The Shiraz-led flagship of Franschhoek cellar La Motte is made from various types of grapes sourced from outside the valley

WHAT LEADS TO a wine being positioned as ultra-premium price-wise could be a rarity factor coupled with consumer/collector demand, the investment that’s gone into the maturation/ageing of the product, brand value, perhaps simply the cellar’s wish to offer a statement wine demanding attention even when or precisely because it’s beyond the realm of affordability for many folks.

Invariably though – not always but usually – there’s something extra special about a bottle of wine from a Top 100 Cellar that’s selling locally for over R500, let alone R1000 plus. The tendency is for the flagships or icon wines to be what the cellarmasters or proprietors consider to be their finest, their very best, the pinnacle of what they think they’re able to achieve on their properties – which is all the more likely if the wine is from a producer with a proven track record for classy wine that is more readily available.

Even if the flag-bearer’s only advantage over its stable companions is a barrel selection, the pick of the best of the batch… Even if the quality difference is marginal, debateable or in question… Who wouldn’t want to experience what the country’s Mr Chenin (Ken Forrester) regards as his top wine, what the most famous Pinotage brand owner reckons is king at Kanonkop, what some of the rock stars among South Africa’s winemakers such as Eben Sadie, André van Rensburg (Vergelgen) and Bruwer Raats can get up to when pushing the envelope, what the sweet KWV dessert wines and ports are like after having been stashed away in their cellars since the days of our forefathers and their forefathers before them…

R500 PLUS PER BOTTLE – TOP PRICED WINES FROM TOP 100 SA CELLARS