ANNOUNCED in advance of the book going on sale at retail stores around 10 December, the award winners showcased in the 2023 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide include 26 Wines of the Year and 196 Five Star laureates. To achieve a 5 Star rating requires a score of 95 or higher on a 100-point scale, involving a team
Read moreYOU CAN COUNT the number of today’s Top Cape Vintage Port producers on one hand… Okay, maybe two. It’s very specialist, very niche, but very good. One or two in Stellenbosch, one or two in Paarl and Wellington, plus a few in various other districts, however it’s Calitzdorp that has been the Port Capital of South Africa for several decades
Read moreSO, THE 2022 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide finally arrived on the bookshelves at around R390 a copy – early December instead of late November. At the time of writing, you still couldn’t buy one on the publisher’s website, where the 2021 version was on sale at R360. An online subscription for roughly half the price gives you
Read moreDAYS IN ADVANCE of launching the 2022 edition of their book and presenting awards for their choice of Wines and Wineries of the Year, the publishers of Platter’s South African Wine Guide teased followers by divulging the names of their 5 Star laureates – 234 of them, each considered to be ‘Superlative, a South African classic’. However, also disclosed on
Read moreTROPHY at the 2020 Absa Top 10, Double Gold Medal at the Veritas Awards and 5 Stars in Platter’s SA Wine Guide! The Journal represents what cellarmaster Thys Louw and the team of winemakers regard as the ultimate expression of the variety at Diemersdal Estate in Durbanville. And what a flying start to a new chapter of this farm with
Read moreIN THE 2021 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide, the number of 5 Star laureates runs to 210 – in the 2020 edition there were 125, a year before that there were 90 and 10 years ago there were 56. In part this could be ascribed to rising standards throughout the industry with a growing number of producers delivering
Read moreNO OTHER CAPE PORT has been more highly rated during the past 12 months. In 2020 it was judged Best in Class at the Trophy Wine Show, Best in Class at the National Wine Challenge and one of the Top 10 in the Winemag’s report on the category. This after several top accolades in 2019: 5 Stars in Platter’s SA Wine
Read moreWAITING AND WONDERING… First the publishers put the word out that the Winery of the Year in their 2021 edition of Platter’s SA Wine Guide will be announced to the world via Facebook and Instagram on the evening of 11 November, South African time, but with subscribers permitted to view the “full results” via their website. Then they announced that,
Read more“DO YOU KNOW how hard it is to sell a bottle of Viognier in South Africa,” said the fellow behind the counter of the neighbourhood wine shop, explaining why they hardly ever stocked it. “Not any more,” said the customer, who’d been enquiring about the Ridgeback, hunting for the 2018 vintage, in vain. “Yeah, heard it just got 5
Read moreLONG GONE are the days when a 5 Star rating was the ultimate accolade in Platter’s South African Wine guide, one of the very few publications in the world of wine still carrying stars to signify levels of distinction. The book and the online platform now also include scores according to a 100-point system but the powers that be can’t
Read more99/100 in PLATTER’S 2018 Nederburg Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Platter’s Red Wine of the Year The Foundry Grenache Blanc 2015 Platter’s White Wine of the Year Klein Constantia Vin de Constance Natural Sweet 2013 Platter’s Unfortified Dessert Wine of the Year Beaumont Starboard NV (Port) Platter’s Fortified Dessert Wine of the Year 98/100 in PLATTER’S 2018 Cederberg Shiraz 2015
Read moreAPART FROM the obvious, what were the highlights of the 2016 awards for top-rated reds, whites and sweets in the 2017 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide? For starters, with most of the year’s major panel tastings by local and international wine authorities behind us, the following beauties stand out among the leading contenders for SA Wine of the Year overall:
Read moreTHERE ARE FEW surprises among the top-rated wines in Platter’s 2014 South African Wine Guide that goes onto the bookshelves this month. Most of the 5 Star laureates or their makers have good track records – the cellarmasters and/or winery owners are familiar faces at the various podiums, which is great for those who appreciate consistently high standards. And most of the
Read moreA symbol of of religious tolerance and a delightful bottle of wine IT’S DIFFICULT to think of a more appropriate top wine to contemplate at this time of giving and goodwill around one of the most important dates on the Christian calendar… Recently launched after being awarded a rating of 5 Stars in the latest issue of Platter’s, the new
Read moreYOU MIGHT BE led to believe that Chris and Andrea Mullineux came up with what the team of tasters for the 2013 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide rated 5 Stars and voted Red Wine of the Year based on attention to detail, leaving nothing to chance… But of course there’s a lot more to the 2010 Mullineux Syrah than
Read moreOVER THE past 10 years, six wineries stand out as the producers with the best track records when it comes to South Africa’s top quality Pinot Noir: Hamilton Russell, Bouchard Finlayson, Sumaridge (all in the Hemel-en-Aarde area outside Hermanus), Chamonix (Franschhoek), Meerlust (Stellenbosch) and Paul Cluver (Elgin). Over the past 18 months, however, three Pinot producers have been winning most
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