SOME SAY Shiraz, some say Syrah… These are South Africa’s top-rated expressions of the variety from the top panels of wine judges internationally during 2023 to date, and highlighted in red are those that qualify for the SA Wine Classification showcasing good track records over the past 10 years. Bloemendal Tyger Syrah 2016 96 points at Trophy Wine Show
Read moreFROM A SINGLE, east-facing vineyard in Franschhoek, planted around the time that Leeu Passant was founded just 10 years ago, “this is the first release of this stunning and classy Cabernet Franc,” says winemaker Andrea Mullineux of the wine that fetched the highest price paid at the 2023 Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) Auction. “These steep, terraced slopes have a permanent
Read moreSHIRAZ from South Africa’s Hartenberg, Kleine Zalze and Cederberg cellars were among the top gold medallists at the international Syrah du Monde 2023. Contested by 20 countries, the competition takes place in Ampuis, a town in the Rhône region of France, where 80 of the 241 wines assessed during the panel tastings earned gold (34) and silver (46) medals. Australian
Read moreAT THE 2022 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction, Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2019 of Stellenbosch attracted the highest bids on average, i.e. selling for an average price of R2457 per bottle, with Cederberg Teen die Hoog Shiraz 2020 fetching R1861 a bottle on average. Remarkably, however, the white wines in most demand fetched the third- and fourth-highest prices overall, i.e. the
Read moreDE TOREN, SADIE FAMILY, Porseleinberg and Hartenberg fetched the highest bids for South African wines at the Strauss & Co auction of Shiraz and Rhône-style blends on 21 Feb 2022. The rare and sought-after lots on sale featured various local as well as French producers, with other respected names from the Cape winelands including Badenhorst, Boschkloof, Cederberg, David & Nadia,
Read moreSTRAUSS & CO kicked off their 2021 fine wine auction calendar by way of a ‘Rhône collection’, beginning with top South African producers such as Boschkloof, De Trafford, Hartenberg and Rust en Vrede of Stellenbosch as well as David & Nadia, Mullineux, Porseleinberg and Sadie of the Swartland, followed by famous benchmarks from French producers including Alain Graillot, Michel Chapoutier,
Read moreSOLD FOR OVER R5000 A BOTTLE THE FOLLOWING fine wines of the Cape fetched the highest prices at various auctions over the past 12 months or so – all attracting bids of more than R5000 a bottle. None of these beauties sold for over R1000 on release – the golden oldies originally changed hands for less than R100 – and
Read moreTHERE WERE 307 wines from 27 countries on the tasting bench at Syrah du Monde 2020, the 14th edition of this international competition held in the Rhône Valley, France. After three days of judging dry and sweet wines, reds, rosés, bubblies and desserts made from Shiraz, 101 medals were awarded – 87 silvers and just 14 golds, of which two
Read moreSTELLENBOSCH and Swartland cellars fetched the highest prices for South African reds and whites offered at the Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction of 10-year-olds conducted online in October 2020. For details of the SA wines that were most in demand, see below. For the full results of the auction, which also featured a number of top European wines, click
Read moreSHEW! Over R85 000 paid for one of the most expensive wines in the world, a single bottle of the Merlot-driven Petrus, 1989 vintage, and nearly R74K forked out for another top wine from Bordeaux, three bottles of ‘first growth’ blend Haut-Brion, also 30 years old. But arguably more impressive at the Strauss & Co / Wine Cellar auction
Read moreSADLY, the South African Wine Index (SAWi) is losing credibility as an annual guide to the country’s best wines, the grand gold and platinum bottle stickers that signify inclusion in the publisher’s ‘Grand Wines Collection’ (GWC) becoming lumped together with others that shoppers and collectors should be wary of. What might once have been a noble endeavour to rank the
Read moreFOR THE MOST PART, the results of Strauss & Co’s ‘Rhône-themed’ fine wine online auction conducted in collaboration with the merchants Wine Cellar and sommelier Higgo Jacobs from 6 to 14 April 2020 were to be expected. But how impressive was the demand for that youngster from Donovan Rall, and could that old Zandvliet really still be alive and well?
Read moreWHO WOULD have thought it possible? The Mullineux couple Chris (viticulturist) and Andrea (winemaker), perhaps! But how amazing it was that the only white wine to fetch over R1000 a bottle on average at South Africa’s 2019 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction in Stellenbosch came from grapes grown in Barrydale, Klein Karoo – more than Ataraxia Chardonnay of Hemel-en-Aarde, more
Read moreHARTENBERG Estate’s charming underground cellar is not only the home of maturing Shiraz and then some, but also a gallery of 12 artworks by German coppersmith Karl Heinz Wilhelm depicting the various phases of cultivating and producing wine. On the surface, the Mackenzie family’s vineyards are planted to a number of different varieties, however this farm in the Bottelary
Read moreTHEY SAY they produce the world’s best Shiraz. A bold claim by the Hartenberg producers in Bottelary, Stellenbosch. And at the 2019 edition of Syrah du Monde, France, they were certainly up there with some of the best, their ‘Stork’ flagship placing among the Top 4, and Bon Courage of Robertson also one of the Top 10 – their ‘Pepper
Read moreTOTAL SALES at the 2018 Cape Winemakers Guild Auction amounted to over R10-million for 2012 cases (6 x 750ml or equivalent), with the average prices of R5 265 per case and R878 per bottle exceeding what was achieved in 2017. The line-up of 48 wines included 31 reds, 14 whites, two Cap Classique sparkling wines and a Cape Port, with the red blend Kanonkop
Read moreSYRAH du Monde 2017 involved 372 entries from 26 countries. Judging took place over two days at the Ampuis Castle overlooking the Rhône River and surrounded by grapevines in the heart of the Côte-Rôtie, France – although 55 of the 100 panel members were from outside France. Once all was said and done, gold medals were awarded for 33 wines,
Read moreTHEY SAY the reason for changing venue was a lack of space. In just a couple of years, the Feast of Shiraz & Charcuterie grew in popularity to the point that host Hartenberg was bursting at the seams and hence the switch to Joostenberg Deli & Bistro for the 2015 event on Saturday 30 May, 12:00 to 17:00 – not quite as
Read moreREFLECTING on the past year as regards Wine SA, there is a case to be made for Paarl being home to the champion producer in 2014 after KWV triumphed as the most successful entrant overall at the most prestigious competitions on the South African wine calendar – first at the Trophy Wine Show (for the second time) and then at the Veritas
Read moreSYRAH du Monde is held in May every year at Château d’Ampuis in the northern Rhône, France. A taste-off involving some of the world’s best Shiraz, it’s a respected international competition which in 2013 involved 423 wines from 28 countries. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded, with much praise heaped on the Top 10. This year five South African
Read more
