OH FOR A BOTTLE or a case of each! The panels of experts have spoken… See below for the honours roll when it comes to the South African Chardonnays most highly rated internationally during 2023 to date. Highlighted in red are those that qualified for the SA Wine Classification showcasing good track records over the past 10 years. Almenkerk
Read moreIT’S NOT OFTEN that you see wine estates trumpeting about a silver medal, yet the sound of popping corks can get pretty pretty loud when a respected critic or tasting panel awards a score in the 90s – regardless of whether or not it warrants a gold medal, let alone double gold or platinum. It’s amazing how the mind works:
Read moreA DOZEN South African wines earned gold medals at the 2020 International Wine & Spirit Competition in the UK. Top score of 97/100 in this regard went to the 2018 vintage of Bouchard Finlayson Missionvale Chardonnay from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, with three wines scored 96 points, namely the Nicolas van der Merwe Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, the Quoin Rock Red Blend
Read moreTHE CONTENTIOUS issue of wine ratings and awards continues to flare up from time to time, with outspoken wine lovers, wine scribes, critics and judges at odds with each other to the point of disbelief, even outrage. The problem? Firstly, there’s not enough consensus regarding which scoring system to use – star ratings aside, there are different versions of the
Read moreBEST WINE on Show! Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Shiraz 2015 was awarded top score at the 2018 Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards, the largest competition of its kind in South Africa with 30 judges from 16 countries on the panels assessing over 2000 entries. The latest achievement of this Stellenbosch beauty, one of the Top 10 Shiraz in the
Read moreTHE 2017 Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show celebrates the achievements of producers from Constantia to the Northern Cape and properties that have been part of the Cape wine landscape for centuries as well as those where winemaking only began within the past 10 years. Winner of the trophy for Most Successful Producer: Tokara of Helshoogte, on the slopes of the
Read moreOH DEAR! Ninety ‘grand golds’ go to wonderful wines from around the world at the 2017 edition of Concours Mondial, but none of them to South Africa – despite the entry of some vintages from Cape cellars that have built up some pretty solid reputations for their Cabernet, Shiraz, Pinotage and various red blends, for example. Nevertheless, 10 gold medals for
Read moreWINE AWARDS, ratings, reviews, recommendations. They needn’t be complicated or controversial, however it helps to know what you’re dealing with in distinguishing between pretty darn useful, somewhat interesting, and just a waste of time… Some folk get into a froth over whose opinions count most – besides your own that is – and some troubled souls even question whether wines
Read moreGOLD MEDAL winners at the third Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships in London included two of South Africa’s Cap Classiques: the premium Graham Beck Cuvée Clive 2009 from Robertson and Domaine des Dieux Claudia Brut 2010 from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge outside Hermanus. All told, there were 149 gold and 143 silver medallists – the Cape’s Le Lude and Wildekrans among
Read moreTHOUGH denied a trophy, three of South Africa’s classified Sauvignon Blancs triumphed with gold medals and another five were among seven SA silver medallists at the international 2016 Concours Mondial du Sauvignon taste-off hosted in Tordesillas, Spain. Leading the medal charge for the Cape were Ghost Corner 2015 from David Nieuwoudt’s cellar in the Cederberg using grapes from Cape Agulhas, one
Read moreTHE GOOD people of Kanonkop on the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch regularly mention that doing well in competitions is not of prime concern… Yet the estate and/or their agents continue to enter various vintages in various taste-offs and they continue to shine with their Pinotage, their Bordeaux-style red blend Paul Sauer, their Cabernet. And it can be frustrating, albeit understandable, when the award winners are ‘sold out’ at
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