Talk about bad timing. On Monday, toothy Tim James, associate/assistant editor of the Platter sighted wine label guide and self-appointed spin doctor for the Swartland, opines on Christian Eedes’ blog “Robertson’s contribution to the Cape’s wine revolution of the past few decades has not been notable.” On Tuesday a six bottle case of a Robertson terroir red called Kibali was knocked down for R12,500 at the Duchess of Wisbeach in Sea Point. OK the auctioneer was Mark Bristow (below), SA’s most famous miner and the first bottle was bought for R22,000.00 by Mark Cutifani, CEO of Anglo American who own Vergelegen. But the comment confirms just how out of touch the self-appointed sniff and spitterati of the Cape are these days. And how desperately irrelevant.

What was Christian thinking, hiring a dud like Tim to stir up controversy for his blog? He should rather have poked the hirsute Whale Cottage internet troll with a stick (as I do) or appointed David Bullard to whip up a social media tweet storm.

Toothy could not have been further off the mark with his comment as Kibali is one of the most important wines made in SA. Get the moguls of non-renewable resources interested in renewable resources and who knows where it could end. From Wisbeach to the 30,000 attendee PDAC conference in Toronto perhaps? Mines & Wines has a nice ring to it and Mark is precisely the self-starting entrepreneur SA wine needs to do WOSA’s job for it.

The dinner was excellent (rare fillet with bearnaise, roast chicken, calamari, assorted salads) and put together by Bianca Weingartz (above) who, being in the family way, was the only one of 48 guests last night not to enjoy the Kibali 2011. A masterful blend of Cabernet, Shiraz and Mourvedre and an exciting new vision for reds from the “wrong side” of the mountain.