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| Platter’s
South African Wine Guide Announces 2012
Five Star Wines |
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| Platter’s
South African Wine Guide, the country’s
leading wine annual, announces the recipients
of its highest rating – five stars
– for the 2012 edition. |
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SOUTH
AFRICA, WESTERN CAPE, 11 OCTOBER 2011 -
Platter’s South African Wine Guide,
the country’s leading wine annual,
is delighted to announce the recipients
of its highest rating – five stars
– for the 2012 edition due in November.
Wines are graded in Platter’s on a
five star scale, from “Somewhat less
than ordinary” to “Superlative.
A South African classic”. The guide
strives to taste, rate and describe as many
as possible of the South African-made wines
available locally and overseas during the
currency of the particular edition.
A record 7,000 wines are featured in the
new edition (400 more than last time); of
which 139 bottlings were identified in the
first round of tasting by individual members
of Platter’s judging team as potentially
worthy of five stars.
The candidate five star wines were then
entered into a second round of evaluation,
conducted “blind” (without sight
of the label) across a variety of categories,
including reds and whites, sparkling, dessert
wines and port styles. Only bottled (i.e.
market-ready) wines, available during the
currency of the 2012 guide, were considered. |
Of the 139 five star contenders, 45 got
the nod from the assembled panel. Remarkably,
two producers each netted three five star
ratings, namely Boekenhoutskloof, for their
Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Semillon Noble
Late Harvest; and Mullineux Family Wines,
for their Syrah, White Blend and Straw Wine;
and Nederburg, with their Ingenuity White,
Edelkeur and Eminence. Graham Beck Wines
was the other star performer, with five
star ratings for two wines: the new Chalkboard
#3 Cabernet Sauvignon and Pheasants’
Run Sauvignon Blanc.
Noteworthy this edition is the high number
of first-time five star recipients, including
Badsberg Wine Cellar, |
 |
Colmant Cap Classique & Champagne, Diemersfontein
Wines, Glenelly Cellars, Miles Mossop Wines,
Mont Destin, Oak Valley Wines and Warwick
Estate. Established producers returning
to five-star form after a gap of several
years are La Motte, which last bagged the
maximum rating in the 1995 edition, and
KWV, in the 1986 guide.
The best-performing categories this edition
are Red Blends, with seven wines, and Sauvignon
Blanc, Shiraz, Unfortified Dessert Wines
and White Blends with five wines each. Of
the single-variety white-wine categories,
Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Grenache Blanc
yield three, two and one five star wines
respectively, while Cabernet Sauvignon,
Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc are the top
order in the single-variety reds line-up.
The leading Wine of Origin appellations
are Stellenbosch, with 9 five star wines,
followed by Western Cape (7), Coastal (5),
and Franschhoek, Paarl and Swartland, with
4 apiece.
The five star wines for 2012 are:
Cabernet Franc
•
Warwick 2008
Cabernet Sauvignon
• Boekenhoutskloof 2009
•
Graham Beck Chalkboard #3 2007
•
Stark-Condé Three Pines 2009
Pinot Noir
•
Chamonix Reserve 2010
• Newton
Johnson Domaine 2010
• Oak Valley
2009
Shiraz/Syrah
• Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2009
• Fairview The Beacon 2008
•
Mont Destin Destiny 2007
• Mullineux
Syrah 2009
• Saxenburg Select
2007
Red Blends
• Bouchard Finlayson Hannibal 2010
• De Toren Fusion V 2009
•
Glenelly Lady May 2009
• La Motte
Pierneef Shiraz-Viognier 2009
•
Meerlust Rubicon 2007
• Miles
Mossop Max 2008
• Sadie Family
Columella 2009
Chardonnay
• De Wetshof The Site 2009
•
Jordan CWG Auction Reserve 2010
Chenin Blanc
•
Beaumont Hope Marguerite 2010
•
Diemersfontein Carpe Diem 2010
•
Vins d’Orrance Kama 2010
Grenache Blanc
•
KWV Mentors 2010
Sauvignon
Blanc
• Graham Beck Pheasants’
Run 2011
• Hermanuspietersfontein
No 5 2010
• Kleine Zalze Family
Reserve 2010
• Steenberg CWG Auction
Reserve The Magus 2010
• Strandveld
2010
White Blends
• Fable Jackal Bird 2010
•
Flagstone CWG Auction Reserve Happy Hour
2009
• Mullineux White Blend 2010
• Nederburg Ingenuity 2010
•
Tokara Director’s Reserve White 2010
Méthode Cap Classique
Sparkling
• Colmant Brut
Chardonnay NV
• Topiary Blanc
de Blancs Brut 2009
Natural
Sweet
• Badsberg Badslese
2009
Dessert Wine Unfortified
• Boekenhoutskloof Semillon Noble
Late Harvest 2008
• Fleur du Cap
Noble Late Harvest 2010
• Mullineux
Straw Wine 2010
• Nederburg Edelkeur
2010
• Nederburg Eminence 2010
Port
• Boplaas
Cape Vintage Reserve 2009
• De
Krans Cape Vintage Reserve 2009
Publisher Andrew McDowall extended the team’s
congratulations to all the five star winegrowers,
and to the makers of the wines that didn’t
make the five star cut but are to be featured
among the outstanding and highly collectible
Wines of the Year for 2012.
To be unveiled with the book launch in November
are the two Wines of the Year (a white and
a red), the 'Superquaffer' of the Year -
the wine judged to be the most drinkable
and well-priced of all the entry-level bottlings
tasted for the current edition – and
the Winery of the Year, judged by the editor
to epitomise the best of South African winegrowing
today.
The 2012 edition will be available from
the end of November 2011 from selected bookshops
and retail outlets, as well as the website
www.wineonaplatter.com.
The recommended retail price is R159.95. |
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