WE 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 moreTROPHY WINNERS: • Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Merlot 2014 (Bergkelder) • Jordan Nine Yards Chardonnay 2015 • Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage 2013 • Nederburg Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 • Plaisir de Merle Grand Brut 2014 (Cap Classique Sparkling) • Stellenrust Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2016 ABOVE ARE the names of the most successful South African entries at the 2017 International Wine & Spirit
Read more99/100 in PLATTER’S 2018 Nederburg Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Platter’s Red Wine of the Year The Foundry Grenache Blanc 2015 Platter’s White Wine of the Year Klein Constantia Vin de Constance Natural Sweet 2013 Platter’s Unfortified Dessert Wine of the Year Beaumont Starboard NV (Port) Platter’s Fortified Dessert Wine of the Year 98/100 in PLATTER’S 2018 Cederberg Shiraz 2015
Read moreLEADING UK wine scribe Jancis Robinson writes on her website that South Africa’s industry is at “a very strange, possibly critical, point in its evolution.” She refers to “a serious cohort of radical and cohesive young winemakers forging a new wine identity for their country” (some of whom she had never heard of, because they are so ‘fledgling’). “There is
Read moreWHEN you consider South Africa’s best Sauvignon Blanc, Durbanville has punched above its weight division for as long as most can remember. There are only a dozen or so cellars along the wine route, including the Graaffs’ De Grendel estate above the Plattekloof Road in Panorama on the other side of the Tygerberg relative to fellow members of the association.
Read moreNo Hein, no! You don’t give yourself or your wines enough credit! Leopard’s Leap represents good value relative to a lot of the stuff on-shelf, with La Motte’s finest regarded by plenty as pretty impressive. Many wine lovers would argue with you: luck has little to do with it; your farm’s good reputation is well-earned. And we bet you have
Read morePUBLICATION of the 2017 Prescient Chardonnay Report on Winemag.co.za prompted debate about the standout examples made from this variety in South African cellars as reviewed this year to date. Perhaps the most celebrated for top quality: DeMorgenzon Reserve 2016 at R350pb, Eikendal 2015 at R163, Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection 2016 at R93 and Rustenberg Five Soldiers 2015 at R400pb, all from
Read moreAT THE 2017 Six Nations Wine Challenge awards banquet in Sydney, New Zealand was the most successful country, winning 6 trophies, 22 double gold medals and 35 golds. The next most successful was the USA (4 trophies, 18 double golds and 20 golds), followed by Australia, South Africa and Canada, with Chile bringing up the rear in a competition judged
Read more“THE SAUVIGNON Blanc Interest Group of South Africa (SBIG) fosters excellence in making and marketing South African Sauvignon Blanc locally and internationally… The annual FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition was started in 2007 to promote innovation and excellence in the category and reward those making wines of true distinction.” So how did things pan out in the 2017 taste-off?
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 moreCELLARS up and down the length of the Breede River Valley had a good year in the 2017 edition of South Africa’s Ultra Value Wine Challenge convened by BuyBetterWine.com – not that they had it all their own way. The top contestants were as follows: MOST SUCCESSFUL ENTRANTS Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar – Worcester Arabella Wines – Ashton De Wet Cellar – Worcester DGB –
Read moreAMONG the many words that the Greek philosopher Aristotle is famous for having strung together are that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, something to be debated come the Absa Perold Cape Blend Awards honouring combinations that include a minimum of 30% and no more than 70% Pinotage. There were 53 entries in the 2017 edition
Read moreTHE TOP South African wines in terms of the average prices fetched at the 2017 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction in Stellenbosch were as follows, with a case = 6 × 750ml or 4.5 litre equivalent: TOP 10 REDS IN MOST DEMAND Beyerskloof CWG Traildust Pinotage 2015 R8692 per case, R1449 per bottle – Stellenbosch Cellar Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2014 R8138
Read moreSUCCESS in South Africa’s Cab Franc Challenge, then at the SA Terroir Awards, and now in one of the country’s biggest wine competition… The 2014 vintage of Lisha Nelson Cabernet Franc from the Nelson Estate in Paarl must surely be in short supply after winning big time at the 2017 Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards in Cape Town. Named
Read moreMORE THAN two weeks after the 2017 Nederburg Auction on 16 September, the full results of South Africa’s premier sale of fine wines including mature beauties and golden oldies had yet to get the auditor’s stamp of approval. Presumably this is simply a case of an administrative hold-up and that nothing’s gone awry! For the last post-event reports (pre-October 1)
Read moreSO WE WERE at a dinner party and contemplating the pros and cons of aerating our wines, letting them breathe before serving, and what was hauled out of a cupboard reminded us of how decanters can vary in form and function. With the best intentions, my dear host presented a beautiful cut-glass, tear-drop shaped antique that could have been used
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 moreAT THE TIME of writing, 46 years after South Africa’s first Méthode Champensoise sparkling wine was made at Simonsig in Stellenbosch (Kaapse Vonkel Brut 1971), the number of Cap Classique bubblies had grown to around 300, produced at some 200 cellars adhering to the traditional method* that dates back to the 17th century and which resulted in the famous wines
Read moreAFTER MUCH anticipation, the trophy laureates at the 2017 Amorim Cap Classique Challenge were announced at an awards function in Cape Town: Simonsig Cuvée Royale Blanc de Blancs 2012 (overall winner), Domaine des Dieux Claudia Brut 2011 and Simonsig Woolworths Pinot Noir Rosé 2015, as well as Graham Beck Brut Zero 2005 in the Museum Class for wines no longer on
Read moreKANONKOP, Spier and Nederburg have placed top of their class in the 2017 International Wine & Spirit Competition, London – Kanonkop leading with three vintages of their Cabernet Sauvignon from the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch, Spier of Stellenbosch excelling with the same vintage of their Pinotage that triumphed at Mondial earlier in the year as well as at the 2016 Veritas
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