Platter Shocks!

So I was way off the mark with my guess at the colour of next year’s Platter sighted wine guide. Last month I predicted
aqua but the reality was Platters-Guide-2014-packshot-styled-cropped-Brandy-Foundation-versionHow could I have been so wrong?

But what was truly shocking is the 30% hike in 5* wines. Diners Club, new owners of Platter, are clearly adopting a Veritas model with prizes for all. Diners director Reg Biggie Smalls Lascaris will be pleased to see his Boekenhoutskloof 2011 Cabernet back in the bling after missing out last year before he bought the guide. And a couple of Vinimark five star stunners should keep the shareholders happy.

Nice to see 7 brandies get the full house treatment, although taster Toothy Tim was a bit off the mark when he commented “they represent some of the very finest achievements of the Cape’s vineyards. Not only the magnificent long-matured ones, but also the modest brandies intended for mixing. And not only from the big players – there’s more fine brandy emerging from the estates these days, as they gain experience and their stocks get older and larger.” Duh, 86% of the five star heroes are big estate brands!

But then the brandies, like everything else, were rated sighted and proposed for five star glory with the label in full view. Let’s hope the “Sherry” scandal has calmed down as Toothy tried to interfere with the ratings of the “Sherry” sippers until told to voetsek. Seems that he went to Spain earlier this year and now fancies himself as a “Sherry” expert.  Alas, he’s more of a Dom Tim than a Don Tim!