Thanks to Carrie Adams for e-mailing Angela Lloyd’s list of Top SA Wines – alas, I’ve given up reading Gripe, so had missed the original unveiling. Great minds think alike as Carrie had suggested she and I compile such a list for Classic FM with the novel feature that we’d buy the bottles. How about that – no ripping off producers, no special show barrels/bottlings. But Angela and her gang of nine beat us to the draw. Well, sort of, as they did not actually blind taste the wines they nominated or bother with vintages.

Juliet Cullinan and Carrie Adams

Eleven brands were nominated by all nine judges:

• Beaumont Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc
• Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvingon
• Cape Point Vineyards Isliedh
• Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay.
• Kanonkop Paul Sauer
• Klein Constantia
• Vin de Constance
• Sadie Columella
• Steenberg Magna Carta
• Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon
• Vergelegen White

A list which is reproduced by Michael Fridjhon in Business Day this morning. I was intrigued to see the Thelema Cab and Hamilton Russel Chard up in lights as the respective current vintages were not even nominated (sighted) for Platter five star fun by their tasters, both of whom are part of the nimble nine. How does that work? One of SA’s best wines but not worth a nomination? There are probably others. Once again, the faint whiff of hypocrisy wafts its foetid fragrance over proceedings.