CE’s Top 20 SA Wineries 2014
By Christian Eedes, 24 April 2014
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Top of the pops.
Wine writer Tim James recently conducted a poll to establish a top 20 list of wine producers in South Africa as he has done on an occasional basis since 2001. 29 local and international wine professionals were consulted and the results are available here.
My nominations were as follows:
Five best wineries
Boekenhoutskloof
Kanonkop
Mullineux Family Wines
Sadie Family Wines
Tokara (in the final list but outside the top five)
Next 15
Cape Point Vineyards
Cederberg
Chamonix (5th in overall top five)
Delaire Graff
De Trafford
Hamilton Russell Vineyards
Jordan
Klein Constantia
Meerlust
Newton Johnson Vineyards
Paul Cluver
Rustenberg (not in the final list)
Stark-Condé (not in the final list)
Thelema
Vergelegen
In summary, 18 of my nominations in the final list (84 put forward altogether), the two wineries I didn’t back being AA Badenhorst Family Wines and Reyneke Wines.
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Derek Prout-Jones | 24 April 2014
I would have included Rustenberg as well Christian…fabulous history and their wines continue to impress (some).
I am not really sure what the criteria is or should be in choosing the top? Wineries?? Is it winemaker or wine/s…depth or breadth or both? Newbie vs veteran. It’s almost easier to choose a top wine because the criteria can be more narrowly defined.
I have no issue with the names on the list…it’s more about those left off! So many to mention. Of course there needs to be winners in any comp, but the concept of choosing a “winery” is a very broad one IMHO.
Christian | 24 April 2014
Hi Derek, The exercise is obviously fraught with difficulty but my two primary concerns were to acknowledge 1) track record (it seems sensible to me that a winery should have completed at least five vintages before taking a view on pedigree) and 2) “X-factor”, which is to say the intensity of interest that a producer’s wine portfolio taken as a whole generates.
Derek Prout-Jones | 24 April 2014
I hear you thanks CE.