In conjunction with Tonnellerie Saint Martin, Winemag.co.za is pleased to announce the inaugural Pinot Noir Report. Wines will be tasted blind by a three-person panel consisting of Christian Eedes as chairman as well as Roland Peens and James Pietersen, both of Wine Cellar, Cape Town merchants and cellarers of fine wine. An entry fee of […]
Cecilia Pinotage is a wine made by Cerina van Niekerk of Klawer Cellars from Pinotage vineyards planted some 50 years ago on Henk Laing’s Skurfberg farm. A tasting from the maiden 2013 to the 2015 reveals year on year improvement, the 2015 one of the most compelling examples of the variety tasted recently. On the […]
If one chose to characterise it linguistic-culturally (and why not?), the South African wine industry is overwhelmingly an Afrikaans one, with its roots emphatically Dutch. Most of the grape growers, most of the winemakers, and most of the workers are Afrikaans-speaking. As the industry emerges proudly from a situation of not entirely unjustified cultural cringe, […]
The biggest insight to arise out of a recent Cape Winemakers Guild technical tasting on Cinsaut presented by Etienne le Riche of Le Riche Wines is that there is no need to decide whether the variety works better on its own or in a blend but rather that these are two very different propositions. Le […]
From Swartand Cinsault. Eben Sadie is a strong advocate of the potential greatness of this variety under South African conditions and in the case of his Pofadder 2016, you start to see why. The nose shows a particular poached pear quality as well as black cherry with notes of lavender, earth and spice in the […]
From Olifantsrivier Semillon planted in the 1930s. The hot and dry conditions of 2016 have led to a wine of particular richness and ripeness in the case of this wine (alcohol is 14.5%). On the nose, the wine shows some hay before lime, white peach and green melon. The palate seems even more full and […]
What varieties will prevail in the district of Darling? Charles Back of Fairview and Spice Route owns 135ha here and as ever, he and his team are exploring all options. The Homtini 2015 is a blend of 41% Sangiovese, 37% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Shiraz, matured for 16 months in 70% French and […]
From a bush vine block planted in 1978, this wine is a worthy addition to the growing category of premium single variety Cinsaut. On the nose, some floral fragrance before red and black cherry and plum. Lovely fruit purity and a sort of olive-brine quality to the palate. Tannins are quite soft but the finish […]
Wine magazine was published from October 1993 until September 2011 & now lives on in digital form as Winemag.co.za. We cover everything to do with SA fine wine.
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