Wine Spectator magazine loves the wines of Anthonij Rupert. Some recent scores (out of 100):
Anthonij Rupert 2007 95
Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Franc 2008 91
Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Franc 2006 93
Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Franc 2005 91
Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 92
Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 93
Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 92
Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 92
Anthonij Rupert Syrah 2007 93
Anthonij Rupert Syrah 2006 92
Anthonij Rupert Syrah 2005 91
Anthonij Rupert Merlot 2007 91
Anthonij Rupert Merlot 2006 91
Anthonij Rupert Merlot 2005 91
The Anthonij Rupert Optima 2009 at R125 a bottle must be one of the biggest steals in SA wine retail. Just ask Vaughan Johnson. Yet no five star glory for any in the latest edition of the Platter wine guide.
It’s a different story for the wines of another billionaire, Charles Banks, who got three five star stunners for his Fable Syrah 2011, Fable Jackal Bird 2012 and Mulderbosch 1000 miles 2012.
What has Chas got that Johann lacks? Could the fact that wines are nominated sighted for five star Platter glory perhaps have something to do with it? Does Wine Spectator have different criteria to Platter? What is the consumer to make of these mixed messages?