News
24 August 2007 by John Platter SA Wine Guide
John Platter SA Wine Guide announces 21 five-star wines for 2008
The John Platter Wine Guide, SA’s leading wine annual since 1980, has announced 21 five-star wines to be featured in the upcoming 2008 edition. Given the enormous number of ranges and individual products tasted, the wines which merit a five-star rating make up a very select group indeed.
The Guide, which strives to rate, as far as is practically possible, all of the wines that are available for the duration of the particular edition, locally as well as abroad, tasted and assessed nearly 6,000 individual wines over several months.
Responsible for this mammoth task is an experienced team of tasters, who ranked the wines according to the guide's five-point scale, ranging from 0 stars ('Somewhat less than ordinary') up to 5 stars ('Superlative. A Cape classic').
In the course of this year's evaluations, they identified 88 candidate five-stars across a variety of categories, including reds and whites, dessert wines and port styles. Only finished/bottled wines, available during the currency of the guide, were considered. These candidates were then judged 'blind' by a panel of the guide's tasters.
Andrew McDowall, publisher, extends congratulations to all the five-star winegrowers, and to the makers of the balance of the five-star contenders, whose names will be unveiled with the book launch in November.
The Guide’s Wine of the Year will be announced at the same time, along with the name of the 'Superquaffer' of the Year - the wine judged to be the most drinkable and well-priced of all the entry-level bottlings tasted for the current edition. The book’s first Winery of the Year award will also be made.
Analysing the results, McDowall said: "The best performing category this year was that of Port style wines; we have five five-star wines in this category and Boplaas Family Vineyards receives two of these, for its 2005 Vintage Reserve and NV Cape Tawny."
"The other strong category was that of white blends. Here, four five-star wines were awarded. And Chenin Blanc, which last year for the first time shone as a variety with three five-stars out of six nominated wines, again achieved a five-star rating."
"Of the red categories, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cape Bordeaux blends did well to achieve two five-stars each. All-in-all, the red categories matched the whites with seven five-stars each."
"There are also two producers who feature more than once in the line-up this year, Cape Point Vineyards and Boplaas Family Vineyards."
"For Cape Point Vineyards’ winemaker, Duncan Savage, who made three of the 21 five-star wines this year, this is a special achievement indeed, as he bettered his performance of two five-stars in the 2007 guide."
A selection of the five-star wines will be served at the South African Mega Tasting in London during October.
The 2008 edition will be available from November 2007 from selected book shops and retail outlets, as well as the website, www.platteronline.com. The recommended retail price is R139.95.
The five star wines for 2008 are:
Cabernet Sauvignon
• Edgebaston-Finlayson Family Vineyards - Edgebaston GS Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
• Kanonkop Estate 2003
Cape Bordeaux
• Hartenberg Estate - The Mackenzie 2005
• Beyerskloof Field Blend 2003
Chenin Blanc
• Ken Forrester Wines - FMC Chenin Blanc 2005
Dessert Wine Unfortified
• Paul Cluver Estate Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2006
• Fleur Du Cap’s Noble Late Harvest 2006
Pinot Noir
• Bouchard Finlayson Tête de Cuvée Galpin Peak 2005
Port
• Axe Hill Cape Vintage Port 2005
• Boplaas Family Vineyards Vintage Reserve Port 2005
• De Krans Vintage Reserve Port 2005
• JP Bredell Wines Cape Vintage Reserve 2003
• Boplaas Family Vineyards Cape Tawny Port NV
Red Blends
• The Winery of Good Hope - Radford Dale Gravity 2005
Sauvignon Blanc
• Cape Point Vineyards (Woolworths) Limited Release 2007
Semillon
• Cape Point Vineyards Semillon 2006
Shiraz
• De Trafford Wines Shiraz 2005
White Blends
• Steenberg Vineyards Magna Carta 2007
• Cape Point Vineyards Isliedh 2006
• Vergelegen White 2006
• Sequillo Cellars White 2006