IT’S RIDICULOUS! A number of top winery proprietors or cellarmasters in the Cape winelands turned down the invitation to be listed in Platter’s 2024 South African Wine Guide. In this the 44th edition of the book, the printed version of which finally went on sale more than a month after the top ratings therein were divulged online, you can read
Read moreWHAT WERE the odds! Okay, so the 2019 wasn’t quite the maiden vintage of Beyerskloof’s Eerste Ry Cab – the 2018 and 2019 were released together. Nevertheless, like a front row forward earning his Springbok blazer, the achievement of being the most highly rated Cabernet Sauvignon in the 2024 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide ahead of Cabs that
Read moreAS IF it had been stage-managed! Just over a week after The Sadie Family was lauded for the umpteenth time as South Africa’s top cellar in the 2024 edition of Platter’s guide, the results of a poll conducted by Winemag.co.za and then of an auction by Strauss & Co served to confirm the status of the country’s No. 1 –
Read moreWELL HOW about that! Following the announcement of the “pinnacle” awards in Platter’s 2023 South African Wine Guide and still in advance of the 744-page printed version becoming available, the publishers have divulged the scores of the 8000-plus wines reviewed in this, the 43rd edition of the book retailing at R399. Whereas at first we were told the names of
Read moreCLEARLY as inflation takes its toll, compounded by the impact of wine producers in the Cape asking for prices more in line with what their direct competitiors in other top wine-producing countries are getting, it’s becoming increaingly challenging to find the good stuff at under R100 a bottle. We’re talking wine good enough to impress the critics on a panel,
Read moreWITH THE 2020 addition of Chris Alheit and David Sadie, membership of the Cape Winemakers Guild (CWG) rose to 46 producers, whose names and those of the places they work at make for a list that in itself is a useful guide to much of the best from South Africa’s wine cellars. You only get to be on this list
Read moreTHE MANAGING editor of Wine Enthusiast in the USA, Lauren Buzzeo is a fan of South Africa and a regular visitor to the country. The magazine is one of the most influential in America’s wine trade and has a significant following among wine consumers in the States, but given Buzzeo’s recent post on ‘Where to Find the Best South African
Read moreTHE TROPHY winners, Best Wines Overall, Top of the Class, Wines of the Year – as singled out by the top panels locally and internationally. These are the most successful vintages from the winelands of South Africa on the world stage in 2018 – presented first by wine type and variety, then alphabetically together with info about the accolades, the
Read moreTHE AWARDS and recommendations in the 2016 editions of South Africa’s leading restaurant guides Eat Out (c/o Mercedes-Benz) and Rossouw’s (by Diners Club) are a great help in flagging the country’s best places to wine and dine. Combine these with what’s offered at the Top 100 Cellars and you have pretty much the closest you can get to a definitive ‘who’s who’ in the
Read moreAT THE LAUNCH of the 2016 edition of Platter’s South African Wine Guide, it was announced that the top ratings went to Mullineux & Leeu of Riebeek Kasteel in the Swartland and Warwick of the Simonsberg ward in Stellenbosch. The White Lady Chardonnay 2014 from Warwick was declared Platter’s White Wine of the Year, whereas Mullineux bottlings were applauded as
Read moreTHE RESTAURANT critics are largely in agreement… The top dining venue in South Africa for 2014 is The Test Kitchen at The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock, Cape Town, with Luke Dale-Roberts the chef-owner and Wayve Kolevsohn the somellier: third Restaurant of the Year accolade at the 2014 Eat Out Mercedes Benz Awards, 5 Stars at the 2014 Rossouw’s Diners Club Awards, one
Read moreA DIFFERENT TAKE on Platter’s absolute favourite wines in the current era… Following on from commentary about the 2015 edition of this South African wine guide that has just gone on sale and a look at the most prolific recipients of the book’s ultimate accolade in recent history (see here), it will interest some to hear that there are only
Read morePLATTER’S South African Wine Guide is not without its shortcomings, but after 35 years it still holds plenty of sway among those who are partial to the liquid pleasures of this country and give a damn about what’s in their glass. Published as it is towards the end of every year, it’s the last major assessment of SA wine quality and
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