Im in a specialisation year of sommelier, and wijne knowledge, and have been on a achool trip for 7 days around south africa now and have been to 11 wine estates, and thought they were all good. So i want to hear some more opinions about this amazing wine country 🙂
by pasta_man05
17 Comments
Anything Sadie makes is pure gold.
Tried some middle of the range pinot and chenin and always thought they were good, got a bottle of Ken Forrester The FMC that I’m hoping to open soon
One of the best value for money wine regions currently. Their old vine chenin is amazing, and pinotage can be sophisticated, although many pinotage can be quite harsh. Coastal region has a few producers that make high quality PN and Chardonnay as well.
I love a good Pinotage and I really enjoy South African Shiraz wines.
This Meerlist isn’t the best but well recognised. There are plenty of new wave wine makers making spectacular wines at a very reasonable price. Look out for Kershaw, Restless River, Luddite. Also anything labelled Cap Classique is made to the same method as champagne at a,fraction of the price.
I tend to avoid it due to ethical issues (worker abuse etc.).
The quality of SA wine over the last 20 years has increased by leaps and bounds and much of it is still great value in comparison to other countries
Overlooked. Undervalued. Misunderstood. Diverse. Amazing. These are the words that come to mind…
The overlooking, undervaluation and misunderstanding is not great for the vigneron… but it means the consumer gets world-class product at a fraction of the price.
Thelema does some amazing wine.
Almost always beating wines from Napa on quality and price
Probably my favourite region.
Love the BDX blends (Kanonkop Paul Sauer, MR De Compostella) and some of the cab sauvs (Vilafonte Series C, Restless River Main Road & Dignity, some vintages of Kanonkop CS).
The syrahs are starting to come in to top tier status – Lismore Estate Reserve, Porseleinberg, Sadie Columella.
The Chenin is where they’re truly unique. Sadie Slurfberg, Rotsbank – both incredible – and nearly all of Alheit’s wines, from Hereafter Here all the way up to the single vineyard Magnetic North / Huilkrans / Nautical Dawn etc.
Check out WineCellar if you’re looking for some great vintage stuff in Cape Town! They have a secondary market (brokerage) platform.
I buy most of my stuff from them. (Love SA wines, of course)
I recently went for a tasting at Meerlust which included a 2003 Rubicon from a magnum which was borderline ethereal. Of course, wine cellared and served by the producer is always going to be the best representation of that wine but, at 23 years old, it still had decades of life left in it.
One of my fav regions. Excellent QPR. The variety of climates and soil is large. So I would advise to try a bottle of your fav grape or blend and just taste.
Chenin blanc, pinotage, sauvignon blanc etc etc.
Enjoy 🇿🇦
I am sure that the wine was amazing, just by the look of the bottle. Well preserved, superb conditions, and it seems that it has been taken care of. Congratulations. How was it?
Absolutely fucking love Chenin blanc from SA. Also Hemel&Aarde region red wines are fantastic!! And many more of course but just my two faves
Massively undervalued and under appreciated
On the high end, I’ve got cases of Sadie family, alheit single vineyards, vilafonte, delfaire graff, etc
world class wines, for sub 100 euros.
But even the entry level chenin, pinotage, blends are top tier. You’ve got entire lists of 90+ points wine for 15 euro or less.
There’s a reason it’s so hard to get international wines in South Africa, they have no reason to not buy local.