JUST 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 number and volume are those lobbying for price parity relative to other countries – especially when it comes to the leading wines of South Africa that have traditionally tended to be under-valued even if you exclude the superstars of Europe and America.

Considering how prices are shaping up towards the end of the first quarter, first came a survey of good to very good wines at under R100 a bottle ex-cellar in the ‘Uber Value Wine Guide Revisited‘. And of South Africa’s most highly rated wines whose producers are ‘pushing the envelope’, Delaire Graff Laurence Graff Reserve (Cabernet Sauvignon) is up from R3500 to R3750 per bottle year on year, the Rust en Vrede 1694 Classification (red blend) is up from R1300 to R1500, Waterford The Jem (red blend) is up from R1100 to R1450, Mullineux Schist Syrah is up from R895 to R995, Bouchard Finlayson Tête de Cuvée Pinot Noir is up from R892 to R954, Richard Kershaw Lake District Chardonnays are up from R820 to R895, Creation The Art of Pinot Noir is up from R875 to R885, with Lanzerac Pionier Pinotage up from R700 to R850.

Given below are the cellar-door prices of the TOP 100 wines in terms of the SA Wine Classification (best track records over the past 10 years), showing how much these bottles have gone up over the past 12 months and again with the trailblazers highlighted in red.

 

Top SA White Wines – 2008 to 2017

CHARDONNAY

Ataraxia up from R250 to R265 – Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
Chamonix Reserve up from R350 to R378 – Franschhoek
Fleur du Cap Unfiltered up from R130 to R144 – Stellenbosch
Glen Carlou up from R108 to R116 – Paarl, Simonsberg
Groot Constantia up from R201 to R221 – Constantia
Hamilton Russell up from R395 to R450 – Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Jordan Barrel Fermented up from R160 to R189 – Stellenbosch Kloof
Jordan Nine Yards up from R390 to R405 – Stellenbosch Kloof
Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented @ R200 – Stellenbosch, Polkadraai Hills
Oak Valley Groenlandberg up from R160 to R185 – Elgin
Paul Cluver Estate up from R220 to R230, Seven Flags up from R525 to R600 – Elgin
Rustenberg Five Soldiers @ R400 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg
Rustenberg Stellenbosch up from R175 to R185 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg
Sumaridge @ R245 – Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Tokara Reserve Collection Stellenbosch up from R180 to R190 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg
Uva Mira The Single Tree up from R450 to R495 – Stellenbosch, Helderberg

CHENIN BLANC

Beaumont Hope Marguerite up from R270 to R290 – Bot River
Botanica @ R285 – Stellenbosch, Devon Valley
DeMorgenzon Reserve up from R350 to R375 – Stellenbosch Kloof
Kanu KCB up from R110 to R120 – Stellenbosch
Ken Forrester The FMC up from R482 to R495 – Somerset West, Helderberg
Spier 21 Gables up from R185 to R198 – Stellenbosch
Stellenrust Barrel Fermented up from R163 to R200 – Stellenbosch

SAUVIGNON BLANC

Cape Point Reserve up from R155 to R180 – Noordhoek
Cederberg @ R95 – Cederberg
Diemersdal Eight Rows up from R135 to R145 – Durbanville
Ghost Corner up from R190 to R195 – Cederberg
Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Sur Lie up from R178 to R194 – Stellenbosch
Nederburg Private Bin D234 @ R218 (sold on auction) – Paarl
Tokara Reserve Collection Elgin up from R135 to R140 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg

WHITE BLENDS

Cape Point Isliedh up from R235 to R260 – Noordhoek
Flagstone Treaty Tree Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Reserve up from R95 to R120 – Somerset West
Miles Mossop Saskia up from R257 to R270 – Stellenbosch
Nederburg Ingenuity up from R220 to R243 – Paarl
Nitida Coronata Integration up from R150 to R160 – Durbanville
Sadie Palladius up from R539 to R614 – Swartland, Malmesbury, Paardeberg
Spier Creative Block 2 up from R95 to R110 – Stellenbosch
Strandveld Adamastor up from R155 to R160 – Cape Agulhas, Elim
Tokara Director’s Reserve up from R260 to R270 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg
Vergelegen G.V.B up from R360 to R385 – Somerset West, Helderberg

SPARKLING CAP CLASSIQUE

Villiera Monro Brut up from R200 to R220 – Stellenbosch, Koelenhof

 

Top SA Red Wines – 2008 to 2017

CABERNET FRANC

Raats Family up from R475 to R507, Eden High Density at R1500 – Stellenbosch
Warwick up from R300 to R320 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg

