HAVING 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 moreSA HIGHLIGHTS of the Strauss & Co Wine Auction held mid-May 2023. Billed merely as the private collection of a single owner, the online sale included wines from around the world – the following are those made in South Africa that attracted bids of over R2000 a bottle/750ml. Sadie Family Palladius 2004 (White Blend) R29 313 paid for 4x750ml:
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 moreEVEN WHEN it isn’t Easter, there are at least nine top cellars in the Cape winelands of South Africa where the tasting-room experiences extend to chocolate-and-wine pairings. Clearly dessert wine is not the only route to go to enjoy a good marriage, but there are also a number of options should you want to dive straight in, so to speak:
Read moreJUST OVER an hour’s drive (around 80km) from Cape Town, the ‘French corner’ of the Cape winelands – east of Stellenbosch and Paarl – is one of the most popular wine routes in South Africa. Numerous guesthouses and Airbnb options, as well as a wine tram connecting one end of the valley to the other. This is gourmet country.
Read more2022 HAD ALREADY got underway when Decanter (UK) announced the names of their Wines of the Year 2021. Experts around the world and on the Decanter team nominated those wines that had impressed them most during the year to October 2021, and these were then re-assessed by a panel comprising three of the publication’s judges: Master of Wine Michelle Cherutti-Kowal,
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 moreWHAT TO MAKE of Strauss & Co’s July 2020 online auction of fine South African wines?! For the auction catalogue, click here. Full results of the sale here. There were just three producers involved: ‘first growth’ Kanonkop on the slopes of the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch where they make a range of top reds from a range of varieties, Klein Constantia
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 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 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 moreTHE MOST in-demand South African lots at the first Strauss & Co Fine Wine Auction to be held in Cape Town, organised in collaboration with retailer Wine Cellar and sommelier Higgo Jacobs… Following the inaugural event in Johannesburg three months earlier, the Cape reds, whites and sweets to fetch over R2000 a bottle/750ml at the September sale were as follows:
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 moreSOURCED predominantly from one of the oldest vineyards and certainly the oldest Semillon plantings in South Africa, the grapes for Boekenhoutskloof Semillon grow on traditional bush vines that still have their original roots, i.e. contrary to the norm that involves cuttings grafted onto disease- and pest-resistant rootstock. And the roots run deep, conducive to intensely complex, well-structured wines with good ageing
Read moreTHE OLD VINE PROJECT has on record 10 vineyards in South Africa that are older than 100 years, however, with the odd exception, their locations, the names of the property owners and the wines made from them (if any) are strictly confidential. No doubt these are precious plants. Perish the thought that they might go up in smoke or be dug
Read moreENCHANTED it is. There’s nothing else like it in the winelands of the Cape. A boardwalk alongside a stream through a forest on the farm Boekenhoutskloof in Franschhoek, meandering this way and that between some wonderful trees that include Cape holly, wild almond and white alder, African red alder, white poplar and English oak. There is also some Cape Beech (Boekenhout) that the
Read moreMANY IN FRANSCHHOEK pride themselves on the town’s reputation as a leading sparkling wine producer and the annual Cap Classique & Champagne festival is a marvellous affair. One out of every three cellars in the district produces bubbly, the vignerons promote their Cap Classique route and some of the wineries are specialists who make little or nothing else. And yet…
Read moreTOP SA SHIRAZ in 2013… The following wines achieved outstanding reviews from the judges at blind-tastings around the world during the past 12 months: TOP SOUTH AFRICAN SHIRAZ RATINGS IN 2013 Asara 2010 – Gold Medal at Trophy Wine Show Boekenhoutskloof 2003 – 5 Stars in Christian Eedes Report Boekenhoutskloof 2011 – 4½ Stars in Platter’s Guide Boschendal Reserve Collection 2011 – Trophy at
Read moreThelema Mountain Vineyards, Helshoogte, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch Vergelegen, Helderberg, Somerset West Vineyard up the road from the Niewoudt’s Cederberg Private Cellar From Ken Forrester Vineyards: Avontuur Estate on the Helderberg, Somerset West Stark-Conde, Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch Boekenhoutskloof, Franschhoek Morgenster Estate, Helderberg, Somerset West Stellenrust, Stellenbosch Paul Cluver, Elgin
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