Tag Archives: Nitida

Top wines to the fore again in Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10

DE GRENDEL, Diemersdal, Kleine Zalze, Steenberg, Tokara and Zorgvliet are among the standout wineries in the 2023 FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10, the panel’s favourites of the 169 entries from 106 producers judged over three days. A number of success stories for Stellenbosch and Durbanville, but no wines from Sauvignon vineyards in the Agulhas Triangle or Darling on this

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Durbanville winelands checklist 2022: where to go, what to go for

  SAUVIGNON BLANC territory… But they also offer a range of fine wines using different varieties, of course. Particularly in the case of Diemersdal and De Grendel, which might be associated with other estates on this wine route but is around the corner from Durbanville Hills in Panorama – and which also stands out for making some of their finest

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Kleine Zalze and Spier do it again in Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10

  “THIS YEAR will be remembered as a world-class Top 10,” said Kleine Zalze winemaker RJ Botha, chairman of Sauvignon Blanc South Africa. There were 157 wines entered by 96 producers in the 2021 edition of the association’s competition, with four of the winning wines having achieved the feat before – from Kleine Zalze and Spier of Stellenbosch, Nitida of

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Make no mistake! Merlot at its finest is as luscious and velvety as can be

“MERLOT SOMETIMES gets a bad rap for being sweetish, soft and nothing more,” says Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za editor and tasting panel chair. However, “the best examples are really luscious and velvety as only Merlot at its finest is able to be… Its crucial characteristic is not its flavour but its texture, which can be described in one word – smooth.

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SA Semillon worth seeking out – and not all what they might seem at first

“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

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Wine Tasting in Durbanville: where to go, what it costs, pick of the wines

WHILE RENOWNED for Sauvignon Blanc, red blends and Pinotage, Cape Town’s alternative to Constantia as a wine route less than 30km away and under half-an-hour’s drive from the heart of the Mother City also has a variety of other delights to offer by the glass – and the views are quite delightful, including some classics of Table Mountain from across the

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D’Aria and De Grendel among shining stars in Sauvignon Blanc Top 10

THE 2017 vintages of D’Aria’s Songbird and De Grendel’s Koetshuis are particularly impressive wines in the 2018 FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10, with both already multiple award winners before the latest rounds of applause: the Songbird also won at South Africa’s National Wine Challenge and earned silverware at the International Wine Challenge (UK); the Koetshuis also won gold at the Trophy

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The Wild Child of Nitida growing into one of the beauties of Durbanville

NITIDA winemaker Daniel Keulder tells of how in 2012 the Wild Child “started off as a bit of an experiment with a wild ferment in a couple of barrels”. Hence the name of a Sauvignon Blanc still made largely using a method involving natural or indigenous rather than inoculated or cultured yeast, one of several wines produced from this variety at

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South Africa 3rd at Mondial du Sauvignon – ahead of Italy, New Zealand

AUSTRIA, host of Concours Mondial du Sauvignon 2018, scooped the second-most number of medals at the competition behind France: 78 to 126. In third place, South Africa achieved 22 medals (11 gold and 11 silver) ahead of Italy (21) and New Zealand (16). Although when it came to the trophy laureates, New Zealand’s Clos Henri (Marlborough) was the only producer

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Sauvignon Season gives cause to contemplate variety champions

WHEN you consider South Africa’s best Sauvignon Blanc, Durbanville has punched above its weight division for as long as most can remember. There are only a dozen or so cellars along the wine route, including the Graaffs’ De Grendel estate above the Plattekloof Road in Panorama on the other side of the Tygerberg relative to fellow members of the association.

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Nitida top-scores in Winemag’s 2017 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Report

IN THE fifth Winemag.co.za Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend Report (referred to in previous years as the White Hot Wine Awards) now presented together with Wooded Sauvignon Blanc reviews, 34 of the 56 South African wines assessed scored 90 points or higher in accordance with the online publication’s 100-point quality scale. Judged Best Overall: Nitida Coronata Integration 2016, WO Durbanville. According

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Champion status for Durbanville Sauvignon – for the time being anyway!

IT’S NOT that the district of Darling – including the Groenekloof ward – is no longer the source of good Sauvignon Blanc. A number of top wineries outside the area continue to source some of the fruit for some of their wines from Darling – KWV of Paarl, for example, produces a particularly fine Sauvignon from Darling grapes under The Mentors label. But

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SA wine industry’s Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group chooses 10 from 169

THE WINNERS of the 2016 FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10 competition organised by the South African wine industry’s Sauvignon Blanc Interest Group (SBIG) are from producers in Durbanville (2), Elgin, Hermanus, Noordhoek, Rawsonvile, Somerset West and Stellenbosch (3). Producers of the runners-up are located in Bamboes Bay, Constantia (Tokai), Durbanville (2), Elgin (2) and Stellenbosch (4). Among the Top 10 stand-outs, Cape Point

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Mulderbosch puts its hand up for a place among South Africa’s top notch white blends

THE 2013, white version of Faithful Hound from Stellenbosch winery Mulderbosch was the top-scoring wine in the 2015 ‘Riscura White Hot Wine Awards’ staged by Winemag.co.za. The ‘Hound’ was made from Franschhoek Semillon and Elgin Sauvignon Blanc, with a couple of 100% Elgin entries – Oak Valley Mountain Reserve 2011 and Highlands Road Sine Cera 2013 – also excelling in this competition

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10 of South Africa’s top Rieslings on show at Hartenberg

SOME OF THE big names will be missing at Hartenberg’s ‘Riesling Rocks’ festival this Saturday afternoon (9 Feb), but hey, you can be sure of a great day… Delectable snacking and sipping on the lawns of the estate off the Bottelary Road (M23) in Stellenbosch – an opportunity to explore Riesling’s reputation as a particularly versatile variety when it comes to

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