IF YOU’RE planning a sparkling occasion with folk who appreciate the finer things in life and want to make sure they enjoy the bubbly you’re serving, well… According to some of the best wine critics locally and in the UK, the following vintage Cap Classiques will do very nicely thank you – and in most instances for less than a
I’M NOT SURE what to make of it, the new wine from Vergelegen – a Bordeaux-style red blend of Cabernet Franc (60%), Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon called ‘DNA’ that comes in a bottle with no mention of the producer on the front label which instead carries an illustration of winemaker Andre van Rensburg’s thumb-print. According to MD Don Tooth, it’s
GREAT VALUE Chenin Blanc – South African wines at under R50 a bottle that have received good reviews by one or more of the top tasting panels around the world during the past 18 months. Prices given in SA rand – ex-cellar, or approximate retail in the case of wineries that are closed to the public. At R22pb – Cape Weaver Chenin
GOOD VALUE sparkling wine from South Africa – Cap Classique for less than R95 per bottle as recommended by one or more of the top tasting panels around the world during the past 18 months. Prices given in SA rand – ex-cellar, or approximate retail in the case of wineries not open to the public. At R70pb – JC
GREAT VALUE Chardonnays – South African wines selling for less than R70 a bottle that have been recommended by one or more of the top tasting panels around the world during the past 18 months. Prices given in SA rand – ex-cellar, or approximate retail in cases where the winery is closed to the public. At R33pb – Drostdy-Hof Chardonnay 2010
GREAT VALUE from Sauvignon Blanc at under R65 per bottle – South African wines that have received good reviews by one or more of the top tasting panels around the world during the past 18 months. Prices given in SA rand, ex-cellar or approximate retail in the case of wineries that are closed to the public: At R50pb – Rietvallei Sauvignon
GREAT VALUE Cabs at under R80 per bottle – SA wines that have received good reviews by one or more of the top tasting panels around the world during the past 18 months. Prices given in South African rand, ex-cellar or approximate retail where cellars are closed to the public: At R33 a bottle – Riebeek Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2011,
GREAT VALUE Pinotage wines under R75 a bottle that have received good reviews by one or more of the top tasting panels around the world during the past 18 months. Prices given in South African rand, ex-cellar or approximate retail where cellars are closed to the public: @ R44pb – Koelenbosch Pinotage 2009 from Koelenhof, silver medallist at 2012 Trophy Wine
GREAT VALUE Shiraz – 10 SA wines that have received good reviews by one or more of the top tasting panels around the world during the past 18 months and which sell for under R65 a bottle. Prices given in South African rand, ex-cellar or approximate retail where cellars are closed to the public: At R22pb, Obikwa Shiraz 2011 (Distell)
GREAT VALUE blended SA red wines of various kinds at under R70 a bottle that have received good reviews by one or more of the top tasting panels around the world during the past 18 months – prices given in South African rand, ex-cellar or approximate retail where cellars are closed to the public: At R30 per bottle – Eagle’s
IT’S DEFINITELY among the Top 10 places to eat at in Stellenbosch and has never disappointed when we’re up for a good, satisfying meal with good wines. In fact sometimes we just stop by for a snack and a glass at the bar or in front of the fireplace, or for some cheese and wine at the tables under the
GUARDIAN PEAK, the sister winery of Rust en Vrede just around the corner, is a favourite lunch-time destination in the Cape winelands. It’s one of those cellars with a restaurant that you want to linger at all afternoon, taking in the views and enjoying a menu tailored around the wines that include a Sauvignon Blanc available nowhere else and reds
The homestead at Vergelegen, Somerset West WHEN WINES are applauded by not one but a whole lot of top tasting panels around the world, you can be extra sure that there’s something extra special about them. See below for a select group of white wines that includes the 2008 white blend made by Andre van Rensburg at Anglo American’s Vergelegen
WHEN WINES are applauded by a whole bunch of the top tasting panels in the world you just know there’s something extra special about them. See below for a select group of reds that include a Pinotage made by Pierre Wahl at Neville Dorrington’s Rijk’s Private Cellar in Tulbagh, a wine that has excelled in four of the competitions it
OVER THE past 10 years, six wineries stand out as the producers with the best track records when it comes to South Africa’s top quality Pinot Noir: Hamilton Russell, Bouchard Finlayson, Sumaridge (all in the Hemel-en-Aarde area outside Hermanus), Chamonix (Franschhoek), Meerlust (Stellenbosch) and Paul Cluver (Elgin). Over the past 18 months, however, three Pinot producers have been winning most
IMAGINE: a good red wine selling for R30 a bottle that comes recommended by one of the best judging panels in the country. We’re talking about the blend from a winery off the beaten track between Worcester and Villiersdorp that won silver and a score of 81 out of 100 at this year’s Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show. Be warned
THE SUCCESS of KWV at the 2012 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show didn’t surprise those who’ve been tracking the quality and character of The Mentors range launched by this Paarl producer a few years ago. Australian cellarmaster Richard Rowe, local winemaker Johann Fourie and their team at the winery have been turning heads with The Mentors since day one. However,
IT DOESN’T look like it used to, doesn’t taste like it used to, doesn’t cost what it used to… Actually, I wonder who’s drinking Chateau Libertas these days, what with the producer Distell itself fielding both better quality and better value wines under different brand names. Much as I was a fan in years gone by I’d now rather drink
ANNOUNCED in quick succession, the results of the 2012 Decanter World Wine Awards and International Wine Challenge in London offered tips aplenty – albeit with few surprises in the gold medal stakes when it came to South Africa’s top-performing cellars. Among the attention grabbers on both stages were the 21 Gables Chenin Blanc 2010 from Spier, who have done so well
THEY SAY that there’s no such thing as bad publicity or bad PR, that all publicity is ultimately good publicity. In which case the owner of the Sugarbird Manor guesthouse in Stellenbosch’s Devon Valley won’t mind this blog all that much. After all, she didn’t seem very concerned when I spoke to her directly so this will probably only bemuse
