DE GRENDEL, Diemersdal, Kleine Zalze, Steenberg, Tokara and Zorgvliet are among the standout wineries in the 2023 FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10, the panel’s favourites of the 169 entries from 106 producers judged over three days. A number of success stories for Stellenbosch and Durbanville, but no wines from Sauvignon vineyards in the Agulhas Triangle or Darling on this
GIVEN THAT over half the number of entries in the 2022 FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10 Competition were made in 2022, i.e. 86 out of 161 wines from 102 producers, it’s perhaps no surprise that this vintage dominated at the awards presentation: six in the Top 10, with 13 in the Top 20. This was despite what some have described
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
“THIS YEAR will be remembered as a world-class Top 10,” said Kleine Zalze winemaker RJ Botha, chairman of Sauvignon Blanc South Africa. There were 157 wines entered by 96 producers in the 2021 edition of the association’s competition, with four of the winning wines having achieved the feat before – from Kleine Zalze and Spier of Stellenbosch, Nitida of
SURELY it’s the South African Sauvignon Blanc most raved about by most critics in 2020… With the results of the International Wine Challenge (UK) as well as the Veritas Awards (SA) and 5 Star ratings in the next Platter’s SA Wine Guide still to come, no other Sauvignon from the Cape has received as many glowing reviews from such top
CHENIN BLANC might be the most-planted wine grape variety in South Africa, but Sauvignon Blanc is the country’s top-selling variety… A success story for sure, and most cellars are confident about putting their wines on show for scrutiny by the critics. There were 149 submissions from 96 producers vying for a place in the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10,
IT’S ARGUABLE that at under R100 a bottle, if you’re weighing up South Africa’s various wine categories, Sauvignon Blanc generally offers best value-for-money. Sure, there are now very few top Sauvignons in the SA Wine Classification at this level, price wise. However, at the time of writing, five of the finalists in the country’s 2020 Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition
THERE WERE 183 entries from 107 producers in the 2019 FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition and/but very few surprises in terms of the results which included three repeat winners – the 2019 vintage of De Grendel Koetshuis, Diemersdal Wild Ferment and Tokara Reserve Collection winning this year after victory with earlier vintages last year. The panel of judges were:
A FRESH fish dish or summer salad cries out for good Sauvignon Blanc as a lunchtime companion. At R210 a bottle, the Family Reserve of Kleine Zalze in Stellenbosch is one of the Top 10 in the South African Wine Classification, but at half the price the winery’s Vineyard Selection offers particularly good value, the 2017 vintage achieving good
TALK ABOUT extreme winemaking! There’s no cellar closer to the sea than the Fryer’s Cove outfit at the waterfront of Doringbaai, over 300km from Cape Town on South Africa’s West Coast. And their small blocks of vineyard nearby in the tiny ward of Bamboes Bay – north of Lambert’s Bay, south of Vredendal and Strandfontein – are so close to the
NAMED AFTER the coach house that De Grendel founder Sir David Graaff built in 1898 to shelter his horses, wagons and carriages, the Koetshuis Sauvignon Blanc used to be made from grapes harvested partly from a vineyard near the old coach house and partly from vines located in Darling. For the 2017 vintage, the grapes came from Darling and Lutzville, none from the
THE 2017 vintages of D’Aria’s Songbird and De Grendel’s Koetshuis are particularly impressive wines in the 2018 FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10, with both already multiple award winners before the latest rounds of applause: the Songbird also won at South Africa’s National Wine Challenge and earned silverware at the International Wine Challenge (UK); the Koetshuis also won gold at the Trophy
THE 2018 FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 Awards will be presented on 10 October. In the meantime, here are the Top 20 to contemplate following completion of the judging – with Kleine Zalze fielding two of the finalists! This is the 11th edition of the competition staged by the South African wine industry’s Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group (SBIG) since the awards were first presented
“THE SAUVIGNON Blanc Interest Group of South Africa (SBIG) fosters excellence in making and marketing South African Sauvignon Blanc locally and internationally… The annual FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition was started in 2007 to promote innovation and excellence in the category and reward those making wines of true distinction.” So how did things pan out in the 2017 taste-off?
THE WINNERS of the 2016 FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition organised by the South African wine industry’s Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group (SBIG) are from producers in Durbanville (2), Elgin, Hermanus, Noordhoek, Rawsonvile, Somerset West and Stellenbosch (3). Producers of the runners-up are located in Bamboes Bay, Constantia (Tokai), Durbanville (2), Elgin (2) and Stellenbosch (4). Among the Top 10 stand-outs, Cape Point
THE WINNING wines in South Africa’s 2015 FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition do not include any that were made at cellars in Darling, Durbanville, Cape Agulhas or the Cape Peninsula – some of the areas renowned for quality, interesting wines in this class. However they do include the Cederberg Private Cellar and Stellenbosch stalwarts Kleine Zalze and Tokara (using Elgin grapes) and Nederburg of Paarl
THE 2013 FNB Top 10 Sauvignon Blanc Awards organised by the Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group of South Africa again threw the spotlight on a number of wines regularly applauded as counting among the country’s best, as well as on some that have repeatedly vied for attention on the best-value scale. WINNERS AT THE FNB SAUVIGNON BLANC AWARDS Alexanderfontein Chip
