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
Read moreCaroline’s annual White Wine Review, hailed as one of the most coveted tasting events on the South African wine calendar, returns to The Lookout Venue at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Wednesday 1 November. Presented by Caroline Rillema of the legendary Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar, this world-class showcase gives wine enthusiasts the rare opportunity to discover and savour the
Read moreWHEN THEY put it like that, it’s hard to swallow… that the “Top 10” Sauvignon Blanc wines of South Africa don’t include even one worthy of a top rating in their book (96+). “Inherently simple,” says Winemag editor Christian Eedes in the publication’s annual report on the category, sponsored by FSC Prescient. Not even the panel’s favourites among the most
Read moreWITH SO MUCH hype around Sauvignon Blanc during the first quarter of 2023 and extending into May with many South African wine producers engaged in Sauvignon Blanc Day/Weekend celebrations, what better time to reflect on the top expressions from the Cape. Over 60 SA Sauvignons have been very highly rated by wine panels internationally during the past 12 months, and
Read moreTHE LATIN word for ‘taste’, Gustus is also the name of a really good-value range of wines from Darling Cellars outside the town on the R315 to Malmesbury, and the 2020 Sauvignon Blanc in the collection is surprising in more ways than one. Surprisingly good quality and interest value, benefitting surprisingly well from time in the bottle. Judged best unwooded
Read moreTHE WINE is “herbaceous” and a whole lot more according to the judges who liked it so much that a trophy was awarded to the producers Villiera for best wooded Sauvignon Blanc on show – the international Concours Mondial du Sauvignon 2023, a competition based in Brussels, with the tasting panels gathered in Franschhoek (the first time outside Europe in
Read moreSURPRISING to some, when the results of Concours Mondial du Sauvignon 2023 were announced no gold medals were awarded to any farm on Constantia’s Sauvignon Blanc Route, although there were plenty of golds presented to cellars in various other parts of the Cape winelands renowned for good expressions of the variety. Also somewhat surprising is that the top-scoring South African
Read moreGIVEN THAT over half the number of entries in the 2022 FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10 Competition were made in 2022, i.e. 86 out of 161 wines from 102 producers, it’s perhaps no surprise that this vintage dominated at the awards presentation: six in the Top 10, with 13 in the Top 20. This was despite what some have described
Read moreJUNE 2022: Richard Kershaw’s GPS Series Cape South Coast Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is celebrated as one of the most highly rated wines at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London. Two months later: the same beauty from the Master of Wine’s cellar in Elgin is the critics’ favourite in Winemag’s annual Prescient Sauvignon Blanc Report. The only other wine
Read moreWHO SAYS YOU can’t enjoy a chilled Sauvignon Blanc in the winter! Especially on those warm days… Plus, 97 points and a platinum award at the Decanter World Wine Awards (UK) is enough to put the 2021 vintage from Constantia Glen on any wine lover’s radar! Top-scoring South African Sauvignon as judged by Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers at
Read moreTHE DECANTER World Wine Awards in the UK are mega. 18 244 entries in 2022, a world record as international wine competitions go. Judged over two weeks, with the various panels comprising some 250 experts including more than 41 Masters of Wine and 13 Master Sommeliers. 8074 bronze medals awarded, 5900 silvers, 676 golds, 165 platinum medals and 50 wines
Read moreOF THE 1120 entries from 23 countries in the 2022 edition of Concours Mondial du Sauvignon, 225 were wooded wines – including the 2021 vintage of The Journal from Diemersdal in Durbanville, one of nine trophy winners as the best of four gold medallists from South Africa. The other SA stars included the Coastal Cuvée 2017 from Delaire Graff in
Read moreSJOE! The Trophy Wine Show got it so right when they honoured the 2019 Thokozani Cabernet Franc as Discovery of the Show in 2022. Best value gold medallist in South Africa’s premier wine competition, open to wines of all categories, this beauty from the Diemersfontein cellar in Wellington was also top of its class at the National Wine Challenge (SA)
Read moreTOP WINE SA Hall of Fame, one of the Top 100 in the 2022 SA Wine Classification, among South Africa’s Top 10 white blends and one of the country’s Wines of the Year in 2021. The barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc Semillon combo from Cape Point Vineyards, the “world class winery by the sea” in Noordhoek, owned by Sybrand van der Spuy and with
Read moreWHILE WE WERE hanging in there, trying to establish the names of the judges at the latest Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters staged by The Drinks Business in the UK, the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa published an article by columnist Hilary Biller about the panel-tasting results that had one wondering… Why did ST / Biller only mention the name
Read moreTHE TOP WINE SA Hall of Fame is one thing, but so exclusive, very limited… Also prestigious is a Top 10 ranking in the South African Wine Classification – each of them found particularly appealing vintage after vintage, each of them recommended by panels of experts without fear or favour over the past decade, none of them ‘resting on their
Read moreSOME AWARDS carry more weight than others, and there’s something to be said for a wine that ticks the boxes for a number of top tasting panels. Over 1500 South African wines were highly rated around the world in 2021, and the following are the white wines among them that received the most glowing reviews of the year – Chardonnay,
Read more“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
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 moreON THE EVE of the 100th test match between the Springboks and the All Blacks, on a rugby field in Australia, came the news that the countries’ winemakers had all but shared the spoils in an encounter featuring some of their top Sauvignon Blancs. The overall winner was South Africa, however the two top-scoring wines were from New Zealand, namely
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