DOMAINE des Dieux’s win at the 2022 Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge was their third, having also been applauded as Best Producer in the 2018 and 2014 editions of the competition organised by South Africa’s Cap Classique Producers Association (CCPA). This time round, the 2016 vintage of Des Dieux Claudia Brut was named best wine overall, following the trophy-winning 2012
Read moreWHAT TO LIKE about Winemag‘s pick of South Africa’s ‘Top 20 Wines’ in 2021, ‘The Best Wines in South Africa’ and their choice of ‘Winery of the Year’? Well, good to see Vergelegen in the spotlight again: top estate, veteran winemaker, impressive track record. Interesting to see what Winemag rated most highly: Cavalli Filly Chenin Blanc 2020 and DeMorgenzon Maestro
Read moreMOST OF the South African wines assessed for Winemag’s 2021 Prescient Chardonnay Report were from grapes harvested in 2020, which the judges felt was “a slightly lesser vintage” relative to 2019 when it comes to this variety, “the wines not having the same fruit concentration”. Their absolute favourites of the 93 Chardonnays submitted by 67 producers were: from Stellenbosch cellars,
Read moreTHERE WERE 125 entries from various parts of the South African winelands submitted for Winemag’s 2021 Prescient Sauvignon Blanc Report. Most were unwooded, some were wooded and some comprised blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon (albeit that this isn’t always disclosed on the labels). And there were plenty that delighted the panel of tasters including Winemag editor Christian Eedes (chair),
Read more“THERE’S SOMETHING strange happening in South Africa’s Semillon vineyards. Green bunches turn red the one year, then back to green the next. Hung like Christmas baubles on gnarled bushvines, the shapeshifting clusters are an enduring mystery” – Malu Lambert talking about Semillon Gris in Decanter (UK). Full article here. One of the Semillons recommended in the piece is La Colline
Read moreR85 MILLION for Quoin Rock in 2012. R90m and R80m for Uitkyk and Warwick in 2018. R94m for Knorhoek in 2019. All four on the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch. What would Kanonkop be valued at? It wasn’t that long ago that Constantia Uitsig sold for R175m, and before that Klein Constantia for R198m, with Boschendal of Franschhoek holding the national record
Read moreWHO SAID the Constantia wine route was mostly about Sauvignon Blanc?! There’s some good Semillon, several fine white blends, a couple of very good Shiraz, and what about the decent Chardonnay, respectable Bordeaux-style red blends and those lovely dessert wines! Beau Constantia Constantia Nek Tel: +27 (0)21 794 8632 Email: winesales@beauconstantia.com Web: www.beauconstantia.com Owners: Pierre & Cecilly du Preez Restaurant: Chefs
Read moreYAY! AND YET! It was great to hear that there are a couple of new venues to choose from come lunchtime in the winelands of Constantia. Not so great was to discover that at one of them they don’t sell any wine to accompany your meal, and at the other the management is somewhat cheeky… At the Nest Deli on Constantia
Read moreTHE ORGANISERS of the Decanter World Wine Awards in the UK describe their competition as the “most influential”. Ditto the International Wine Challenge, also of the UK, which goes further in claiming to be “the finest” and the “most meticulous”. But these are modest compared to The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships: “The most respected, prestigious and rigorous… No
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