TEN YEARS AGO, the average price of the Top 10 Chenin Blancs according to the 2011 South African Wine Classification was R89 a bottle. Come February 2021 the figure stands at R303pb, with the industry’s annual general price increases due in March. Percentage wise, the other main varieties of SA vino haven’t appreciated in value to quite the same extent,
Read moreONCE AGAIN, France was awarded the most (12) ‘Best in Show’ medals (pick of the platinum medallists) at the UK’s international Decanter World Wine Awards with entries received from Bordeaux, Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence and the Loire. Italy claimed second place with eight of the 50 wines considered the best on show in 2020, followed by Australia (6) Portugal (5)
Read moreJACOLINE Haasbroek has the smallest cellar in Franschhoek, off the beaten track at the end of a long and winding road that could do with some improvement – although that would mean more visitors, and half the appeal is the discovery of a place few have been to, particularly as the sign at the bottom of the ‘driveway’ often tells you
Read moreELGIN’S strong suits are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc, in that order. This district of the SA winelands is also home to some interesting white blends, Riesling, Shiraz and then some. Not all of the producers open their doors to the wine-loving public all of the time, with some only offering tastings and sales at their cellar doors on
Read moreWRITING on Winemag.co.za, leading South African wine critic Michael Fridjhon reflects that: “The debate around closures has been part of the world of wine for several decades, and like most matters where belief carries more weight than the facts, it has acquired the intensity of religious dogma. There are several obvious reasons for this: from the moment an alternative to
Read moreWHAT AN intriguing selection, the Top 6 in the 2018 Cab Franc Challenge. Where do Anthology wines come from? Well, the Johannesburg proprietor has been renting cellar space at Marklew in Stellenbosch for several years now. My Wyn is another small producer, high up the side of a mountain in Franschhoek. Rainbow’s End isn’t much bigger, situated in the Banghoek area between Stellenbosch and
Read moreJUST PRIOR to South Africa’s annual general wine price increases in March and April 2018, grape farmers were forecasting the smallest crop since 2005 and the financial pressure on wine producers continued to mount. In response, Vinpro MD Rico Basson advocated during his ‘state of the industry’ review that pushing up prices was a means of dealing with the situation. And growing in
Read moreTHE 2017 Uber Value SA Wine Guide was published in December. Four months later – after the annual general price hikes and VAT increase in March and April 2018 – a number of the wines that received very good reviews from one or more of the top panels in 2017 and which were previously selling at under R100 a bottle
Read moreDROUGHTS aside, to state the obvious… Darling can be a pretty good place to grow vines and harvest grapes for making lovely wines – especially Sauvignon Blanc. So good, in fact, that it’s remarkable how many producers based outside the district use fruit from the area – even though few spell this out on their labels. Successful wines from non-Darling wineries
Read moreEIGHT WINES from Sauvignon Blanc, with Eight Rows in the Hall of Fame, four Sauvignons in the SA Wine Classification, three in the Top 20 and two in the Top 10. Diemersdal Estate of Durbanville is not the only leading Sauvignon producer in South Africa, but no other winery comes close as regards their success as a specialist with so many versions of
Read moreNITIDA winemaker Daniel Keulder tells of how in 2012 the Wild Child “started off as a bit of an experiment with a wild ferment in a couple of barrels”. Hence the name of a Sauvignon Blanc still made largely using a method involving natural or indigenous rather than inoculated or cultured yeast, one of several wines produced from this variety at
Read moreWITH HALF a dozen winemakers at last count and casting their net wide in sourcing grapes from vineyards near and far from where they’re based north of the Paarl CBD, Boland Cellar’s offering has grown to seven or so labels including their top-tier No. 1 Reserve and the quaffable Flutterby. It’s with their mid-tier One Formation blends and Talent &
Read moreFROM one of South Africa’s Top 20 wineries, one of the nation’s Top 10 expressions of Sauvignon Blanc, Top Wine SA Hall of Fame… Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Sur Lie is consistently rated as among the Cape’s top quality, more interesting Sauvignon Blancs, and the 2017 vintage is no exception: a winner at the SA Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition plus
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 moreMARCH 1 is traditionally when the annual general price increases are implemented by most South African wine farms and distributors to address production cost increases, inflation, etc. In 2018 many producers delayed their yearly hikes or indicated that a second adjustment would follow that in March because of the increase in VAT, due to come about in April. There are
Read moreSOME OF US would buy it just for the label! That ‘The Bowline’ combination of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon in the ‘Ghost Corner’ range of wines from David Nieuwoudt’s Cederberg Private Cellar has an interesting story behind it, is another plus. And, it’s Classified as consistently one of South Africa’s very best white blends. The latest endorsement of its quality and
Read moreIT’S A MAGICAL place, north of Sir Lowry’s Pass on one of South Africa’s less-travelled routes, high up the slopes of the Helderberg with a fantastic view of False Bay that stretches to Cape Point in the distance. The Idiom tasting room and restaurant at Da Capo Vineyards is home to some impressive reds, including a good Cape Blend and Bordeaux-style
Read moreHOWZAT! In a survey conducted by The Inside Guide, 38 of the best chefs in South Africa were asked where they like to eat in Cape Town and surrounds when taking a break from their own restaurants. Voted ‘favourite winelands experience’ experience was Overture at Hidden Valley on the slopes of the Helderberg in Stellenbosch, with the nod for ‘best
Read moreWHAT’S not to like about Douglas Green Chardonnay 2017? Maybe that you can’t buy it from the cellar while on the Wellington wine route, only from a supermarket. Or perhaps that there’s no reference on the label to where the grapes come from: ‘Western Cape’ isn’t helpful; WO Robertson is a nice-to-know. Otherwise all good: latest of the good reviews from
Read moreBELOW are the top Sauvignon Blanc producers in South Africa over the past 10 years, those with the best track records spanning 2008 to 2017, presented according to where you’ll find their tasting rooms on the various wine routes. For the 2018 SA Sauvignon Blanc Classification, see here, and for the contact info and addresses of those outfits that can be
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