Category Archives: Decanter World Wine Awards

South Africa’s top ORGANIC wine ratings during the past year

FOR AN UPDATE of all the organic wines produced in South Africa that are officially certified as such, click here. Below are those from the Cape that received good to very good reviews from the top panels of experts in 2023. There are numerous winemakers and viticulturists who adhere to organic or biodynamic methods in the vineyard and cellar but

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Iona on top of the world after great show at Decanter Awards

THE ACHIEVEMENT of Iona with the 2021 Chardonnay in their Elgin Highlands range at the 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards (UK) was impressive, to say the least. Of all the Chardonnays entered in the competition, it was one of only 16 rated 97+ on the judges’ 100-point scale and one of only three honoured among the ‘Best in Show’ (Top

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2020 Le Riche Reserve Cab looks set to be rated best vintage yet

DESCRIBED AT the 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards in the UK as “graceful and accomplished”, the Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 was the most highly rated red from South Africa and, from over 18 000 entries internationally, one of 50 wines celebrated as ‘Best in Show’. What the panel of judges experienced was: “Dark, black-red in the glass, with

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South Africa’s Iona and Le Riche among very best at Decanter WWA

IONA Chardonnay 2021 of the Elgin Highlands and the 2020 Reserve Cab from Le Riche in the Helderberg vineyards of Stellenbosch were the panels’ favourite South African wines at the 2023 Decanter Awards in London. A record-breaking 18 250 entries were received from 57 countries, assessed by 236 judges including 53 Masters of Wine and 16 Master Sommeliers. After weeks of

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Off the beaten track: Doolhof’s ‘Blood from Stone’ and more

THE LIMIETBERG can seem somewhat unreal at times. The light can play tricks on the mountains above those green valleys, although the rocky slopes can indeed be pretty red. Blood red even. Hence the name of the flagship Malbec from Doolhof Wine Estate in Wellington – the ‘Bloedklip’ 2018 having been ranked alongside some of the finest expressions of the

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South Africa’s most highly rated Cabernet Sauvignon in 2022

‘EXTRAORDINARY. Profound.’ That’s what the Winemag judges thought of Koelenhof Winery’s ‘Stellenbosch 1679’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 when reviewing it for the 2022 Prescient Report. The only wine among the 64 entries from 51 SA producers scored more than 95/100, it’s one of the 24 most highly rated Cape Cabs assessed by top panels locally and internationally during the past year

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South Africa’s most highly rated Chardonnays in 2022 to date

NOT A SINGLE Chardonnay considered better than 94/100 in Winemag’s 2022 Prescient Report on the category in South Africa? In the collective opinion of editor Christian Eedes and his fellow judges on the panel, James Pietersen and Jolette Steyn of retailer Wine Cellar in Cape Town, there weren’t any ‘extraordinary’ or ‘profound’ examples among the 80 wines from the 59

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Some international wine trophies count more than others – UK

WITH MANY if not all wine competition organisers who honour overall champions at their shows, local and international, the choice has mostly to do with how many awards each producer wins, rather than which are the favourite wines. Yes, usually trophies count more than gold medals, golds count more than silvers, etc, but no, it’s not necessarily a case of

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Brookdale Chenin fulfilling the promise of old vines, WO Paarl

FOR MANY of us enjoying the wine routes of South Africa over the festive season in 2022/23, there’ll be a new destination we can’t wait to explore. A Paarl estate opening a new tasting room, a new restaurant, gearing up to use their new cellar for the first time. With just four vintages bottled to date, Brookdale has already attracted

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Bellingham Old Vine Chenin continues good run of form × 2

FOR DECADES the top white wine in DGB’s premium Bellingham range was labelled The Bernard Series Old Vine Chenin Blanc: WO Coastal Region, with grapes from Bottelary in Stellenbosch playing the leading role. Come 2020, a single-vineyard version was released, 2018 being the maiden vintage, the fruit from Durbanville plantings dating back to 1983 and with the front label proclaiming

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Whitehall Chardonnay has aficionados smiling internationally

