IT’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 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 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 moreSURE THERE ARE other delightful reds and whites in their range, but it’s Shiraz that they specialise in at Saronsberg. Surely the leading wine outfit in the district of Tulbagh, their Shiraz and Shiraz-based blend ‘Full Circle’ easily clear the bar for inclusion among their respective Top 10s in the South African Wine Classification – shoo-ins for the Top Wine SA
Read moreELGIN’S Paul Cluver, whose 2020 Estate Chardonnay was the top-scoring white at the 2022 Trophy Wine Show, has a distinguished track record for producing some of South Africa’s finest Chardonnays (and Pinot Noirs). Whereas Glen Carlou on the Simonsberg side of Paarl, whose 2019 Collection Red Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc was the top-scoring red wine at
Read moreCHARDONNAY and bubbly are what come to mind for many when contemplating the cellars of the Robertson Wine Valley. But they also offer good reds, and sweet pleasures too. See below for the top wineries in the area and what they’re best at. For the names of exactly which wines from the area have the best track records, see
Read moreIT IS SAID that there’s no more appropriate wine to pour on Valentine’s Day than a pink one: roses and rosé for the love of your life! And particularly if it’s going to be a celebratory occasion, it should be something special, something with a bit of pop and fizz, something you can count on for an exciting touch! South
Read morePLETTENBERG BAY winery Newstead Wines has become the first producer outside the traditional Cape winelands to be crowned winner of the Amorim Cap Classique Challenge. Newstead Brut 2015 won a double gold medal, trophy for Best Blanc de Blancs and was the top-scoring Cap Classique overall. This was the 19th Amorim Cap Classique Challenge, sponsored by the Portuguese company celebrating
Read moreIT WAS WITH the announcement of the 2020 Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition winners imminent that the Pinotage Association released the names of the Top 5s in their Perold Absa Cape Blend and Pinotage Rosé competitions. It was in the midst of KWV tweaking the positioning of their wine named in honour of the man who thought to cross Cinsaut
Read moreIT’S ARGUABLE that at under R100 a bottle, if you’re weighing up South Africa’s various wine categories, Sauvignon Blanc generally offers best value-for-money. Sure, there are now very few top Sauvignons in the SA Wine Classification at this level, price wise. However, at the time of writing, five of the finalists in the country’s 2020 Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition
Read moreIT HAS TO BE one of the most famous quotes to do with wine: “I only drink Champagne when I’m happy, and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it
Read moreTHE 2019 Uber Value SA Wine Guide revisited – all of the prices updated following the annual general increases across the industry in March 2020, and excluding all of those wines that have sold out since the guide was first published last December. These are the very best value wines of South Africa at under R100 a bottle that were
Read moreA SIGN OF THE TIMES! You can no longer find a really good Cap Classique bubbly at under R100 a bottle and it won’t be long before the same applies to various other categories – white and red, dry and sweet. In the 2020 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide published this month, around 350 wines were in the
Read moreTOP MUSCADELS from the Cape remain oh such good fortified dessert wines, but oh so underrated – downplayed, you could argue, even by some of the producers themselves, let alone consumers with a sweet tooth who also seem to place a higher value on unfortified desserts including Noble Late Harvest, Natural Sweet and Straw Wine. The Muskadel SA association doesn’t have
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 moreTHE ORGANISERS of the UK’s International Wine Challenge (IWC) have named their 2019 trophy winners, chosen from the gold medal-winning wines. The awards followed two weeks of judging, involving thousands of entries from 49 countries and over 400 wine experts serving on the various panels. Each medal-winning wine was blind-tasted on at least three separate occasions by at least 12
Read moreTHERE ARE SOME cellars whose reputations hinge on a single wine. Some have just one flagship. Nothing wrong with that. Actually, there are far too many producers in the Cape with far too many wines in their portfolio. More specialists please. However, you’ve gotta hand it to those wineries that consistently offer more than one of the country’s very best,
Read moreONE OF THE three most topical wines of the Breede River Valley during the first half of 2018 originates half in Robertson, half in Worcester… From the South African wine region that stretches southeast of Tulbagh and Ceres to Bonnievale, northwest of Swellendam, comes the sparkling wine judged best Cap Classique at the National Wine Challenge. Celine Brut NV, which
Read moreODD that perennial sweet wine favourites Alvi’s Drift, Nuy and Orange River Cellars didn’t get a look in at the 2018 Muskadel SA Awards for fortified desserts, but maybe they didn’t field any of the 31 wines entered this time round. Then again, two of the Top 10 cellars in this category came storming through – Bon Courage winning with both
Read moreTHERE WERE around 600 wines judged at South Africa’s National Wine Challenge 2018 convened by Robin von Holdt’s Buybetterwine.com. The judges comprised chairman Greg Sherwood (UK Master of Wine), Ginette de Fleuriot (Cape Wine Master), sommelier Wayve Kolvesohn, with winemakers Duncan Savage, Matthew Day of Klein Constantia, Richard Kershaw (Master of Wine) and JD Pretorius of Steenberg. Sommelier Higgo Jacobs was
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