Issue 15 July – September 2002
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BEST OF SOUTH AFRICA
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In early 2001, Grape polled some leading local winewriters and judges on their opinions of the best wineries in South Africa (Grape 9). Just over a year later we have done the same – but with a wider range of issues for them to consider. The constituency is a little larger this time too, and there are some differences in who responded to our invitation to vote. This might help to account for the difference in the five wineries voted the best in South Africa (no criteria were given as to what ‘best’ means). Two wineries just outside the top five last year have crept in: Jordan and Thelema displace Veenwouden and Neil Ellis, who join Hamilton Russell Vineyards in the second rank, slightly ahead of Boekenhoutskloof and De Trafford. Interestingly, both Jordan and Thelema attracted few votes in the ‘best individual wines’ categories – fewer than the five wineries which followed them in the best winery stakes. Clearly it is their overall standards of excellence that appeals. Vergelegen, by this poll, is now the winery most highly regarded by professional wine-commentators in South Africa, closely followed by Kanonkop – reversing their 2001 positions. With 23 and 17 votes respectively out of a possible 27, this was one of the clearest outcomes in the whole poll. It is worth noting, however, that 34 wineries were nominated for the top five, indicating a gratifying breadth of quality. But what makes the victory of Vergelegen and Kanonkop particularly welcome is that these two wineries were also voted as offering the best value for money at the highest price level of Cape wine (over R70). There was an overwhelming victory for just one winery in the next voting category, where the vote was for ‘the most exciting/dynamic/innovative/forward-looking winery’. This was a cinch for Fairview (16 votes) – although it is particularly relevant here to mention an individual, Charles Back, just as it is in the case of the runner-up: Bruce Jack and Flagstone. Another winery far ahead of its rivals in a category is Villiera, which gathered 16 votes as offering the best value for money in the mid-priced category (approximately R30-R70). The spread of votes was much wider when we asked about good value in under-R30 wines. Apart from the question of the general reputation of wineries, we also wanted to find out which individual wines are considered the best in the Cape. It was not one-vintage wonders we were after here, but wines that have consistently shown great quality. For this reason the possibilities were restricted to wines with track-records of at least three years. (As this was certain to exclude some wines which have quickly become highly regarded, we provided a separate category for them, and this was dominated by Vergelegen’s red blend, with another red blend, De Toren Fusion V, following behind.) The way was clear, then, for a handsome triumph for Kanonkop Paul Sauer, which was supported as best red by the majority of voters (who had three votes to cast, as in all of the categories except that of best winery). Rust en Vrede Estate Wine came some way behind, with Rustenberg’s Peter Barlow and Veenwouden Classic tying in third place. A total of 28 wines were nominated. The ‘dry white category’ was the most convincingly won of all, with Vergelegen Sauvignon Blanc Reserve receiving 24 votes. Fewer than half of the 29 different whites put forward here were chardonnays; as sauvignon took two of three top slots, does this suggest that winemakers are still trying to hard with chardonnay, whereas sauvignon is more reliant for quality on terroir and vintage? White wines seem to attract greater unanimity than reds: another runaway victory was that of Klein Constantia’s Vin de Constance, as best unfortified dessert wine. The fortified wine class was much more closely fought. Fourth-placed wines in these two ‘soetes’ categories deserve mention, as they were only just squeezed out of the top three: both are veterans – unfortified Nederburg Edelkeur, and Nuy Muscadel in the fortified class. Sparkling wine was also a close-run thing, made more difficult in many cases perhaps, by the number of competing labels within a winery. Villiera, for example, had four different sparkling brands nominated, accumulating a large number of votes across them. How seriously to take this poll? As the considered judgements of some of South Africa’s most experienced commentators, the results could well be considered as more useful than those emerging from the rarefied atmosphere of a competition. And equally lacking in definitiveness, of course.... It must also be remembered that some wines and wineries are more visible than others, and perform well in shows and competitions; this can in itself have an effect, especially as not all the voters have the opportunity to taste as widely and frequently as others. In a small poll like this, one or two votes can make a substantial difference. THE VOTERS Marilyn Cooper CWM, Alex Dale, Christian Eedes, Monty Friendship, Michael Fridjhon, Mike Froud, Peter Gebler CWM, Jay Heale, Henry Hopkins, Tim James CWM, Peter James-Smith, Richard Kelley MW, Angela Lloyd, Sandra Lotz, Leon Louw, Andrew Marais, Kim Maxwell, Fiona McDonald, Melvyn Minnaar, Tony Mossop CWM, Ingrid Motteux, Neil Pendock, Jean-Pierre Rossouw, Dave Swingler, Irina von Holdt CWM, Cathy van Zyl, Philip van Zyl
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South Africa’s Top 5
wineries
Most exciting
wineries
Best value – top
price
Best value –
mid-price
Best value –
lower-price Best red wines
Best white
Best sparkling
Best unfortified
dessert
Best fortified
Best wines with
shorter track-record
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