THE 2020 VINTAGE of Neil Ellis’s Whitehall Chardonnay had only been on the market for a few months when it was included among the Top 4 in Winemag‘s 2021 South African Chardonnay Report. By the end of the year it had been Highly Recommended in Platter‘s SA Wine Guide, and after some more time in bottle it was considered 95+ on

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Ken Forrester Chenin Best in Show at World Wine Awards 2022

THE DECANTER World Wine Awards in the UK are mega. 18 244 entries in 2022, a world record as international wine competitions go. Judged over two weeks, with the various panels comprising some 250 experts including more than 41 Masters of Wine and 13 Master Sommeliers. 8074 bronze medals awarded, 5900 silvers, 676 golds, 165 platinum medals and 50 wines

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Le Riche shows again that Stellenbosch Cab among very best

THE LE RICHE cellar has always been there or thereabouts when considering South Africa’s leading producers of Cabernet Sauvignon over the past decade or so! However, the last three years have been particularly successful for the family, with rave reviews from critics locally and internationally, culminating in victory at the Global Fine Wine Challenge in Sydney where the 2018 vintage

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Exceptional at under R100 a bottle – according to two panels or more!

BEFORE considering the majority vote… Upon conclusion of the 2021 Ultra Value Wine Challenge, the guys and gals at BuyBetterWine.com announced their SA red and white wines of the year to be the 2018 vintage of Stellenbosch Hills Merlot, at the cellar-door price of R92 per bottle, and the 2021 Goudini Chenin Blanc at R60pb from uniWines in Rawsonville. Also

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Winemaker couldn’t have wished for more perfect start for own label

  TOP 10 IN the 2021 Winemag Pinotage Report (SA), gold medallist at the 2021 Decanter World Wine Awards (UK) and trophy laureate in the Pinotage Association’s 2021 Absa Top 10 competition. What an impressive beginning for Francois van Niekerk’s first vintage (2019) under his own label – a very limited release produced when not busy as cellarmaster at Wellington Wines

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Bateleur one of South Africa’s most raved-about Chardonnays in 2021

EVERY REGION of the winelands has its champions and in Robertson, when it comes to Chardonnay, number one is De Wetshof Estate – close to the Breede River, alongside the R317 to Bonnievale. With no fewer than five classy versions that have received good reviews consistently to the point of inclusion within the SA Wine Classification, the De Wet family and

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A journal of six generations striving for what the farm is truly capable of

WHAT TO MAKE of Diemersdal… A Sauvignon Blanc specialist. A Pinotage specialist. A good all-rounder. With a pretty decent ‘Farm Eatery’ to lunch or dine at in the winelands of Durbanville… Short of energy they’re not. In fact the Louw family and their team sometimes seem at risk of over-stretching themselves, regularly adding to the range and tweaking their strong

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Cathedral Cellar Sauvignon Blanc 2019 ‘a really sophisticated offering’

WITH MUCH more focus these days on the name of a cellar in Paarl than that of the producer or the name it trades under, the label is an artwork in itself. Warshay Investments’ KWV Cathedral Cellar Sauvignon Blanc has been a friend of discerning wine lovers for many years, ranking among the Top 20 in the South African Wine Classification.

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From mountains high, Cederberg Shiraz 2018 latest in line of stunners

  NO OTHER SHIRAZ from South Africa has been as successful on the world stage in 2021 as the 2018 vintage from the team at the Cederberg cellar of David Nieuwoudt: Highly Recommended in Platter’s SA Wine Guide; one of the Top 10 gold medallists at Syrah du Monde in France; one of 12 champions in the Shiraz SA Challenge;

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Some real wine bargains not yet sold out – even at under R100 a bottle!

IT WAS inevitable, after another round of prohibition in South Africa, once wine sales were allowed again end-July 2021 at Lockdown Level 3 in terms of the COVID-19 Disaster Restrictions, top priority among those needing to stock up again was to look for the bargains on offer. People needed to get a case of something / anything decent onto those

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