Tim James: Good value, whatever the price

Having recently offered some musings and facts, I suspect this week counts as a bit more of a ramble, an opinionated one at that. Hard to be anything else when one’s theme is good value – not the larger question of wine’s value vis-à-vis cider, beer and whatever that I dealt with partly statistically last week, but the inevitably contentious one of what makes a particular wine good value. We all have our own ideas on this, precisely depending on what it is we desire and consider worth spending on.

Generally, though, I get quite irritated, when marketers and commenters speak of “good value wines” only when they’re referring to cheaper wines: as in, “this is Blankenberg’s good value range”, or “the restaurant doesn’t only have expensive wines, but also some good value ones”.

I was thinking of this the other night when I opened and enjoyed a bottle of Boplaas Gamka Family Reserve 2020 – a blend of touriga naçional with 28% shiraz and, to me, good value at R260. It had also been offered by Boplaas at a celebratory tasting in May this year. We’d had it after tasting the standard Touriga Naçional 2022 at less than half the price. The cheaper wine, spoken of as good value at R120, was fruity, spicy and velvety, and yes, that value was easy to agree with. But the Gamka soared above it in quality and interest, more seriously structured and more elegant and fresh – despite a big 14.5% alcohol and a dollop of un-obvious residual sugar.

At that function I was sitting next to a rich but friendly man, just the sort of person with whom to discuss good value. Piet Beyers has had a major career in business and finance, including as a director of Distell, and is a serious winelover with, I believe, a fine cellar. I see him occasionally at wine functions, though instead of being numbered amongst the  journalists and associated rabble, he’s usually there as a friend of the family, as it were – like on this happy occasion, as he’s a good friend of Carel Nel, who was celebrating 45 vintages of wine, fortified wine and spirits at Boplaas.

We looked at each other, Piet and I, and agreed that, in fact, the much more expensive Gamka was the one that offered the better value. That is, the ratio between quality and price tipped more decisively in favour of quality. Incidentally, it was also easy, when we got to the Boplaas ports at the tasting, for us to agree on the particularly good value there – perhaps especially the tawnies.

Of course, good value is certainly not the only criterion that gets applied by wine-buyers, especially those to whom the price is pretty irrelevant when its something they want. Hence the rise and rise of the price of top wines locally and internationally.

And when good value is a criterion, at least to some degree, so much depends on context. Let’s look at some syrahs as an example. The price of the Mullineux single-terroir syrahs has, I think, pretty much trebled over the past decade, and they now retail locally at something over R1400 per bottle (the second-priciest local syrah?). It renders the Mullneux signature Syrah at R450-ish seem great value (that conclusion is possibly taken into account in the producer’s marketing strategy). Looking at it from the other end, it could make the great Granite Syrah at R1450, although arguably significantly superior, seem not good value – but, after all, that is not necessarily the criterion for everyone.

You won’t find the latest Porseleinberg so easily available, but maybe that’s because, along with ts stellar reputation, you could have got nearly two bottles of it for the price of the Mullineux. A few other of my (and others’) top-rated syrahs would include Sons of Sugarland  and Van Loggerenberg, and they would be even less, despite a biggish recent increase for the latter. Does that make them good value? Or just comparatively good value, I wonder? Personally, I think Sons of Sugarland is one of the greatest value Cape syrahs, at a bit less than the Mullineux Signature. On the other hand, you could buy two bottles of Mullineux Schist for just one bottle of Boschkloof Epilogue Syrah 2021 ( – but the latter is no longer available (incidentally I see that three bottles were sold last month on a local auction for R15 243 ­– a nice quick profit for someone).

Take the context internationally, however, and the story is arguably different once more. The top Rhône syrahs sell for quite a bit more than the Mullineux single terroir syrahs, and some for even more than Boschkloof. It’s worth noting, however, that Hermitages and Côte-Rôties have proved their ability to mature beautifully for decades, which the local versions have not. I stopped buying Rhône syrahs (or the cheaper Rhône red blends) some years ago because of the unquestionably better value of Cape versions at all levels, given their quality and their modest prices – certainly for fairly youthful drinking. That remains the case generally, despite some of the locals having got so pricey.

It’s certainly, I’d say, reached the point where one can’t make a blanket judgement about all local wines being underpriced, as some are certainly not. It’s interesting that that is perhaps more true of syrah than anything else. I wonder how they sell internationally; quite well, some of them, I think. If I were living in London or New York it seems to me very unlikely that I’d choose to buy top Cape syrah at a modest discount for proven-quality top Rhône versions.

Even less would I do that for the cabernet equivalents versus Bordeaux, where there is unparalelled value to be had except at the top – but that’s even more a question of style preference; the Cape ones could well be better value than many Californians or Australians, the best examples of which (especially the Americans) would be vastly more expensive. As for cheaper reds – with what’s available from France, Spain and Italy (especially at EU-subsidised prices) – well, no, not if I were looking for good value.

But Cape white wines, yes, those I would surely buy. Some of them (notably chenins and chenin-based blends) because they are unique and very desirable in addition to being not overly expensive; some because their quality:price ratio is great (most sauvignon blanc, some chardonnay). Locally, much the same thing that’s happening to syrah is happening to chenin: there’s a great spreading out of the price, while the average quality is pretty good. Some bottles have become destined for just the rich (I resisted Sadie Mev Kirsten this year for the first time in many years as it has reached a price too high for me), but the not-so-rich, and even the comparatively poor, can still find remarkable value for money in South African chenin, at home and abroad. Let’s hope that continues for a while.

• Tim James is one of South Africa’s leading wine commentators, contributing to various local and international wine publications. His book Wines of South Africa – Tradition and Revolution appeared in 2013.