WHAT TO make of Winemag.co.za’s 2016 Riscura White Hot Wine Awards? Of the 35 entries from nearly as many of the Cape wine cellars blending Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, none scored lower than 86/100 (very good) despite some being criticised as clumsy, “planky”. That 15 scored 90-plus out of 100 (excellent to outstanding) was a solid endorsement of the quality and interest value
Read moreAFTER winning a gold medal at the 2016 Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships earlier in the year, Graham Beck’s 2009 Cuvée Clive Cap Classique was subsequently honoured as one of the 11 National Champions at the trophy awards dinner in London. For the other top South African achievers in the competition, see here. For the full competition results, see here. At
Read moreTHE PINOTAGE Association made much of Kanonkop’s and Rijk’s achievements at the 2016 Absa Top 10 awards where they both won trophies for the 11th time in the 20-year history of the event – iconic track records for sure, albeit that the Kanonkop 2010 was ‘sold out’ ex-cellar and the Rijk’s Reserve 2013 had yet to be released at the time of writing. However, two
Read moreTHE WINNERS of the 2016 Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge include five of the top wines in the SA Chenin Classification based on track records spanning the past 10 years. Of these beauties, two stand out as the country’s most successful Chenins on local and international podiums this year: DeMorgenzon Reserve 2015 and Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection 2015, with the KZ also
Read morePERHAPS THE most surprising inclusion among the 20 finalists in the run-up to the 2016 Absa Top 10 Pinotage awards is Oupa Bull Reserve 2015. Paarl visitors might have come across the humble farm De Zoete Inval where fifth-generation winemaker John Robert Frater and the team replanted in 2005 and feel that the vines are “now old enough to realise their
Read moreTHE CAPE Winemakers Guild Auctions together with the pre-sale dinners and Showcase tastings are many things to many people… Obviously, they are opportunities to experience and/or collect some of South Africa’s finest and rarest wines from some of the Cape’s top cellars. They are also indicators of what the vintners are particularly passionate about producing or confirmation of what they’re best
Read moreTHE SECOND annual Sommeliers Selection was announced with little fanfare – the names of the ‘listed wines’ only posted some days after the private awards function and various questions remaining unanswered at the time of writing. Nevertheless, the competition is interesting as regards the unique nature of the event and the calibre of entries. The judges are all members of the South
Read moreGOLD MEDAL winners at the third Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships in London included two of South Africa’s Cap Classiques: the premium Graham Beck Cuvée Clive 2009 from Robertson and Domaine des Dieux Claudia Brut 2010 from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge outside Hermanus. All told, there were 149 gold and 143 silver medallists – the Cape’s Le Lude and Wildekrans among
Read moreAT THE TOP of the list when it comes to South Africa’s most successful wines on the show circuit during the first half of 2016 are a variety of beauties, red and white, dry to sweet – see below. Two are from the Delaire Graff ‘resort’ in Banghoek off the Helshoogte Pass, surely on track to become one of the Top
Read moreNEDERBURG Private Bin Eminence 2012 has been included among the Top 10 entries at the 2016 edition of Muscats du Monde staged in the city of Frontignan-la-Peyrade in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. The Paarl cellar’s Eminence was one of 29 gold medallists – another South African among them being the 2015 Red Muscadel from Orange River Cellars, Upington, with the 2010
Read moreTHERE were 59 wines from 46 cellars entered for Winemag.co.za’s 2016 Riscura Red Hot Wine Awards for South Africa’s Bordeaux-Style red blends. As to be expected, perhaps, most of the top scores went the way of Stellenbosch outfits – the exceptions being Diemersdal in Durbanville, Creation on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge between Hermanus and Caledon, and Groot Constantia, whose 2013 Gouverneurs Reserve was judged
Read moreAS WITH most things, after a certain point no wine is worth the asking price – no matter how good it is. Beyond that, there is another point up to which avid wine enthusiasts and collectors might splash out or invest, mindful of paying a premium but happy to indulge their wonts. Of course, just where these points are on the sliding scale can vary immensely
Read moreOF THE 16 000 entries for the 2016 Decanter World Wine Awards in London, 31 were deemed worthy of ‘Platinum – Best in Show’ (previously referred to as ‘International Trophies’), one of which was DeMorgenzon Reserve Chardonnay 2015 from Stellenbosch Kloof, which a month earlier won a trophy at the International Wine Challenge. There were five other Platinum Awards that went
Read moreTHE DINERS Club World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy has included La Colombe at Silvermist in Constantia among their Top 100 for 2016. At No. 76, according to the Academy, La Colombe is the top-ranked restaurant in the winelands of South Africa – second only to The Test Kitchen (ranked No. 22 in the world) at the Biscuit Mill in Woodstock as regards the best restaurants in
Read moreACCORDING to statistics announced by the Paris-based International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), the world’s area under vine stands at 7.5 million hectares with total wine production at 274.4 million hectolitres. South Africa now ranks eighth among the biggest wine-producing countries in the world: 1 Italy (49.5 million hectolitres), 2 France (47.5 mhl), 3 Spain (37.2 mhl), 4 USA (22.1 mhl), 5 Argentina (13.4
Read moreTHE TITLE of top producer at South Africa’s Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show has gone to some pretty distinguished cellars over the years: De Trafford and Vergelegen were joint winners in 2002, Vergelegen won again in 2003 and 2004, Diemersfontein triumphed in 2005 before Vergelegen regained the title in 2006, and then followed Cape Point Vineyards (2007), Nederburg twice (2008 and 2009),
Read moreTHE 2016 Muskadel SA awards point to some of the great value wine producers at under R100 a bottle, or even under R50 at the cellar door – and not just in the fortified dessert wine categories. Du Toitskloof Red Muscadel 2014 at R50 and Orange River Cellars White Muscadel 2015 at R50 were commended for the packaging as well as
Read moreNEDERBURG of Paarl consistently puts together really good Sauvignon Blanc for their exclusive wine auction once a year, and Graham Beck of Robertson had a really good track record with their Pheasants’ Run before they decided to focus solely on Cap Classique bubblies made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Apart from these, however, there are just four producers whose Sauvignon Blancs qualified for the Top
Read moreTHE STRING of Boplaas victories in South Africa’s annual CAPPA Port Challenge has been broken. However, Calitzdorp wineries’ ‘stranglehold’ on this championship staged by the Cape Port Producers Association remains firm! Following wins for Carel Nel and his Calitzdorp family’s Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve and Cape Tawny wines in 2013, 2014 and 2015, the 2016 SA Port Challenge trophy went to Mike
Read moreTHE WINNERS at the 2016 Shiraz SA Challenge include four of the wines with the best track records over the past 10 years in terms of the Top Wine SA Shiraz Classification: Cederberg, Eagles’ Nest (Constantia), Fairview Eenzaamheid (Paarl) and Saronsberg (Tulbagh). Moreover, many among the top dozen vintages on this occasion had already received high praise during the previous 12 months: Alto 2013
Read more
