IF YOU ARE into South African ‘Wine of Origin’, micro climates, soil types, grape clones, et al, then the advent of the country’s Single Vineyard Wine was one of the best things to come along since the concept of Estate Wine took a knock when the laws were relaxed some years back. There have been many SA wine drinkers who’ve been
Read moreTHE LATEST round of awards for SA white wines at the inaugural Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge again raises the issue of what South Africa hangs or should hang its hat on – in other words, what the industry’s strong suits or trump cards are. Certainly there’s a case to be made for Chenin, and if Chenin is to
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 moreASK ABOUT top SA Pinot Noir and the main signposts point to Elgin, Walker Bay, Hemel-en-Aarde… There are exceptions – chief among them Chamonix of Franschhoek – but typically it’s a case of Hamilton Russell, Bouchard Finlayson, Newton Johnson, Sumaridge, Oak Valley, Paul Cluver, Crystallum, Shannon… However, there’s now another cool-climate district putting up its hand, so to speak. The
Read moreIT CAN BE VERY WET around Elim in the Cape Agulhas district of the SA winelands. In winter, the rainfall is such that some of the roads may be closed, access is limited and the landscape is characterised by wetlands and wind… It blows in the summer too and, with much of the wind coming in from across the ocean, the
Read moreCaptivating scenery, classy wine, Constantia GlenCONSTANTIA GLEN hasn’t been making wine for a decade yet, but already it’s a destination of note among the Cape’s panoramic farms just below Constantia Nek that offer a bite to eat and a growing reputation for good vino. The first wines, made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, met with mixed reviews. Over the past four or
Read moreFIRST THERE WAS Ernie Els, then there was Retief Goosen aka The Goose, and now there’s Louis Oosthuizen – three of South Africa’s most successful golf pro’s who have their names on the labels of some of the country’s best wines. We last reflected on the sporting wine route a couple of years ago as the Black Knight wines of Gary Player
Read moreTHERE ARE THOSE who gripe that it isn’t the real deal, that it isn’t made like it is in Europe and Canada where the Icewine or Eiswein process involves harvesting grapes that have frozen on the vines at the onset of winter. But there’s nothing else like it among the unfortified, sweet dessert wines in South Africa, it comes from
Read moreCHARLES BACK remembers well the first plantings of Viognier on his Fairview farm in Paarl back in the 1990s. Who knew then what would work where when it came to experimenting with grape varieties not widely planted in South Africa, if at all, but new or unusual is very appealing to winemakers looking for a USP, something exciting. And wow has
Read moreWELL WOULD YOU look at that! While the trophy winner at this year’s CAPPA Port Challenge is again from Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo, three of the six gold medal-winning producers are not from the ‘Port Capital’ of South Africa! Besides the Cape champion and runner-up overall from Boplaas, a wine from De Krans and another from Peter Bayly (all of Calitzdorp), two of
Read moreTHE CELLARS of David Nieuwoudt in the Cederberg, Thys Louw at Diemersdal in Durbanville and Nick van Huyssteen at Saronsberg in Tulbagh where Dewaldt Heyns holds the reins have been particularly successful of late, with the Stellenbosch cellars of Kleine Zalze and Simonsig as well as KWV of Paarl also shining again and again in various categories. South Africa’s top-scoring wines at the top tasting panels around the world in
Read morePROBABLY the biggest surprise at the 2014 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show was the revelation that award-winning wine is now also being made in the vicinity of Riversdale, where vineyards were nowhere to be seen prior to 2009. While the 2013 Baleia Bay Chardonnay that earned the trophy for ‘Discovery of the Show’ (best-value gold medallist) can be bought just off the
Read moreTHERE ARE THOSE that can be too spirity, over the top, but the leading examples are quite wonderful among the dessert wine offerings of the Cape. At their best, the fortified red and white Muscadels and Jerepigos made from Muscat grape varieties – typically d’Alexandrie or de Frontignan – show complexity and alluring sweetness without being cloying. And generally speaking, they’re
Read moreTHERE WERE raised eyebrows among the Francophiles when results of the eighth Syrah du Monde were announced in the northern Rhône, France. The judges reviewed 405 wines from 26 countries and at the end of three days there were four South Africans among the Top 10, versus two from France. And in their own back yard! Ooh la la!!
Read moreTHERE’S BEEN much talk again of late about the Top 100 SA Wines and The Cape’s Top 20 Wineries of 2014 – the chatter about South Africa’s Top 100 wines prompted by a selection of various vintages of various types of wine based on the outcome of a local challenge involving some 490 competition entries, and the debate as to the country’s
Read moreTHE MONT ROCHELLE hotel is nice enough and the Chardonnay can be pretty good, but the estate doesn’t exactly rate among the cream of Franschhoek’s wine properties Allée Bleue, Boekenhoutskloof, Boschendal, Chamonix, Dieu Donné, GlenWood, La Motte, Môreson, Rickety Bridge, Solms-Delta… Not when it comes to best in the bottle. However, that British tycoon Sir Richard Branson views the latest addition to his
Read moreWHAT LEADS TO a wine being positioned as ultra-premium price-wise could be a rarity factor coupled with consumer/collector demand, the investment that’s gone into the maturation/ageing of the product, brand value, perhaps simply the cellar’s wish to offer a statement wine demanding attention even when or precisely because it’s beyond the realm of affordability for many folks. Invariably though –
Read moreSOMETIMES it’s simply about achieving as good as it gets on a smaller budget. Sometimes it’s a way of handling the left-overs or dealing with what’s declassified after bottling the really good stuff. But, it should go without saying that the second- or third-tier wines from the country’s premier producers are usually worth experimenting with if not already well renowned
Read moreALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest SA Red Blend Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail prices
Read moreALL OF THE South African wines below are included in the latest SA Shiraz Classification, with those having the very best track records highlighted and the listing limited to wines whose accolades include very good reviews in 2013/14. Prices are for the latest releases/vintages to be rated – rands per standard 750ml bottle and ex-cellar in most instances (approximate retail prices if
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