Stellenbosch cellars dominate at 2016 Red Hot Wine Awards – and yet!

THERE were 59 wines from 46 cellars entered for Winemag.co.za’s 2016 Riscura Red Hot Wine Awards for South Africa’s Bordeaux-Style red blends. As to be expected, perhaps, most of the top scores went the way of Stellenbosch outfits – the exceptions being Diemersdal in Durbanville, Creation on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge between Hermanus and Caledon, and Groot Constantia, whose 2013 Gouverneurs Reserve was judged to be the best wine on the day using the 100-point scoring system, tasting ‘blind’. The panel: Winemag.co.za editor Christian Eedes (chair) together with Roland Peens and James Pietersen of the Wine Cellar in Cape Town.

Top-Scoring Wines at Red Hot Wine Awards

94/100 Groot Constantia Gouverneurs Reserve 2013
93/100 Ernie Els Signature 2013
93/100 Mvemve Raats De Compostella 2014
92/100 Delaire Graff Botmaskop 2014
92/100 Hartenberg The Mackenzie 2012
92/100 Spier Creative Block 5 2013
92/100 Vriesenhof Kallista 2010
91/100 Dombeya Fenix 2011 (Haskell)
91/100 Eikendal Classique 2014
91/100 Uva Mira O.T.V. 2014
90/100 Creation Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Petit Verdot 2014
90/100 Diemersdal Private Collection 2014
90/100 Rustenberg John X Merriman 2013

Only three of these top achievers were priced at under R150 a bottle: the Dombeya Fenix at R115, the Spier Creative Block 5 at R129 and the Diemersdal Private Collection at R132. For the full tasting report, see here, and for all of South Africa’s Bordeaux-style red blends to receive good reviews over the past year or two, together with the prices, see here.

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