CABERNET SAUVIGNON

Cederberg Five Generations up from R480 to R525 – Cederberg
Eikendal up from R169 to R195 – Stellenbosch, Helderberg
Fleur du Cap Unfiltered up from R155 to R177 – Stellenbosch
Guardian Peak Lapa @ R240 – Stellenbosch, Helderberg
Kanonkop up from R370 to R395 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg
Kleine Zalze Family Reserve up from R335 to R365 – Stellenbosch
Le Riche Reserve @ R500 – Stellenbosch, Helderberg
Nederburg Private Bin R163 @ R839 (sold on auction) – Paarl
Nederburg Two Centuries up from R385 to R420 – Paarl
Rustenberg Peter Barlow up from R400 to R500 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg
Stark-Condé Three Pines @ R325 – Stellenbosch, Jonkershoek Valley

MERLOT

Shannon Mount Bullet up from R350 to R395 – Elgin

PINOT NOIR

Chamonix Reserve up from R370 to R395 – Franschhoek
Hamilton Russell up from R440 to R495 – Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Newton Johnson Family Vineyards up from R325 to R365 – Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
Paul Cluver Seven Flags up from R550 to R600 – Elgin

PINOTAGE

Beyerskloof Diesel up from R625 to R750 – Stellenbosch, Koelenhof
Diemersfontein Carpe Diem Reserve up from R199 to R218 – Wellington
Flagstone Writer’s Block up from R220 to R250 – Somerset West
Kanonkop up from R350 to R375, Black Label up from R1590 to R1750 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg
Rijk’s Private Cellar up from R225 to R240 – Tulbagh
Rijk’s Reserve up from R425 to R450 – Tulbagh
Simonsig Redhill up from R320 to R350 – Stellenbosch, Koelenhof
Wildekrans Barrel Select Reserve @ R297 – Bot River
Windmeul Reserve up from R120 to R132 – Paarl

SHIRAZ / SYRAH

Boekenhoutskloof @ R450 – Franschhoek
Cederberg up from R205 to R220 – Cederberg
De Grendel @ R145 – Durbanville, Panorama
Eagles’ Nest up from R255 to R275 – Constantia
Groot Constantia up from R201 to R221 – Constantia
Hartenberg The Stork up from R595 to R650, Gravel Hill up from R595 to R950 – Stellenbosch, Bottelary
Rustenberg Buzzard Kloof up from R175 to R185 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg
Saronsberg up from R200 to R235 – Tulbagh

RED BLENDS

Delaire Graff Botmaskop up from R295 to R325 – Stellenbosch, Helshoogte
Diemersdal Private Collection up from R140 to R150 – Durbanville
Eikendal Classique up from R267 to R300 – Stellenbosch, Helderberg
Ernie Els Signature up from R720 to R785 – Stellenbosch, Helderberg
Kanonkop Paul Sauer up from R550 to R595 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg
KWV The Mentors Orchestra @ R220 – Paarl
La Motte Pierneef Syrah Viognier up from R250 to R260 – Franschhoek
Morgenster Reserve up from R389 to R392 – Somerset West, Helderberg
Mvemve Raats De Compostella up from R1050 to R1150 – Stellenbosch
Saronsberg Full Circle up from R380 to R420 – Tulbagh
Spier Creative Block 3 up from R149 to R159 – Stellenbosch
Spier Creative Block 5 up from R149 to R159 – Stellenbosch
Tokara Director’s Reserve up from R390 to R400 – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg

 

Top SA Sweet Wines – 2008 to 2017

DESSERT – UNFORTIFIED

Delheim Edelspatz Noble Late Harvest @ R220 (375ml) – Stellenbosch, Simonsberg
Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest up from R115 to R122 (375ml) – Stellenbosch
Groot Constantia Grand Constance Natural Sweet up from R583 to R641 (375ml) – Constantia
Klein Constantia Vin de Constance Natural Sweet up from R895 to R985 (500ml) – Constantia
Mullineux Straw Wine up from R395 to R445 (375ml) – Swartland, Riebeek Kasteel
Nederburg Private Bin Edelkeur Chenin Blanc Noble Late Harvest @ R576 (sold on auction) – Paarl
Nederburg Private Bin Eminence Noble Late Harvest Muscadel @ R576 (sold on auction) – Paarl
Nederburg The Winemasters Noble Late Harvest up from R100 to R107 (375ml) – Paarl
Paul Cluver Riesling Noble Late Harvest up from R250 to R300 (375ml) – Elgin

CAPE PORT – FORTIFIED

Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve up from R195 to R225 – Klein Karoo, Calitzdorp
De Krans Cape Vintage Reserve up from R230 to R260 – Klein Karoo, Calitzdorp

 

 

• For SA wines at under R100pb that rated well in 2017, see here.
• For the latest regarding top ratings of SA wines, see here.
• For the contact details and website address of the top SA wine producers, see here.