Capensis is the joint venture between Barbara Banke of US wine company Jackson Family Wines and Antony Beck of Graham Beck Wines, the focus exclusively on Chardonnay and Chardonnay designed to succeed in a high-end on-con environment. What then is the house style? As a recent tasting of all vintages across all cuvées to date confirmed, it is very much about massive fruit concentration and assertive wooding.

Winemag.co.za reviewed a total of 927 wines across 20 wine categories in its various reports sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient over the course of the year. Each report was based on the outcome of a blind tasting of wines entered within the specific category.

Winemag.co.za has reviewed 20 wine categories in its various reports sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient over the course of the year. Each report was based on the outcome of a blind tasting of wines entered within the specific category. 

This year’s Minority Report convened by Winemag.co.za and sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient is to be released sequentially. There were 55 wines made from niche white varieties entered and these were tasted blind (labels out of sight) by a three-person panel, scoring done according to the 100-point quality scale.

This year’s Chardonnay Report convened by Winemag.co.za and sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient is now out. There were 87 entries from 66 producers and 59 rated 90-plus on the 100-point quality scale.

This year’s Sauvignon Blanc Report convened by Winemag.co.za and sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient is to be released sequentially. There were 115 entries in total and these were tasted blind (labels out of sight) by a three-person panel, scoring done according to the 100-point quality scale.

‘Purity of fruit and attention to detail ensures a bright future for Pinot Noir’. This year’s Pinot Noir Report convened by Winemag.co.za and sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient is now out. There were 30 entries from 24 producers and 17 rated 90-plus on the 100-point quality scale.

This year’s Signature Red Blend Report convened by Winemag.co.za and sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient is now out. There were 45 entries from 39 producers and these were tasted blind (labels out of sight) by a three-person panel, scoring done according to the 100-point quality scale.

“Pinotage has a reputation for being a challenging variety and it has resulted in some quite rustic, inelegant wines in the past. However, this was a very satisfying tasting with plenty of characterful wines on show,” says Christian Eedes, chairman of the tasting panel and Winemag.co.za editor. “The variety seems to be benefiting from some particularly considered, imaginative work in both vineyard and cellar and there is a nice spread of styles emerging.”

Winemag.co.za is pleased to announce the fifth annual Signature Red Blend Report, the focus being wines which are distinctive of their originators and draw particular attention in the market place. So-called Rhône-style blends, Cape Blends and all other proprietorial red blends are permissible but Bordeaux-style blends are not.