreTHERE are SIX producers in various parts of the Cape winelands who are most applauded in the 2024 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide. Congratulations to The Sadie Family outside Malmesbury, Platter’s Winery of the Year, to Bosman Family Vineyards of Wellington and the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde outside Hermanus, recipient of The Editor’s Award, as well as to those producers
Read moreSA HIGHLIGHTS of the Strauss & Co Wine Auction held mid-May 2023. Billed merely as the private collection of a single owner, the online sale included wines from around the world – the following are those made in South Africa that attracted bids of over R2000 a bottle/750ml. Sadie Family Palladius 2004 (White Blend) R29 313 paid for 4x750ml:
Read moreAT THE FIRST Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction of 2023, The Sadie Family’s red blend Columella fetched the highest prices paid for Cape beauties during a sale of collectables from the Rhône Valley, France, and Rhône-style offerings from Australia, the USA and South Africa. Most in demand of all the wines – procured by Cape Town retailer Wine Cellar
Read moreDE TOREN, SADIE FAMILY, Porseleinberg and Hartenberg fetched the highest bids for South African wines at the Strauss & Co auction of Shiraz and Rhône-style blends on 21 Feb 2022. The rare and sought-after lots on sale featured various local as well as French producers, with other respected names from the Cape winelands including Badenhorst, Boschkloof, Cederberg, David & Nadia,
Read moreIT’S ARGUABLE THAT you can’t really call this a wine route. Many of the top cellars operate quite independently, many require you to make an appointment in advance of visiting and some are not keen on dealing directly with the general public on a daily basis. One of the exceptions is AA Badenhorst, where they also offer lunch and
Read moreBLUE COVER in 2019, green in 2020, black in 2021… Platter’s 2022 South African Wine Guide is no doubt packed with as much useful info as in previous years, the highlights including awards presented to the top-performing wineries and producers of the tasting panels’ favourites in various categories. Edging out Savage Wines for the overall title, it’s the third time
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 moreAT STRAUSS & Co’s 27 September 2021 fine wine auction of 10-year-olds, the Sadie Family of the Swartland, Klein Constantia as well as the Stellenbosch cellars of Kanonkop, Vilafonté and Glenelly stood out as those fetching more than R2000 a bottle. Bidding for the red blend Keet First Verse and the Reserve Cab from Le Riche stopped just short of
Read moreTHE 2019 Cape Wine Auction at Buitenverwachting in Constantia raised over R14-million, bringing the total raised at the event towards the education of needy children in the winelands of South Africa to around R88-million since the annual sale was first held in 2014. One of the highlights on offer was an item comprising 96 bottles of Pinotage from grapes grown
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