WINNER of the 2021 Amorim Cork Cap Classique Challenge: Kleine Zalze Vintage Brut 2015. South African sparkling wine made according to the traditional method made famous in Champagne, France. Stellenbosch cellar of Kobus Basson. Stellenbosch grapes: 60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir. Bottle-fermented, matured for five years prior to disgorgement. R238pb ex-cellar. This follows glowing reviews for the 2013 vintage, best
Read more“THE WINE stood out for its absolute harmony – spectacular citrus purity with intricate biscuity etchings. Truly pristine” – 2020 Cap Classique Challenge judging convenor Heidi Duminy describing the competition winner Newstead Brut 2015 from Plett. Although, when the Challenge results were announced the name of this champion South African sparkling wine was given as Newstead Blanc de Blancs 2015,
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 moreFOR THE QUESTIONS, answers and in part heated outbursts that ensued after publication of Winemag’s 2020 Prescient Cap Classique Report, click here. For the full report and reviews of 50 South African sparkling wines made according to the traditional method, click here. Suffice to say: some of the online publication’s readers faulted the findings for being based on a competition
Read moreASKED to come up with a line-up of wines he “considered as South Africa’s aspirational Cap Classiques” that wine lovers won’t buy or drink every day, Graham Beck cellarmaster Pieter Ferreira chose a selection that he regarded as “under the radar but sparkling up a storm”. His presentation along these lines was at the 2015 Cape Wine trade show in the
Read moreBOSCHENDAL bubbly winemaker Lizelle Gerber is on a roll. The 2008 vintage of the Grande Cuvée Brut didn’t perform as spectacularly as her 2007 but the 2009 is off to a great start with a gold medal at the recent Michelangelo Awards and now first place in the latest Amorim Tsogo Sun Méthode Cap Classique Challenge even before the wine is
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