LESS THAN R100 a bottle for one of the most consistently highly rated wines over the past 10 years might seem impossible, and yet… While the majority of the 132 Best of The Best in the 2024 South African Wine Classification are priced at over R350 a bottle with 40+ over R500pb, there are 22 at under R250 (see below),
Read moreTHE VERY BEST wines of South Africa at under 150 rand a bottle as reviewed by the top panels of experts locally and internationally in 2023. There is even a platinum award winner and a trophy laureate among these recommendations, and those highlighted in RED are either included in the 2023 SA Wine Classification, such are their good track records
Read moreMANY STOPPED paying attention to the Michelangelo Awards when it was pointed out that, like the South African Young Wine Show, the entries include tank- and barrel-samples, i.e. wines that are not market-ready when they are judged and which could change significantly by the time they go on sale. It’s possible that these competition results and bottle stickers might sometimes
Read moreMOST of South Africa’s top-rated wines these days cost over R250 a bottle – more than 300 of the wines scored 93 points plus in 2023 to date are positioned at R300+, with 180 or so at R400+ and over 100 at R500 to R2000. And yet, during the past six months alone, there have been over 30 of the
Read moreHAVING achieved 95/100 for the current release of their flagship red blend at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London, Constantia Glen went one better with a score of 96 at the last of the biggest competitions of its kind in 2023, the International Wine & Spirit Competition. Constantia Glen Five 2020 was one of the three top-scoring South African
Read moreIT’S AMAZING that there are any highly rated wines available at under R100 a bottle these days, and yet… MOST HIGHLY RATED < R100 Bon Courage Unwooded Chardonnay 2022 Gold Medal at Trophy Wine Show (SA) R83pb ex-cellar, Robertson KWV Cathedral Cellar Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Gold Medal at Trophy Wine Show (SA) R99PB ex-cellar, Paarl Land’s End Cape South Coast
Read moreTHE LATIN word for ‘taste’, Gustus is also the name of a really good-value range of wines from Darling Cellars outside the town on the R315 to Malmesbury, and the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc in the collection is surprising in more ways than one. Surprisingly good quality and interest value, benefitting surprisingly well from time in the bottle. Judged best unwooded
Read moreJUST THREE months into 2023 and international panels of wine experts have found more than a dozen South African delights from various corners of the Western Cape that are selling for under R100 a bottle. In the first quarter of the year, 150 of the country’s wines received good to very good reviews – 50 selling for between R100 and R200pb,
Read moreTHE VERY BEST wines of South Africa at under 150 rand a bottle as reviewed by the top panels of experts locally and internationally in 2022. Rated 95 points or higher. There are even a few platinum award winners and trophy laureates among these recommendations, and those highlighted in RED are either included in the 2022 SA Wine Classification, such
Read moreWHOA! Better than R60 a bottle for this award winner from Van Loveren in the Robertson winelands, R49pb is all that’s being asked for the 2021 Tangled Tree Butterscotch Chardonnay from the Ultra Value Wine Challenge organisers, BuyBetterWine.com. And Woah! The White Wine of the Year at the 2022 competition (for wines selling at under R130 per 750ml) is also
Read moreALTHOUGH the 2022 Ultra Value Wine Challenge was open to entries selling for up to R130 a bottle, the Wine of the Year awards for the highest-scoring red and white in the competition were presented for submissions way below the price ceiling. Best-value red: a blend (mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz) from the Koelenhof Winery in Stellenbosch, the Koelenberg 2021.
Read moreSTILL AVAILABLE at the time of writing on 17 August 2022: REALLY GOOD REDS UNDER R100 Brink Family Pinotage 2019 R90pb from Pulpit Rock cellar, Riebeek West. Finalist in Top 10 Pinotage Competition. MAN Skaapveld Syrah 2020 R85pb ex-cellar, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch. 97/100 at Trophy Wine Show. Windmeul Shiraz 2020 R70pb ex-cellar, Paarl. Finalist in Shiraz SA Challenge. REALLY GOOD WHITE UNDER
Read moreUSED TO BE that Chateau Libertas from SFW/Distell represented many a South African wine lover’s staple red. That and the likes of a Groot Constantia dry red and KWV Roodeberg, if you could get it, Douglas Green St Augustine if you couldn’t. The sort of red you might graduate to after Tassenberg, before going on to, say, Alto Rouge or
Read moreWITH SOME vintages it’s recommended that for a refreshing drink you can chill this blend, described by the De Villiers family as a “fun-loving” wine. In recent years, however, the Paul Hugo Red has over-delivered relative what you might expect from the second tier in Landskroon’s portfolio. The 2020 is one of the standouts since the maiden vintage 2006. Judged
Read moreIN THE ANNUAL address by the director general of the Paris-based International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) about the state of the wine industry worldwide, Spain’s Pau Roca reported that 2021 had seen a boom in international trade, a record high in both volume and value. “However the scenario for 2022 looks uncertain due to the turbulence posed by
Read moreSJOE! The Trophy Wine Show got it so right when they honoured the 2019 Thokozani Cabernet Franc as Discovery of the Show in 2022. Best value gold medallist in South Africa’s premier wine competition, open to wines of all categories, this beauty from the Diemersfontein cellar in Wellington was also top of its class at the National Wine Challenge (SA)
Read moreBEFORE 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
Read moreIT 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
Read moreCLEARLY as inflation takes its toll, compounded by the impact of wine producers in the Cape asking for prices more in line with what their direct competitiors in other top wine-producing countries are getting, it’s becoming increaingly challenging to find the good stuff at under R100 a bottle. We’re talking wine good enough to impress the critics on a panel,
Read moreAT THE VERY heart of the South African winelands, Stellenbosch was founded in the year 1679, and harking back to its roots, so to speak, ‘Stellenbosch 1679′ is the name of the new tier of wines introduced by one of the most successful co-operative cellars in the district. The Chenin Blanc was first to catch the aficionados’ attention when it
Read more
