THE 2013, white version of Faithful Hound from Stellenbosch winery Mulderbosch was the top-scoring wine in the 2015 ‘Riscura White Hot Wine Awards’ staged by Winemag.co.za. The ‘Hound’ was made from Franschhoek Semillon and Elgin Sauvignon Blanc, with a couple of 100% Elgin entries – Oak Valley Mountain Reserve 2011 and Highlands Road Sine Cera 2013 – also excelling in this competition that puts the spotlight on Bordeaux-style white blends.

The taste-off contested by some of South Africa’s finest white wines confirmed the consistency of top quality combinations from Cape Point Vineyards, Constantia Uitsig, Nitida of Durbanville, Strandveld of Cape Agulhus, Tokara on Helshoogte in Stellenbosch and Vergelegen, Somerset West. Perhaps it’s time to quit refering to ‘Bordeaux-style’, given that the standard of the Cape’s best Sauv-Sem blends is surely on a par with the best from France!

See below for the wines scored 90 plus, with the full tasting report here, the prices here and the cellar-door contact details and links here.

94 – Mulderbosch Faithful Hound 2013
93 – Constantia Glen Two 2014
93 – Nitida Coronata Integration 2014
92 – Oak Valley Mountain Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011
92 – Tokara Director’s Reserve 2014
92 – Vergelegen G.V.B 2013
91 – Gabriëlskloof Magdalena 2013
91 – Highlands Road Sine Cera 2013
91 – Strandveld Adamastor 2012
91 – TSW Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2014 (Trizanne)
90 – Constantia Uitsig Constantia White 2013
90 – Strandveld Adamastor 2013