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Aug 22, 2024
Prime Time for Pink: 22 Rosés to See Out Summer 2024
Summer was late coming this year and so is my round-up rosés, but here it is, new wines and new vintages of old favourites, blazing a trail
May 23, 2024
WINE OF THE WEEK: Kanonkop Kadette Pinotage 2021, Stellenbosch, South Africa
This approachable, elegant South African red is a great barbecue wine for everything from steak and burgers to stuffed peppers
Mar 28, 2024
WINE OF THE WEEK: Kleine Zalze Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier 2021, Western Cape, South Africa
£9.99/£7.49, Waitrose Almost everything I said about the 2016 vintage of this Cape red when singing its praises back in 2018 holds true...
Feb 1, 2024
WINE OF THE WEEK: Joostenberg Estate Klippe Kou Syrah 2020, Paarl, South Africa
£19.05, Corney & Barrow The way Klippe Kou Syrah is aged was changed in the 2020 vintage, with the total time cut from 18 to 10 months...
Oct 26, 2023
WINE OF THE WEEK: Spier 21 Gables Pinotage 2017, Stellenbosch, South Africa
£24.95–£28.60, Slurp, Rare Vino Wine, Vinvm This is not only the first time a Pinotage has been my Wine of the Week, it’s the first time...
Aug 22, 2023
Preview: the Soon-to-be-Released Vin de Constance 2020
The 2020 Vin de Constance in its trademarked, distinctive asymmetrical 500ml bottle that resembles the early hand-blown Constantia...
Jul 19, 2023
Prime Time for Pink: Rosés for Summer 2023
Update, August 3 I've just added two more southern French rosés: Alaina, which is new to me, although its producer, Laurent Miquel,...
Jan 5, 2023
WINE OF THE WEEK: Porcupine Ridge Shiraz 2021, Swartland, South Africa
£5.99 (on offer) Waitrose, £6.50 (on offer) Sainsbury's This plush, generous Cape Shiraz is good value at its full price of £8.49 and a...
Dec 22, 2022
WINE OF THE WEEK: Rustenberg Wild Ferment Unwooded Chardonnay 2022, Stellenbosch, South Africa
£12, Tesco If you’re faced with someone who thinks Christmas isn’t Christmas without Chablis, someone else who always chooses southern...
Sep 29, 2022
WINE OF THE WEEK: Ken Forrester The Misfits Cinsault 2021, Western Cape, South Africa
£9, Tesco A light, limber red that's as full of character as it is of joie de vivre – silky and supple with perfumed, sweet red-berry...
Sep 22, 2022
The Legendary Vin de Constance – a Wine Worth Ageing
The strikingly different colours of the 10 vintages of Klein Constantia Vin de Constance spanning the years 1987 to 2015. The oldest...
Sep 1, 2022
WINE OF THE WEEK: Bellingham The Bernard Series Chenin Blanc 2021, South Africa
£11–£14.39, Tesco, The General Wine Co Chenin Blanc comes in all shapes and sizes: dry, medium, sweet, still, sparkling, oaked, unoaked,...
Jul 19, 2022
Prime Time for Pink: Summer 2022 Rosé Round-up Part 1
Update, August 12 I've just added two more wines to this, so it's now 12 appetite-whetting rosés. The additions, Ramón Bilbao Rosado and...
Jun 9, 2022
WINE OF THE WEEK: Albert Road Pinot Noir by Savage & Louw, Western Cape
£9.49, Waitrose Finding inexpensive Pinot Noir isn’t the challenge it once was, but even so this is a spectacularly good-value example –...
Dec 23, 2021
WINE OF THE WEEK: Vergelegen Premium Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2018, Stellenbosch, South Africa
£10, Tesco For those people who still need a red wine for the Christmas Day feast, I've picked this Cape Cabernet Merlot because it's...
Sep 2, 2021
WINE OF THE WEEK: Stellenrust Stellenbosch Manor Cinsault 2019, South Africa
£7.99 (on offer), Waitrose It hasn't come soon enough but Cinsault (or Cinsaut) has finally shed the label 'workhorse' that stalked it...
Jul 8, 2021
WINE OF THE WEEK: Wolf & Woman Chenin Blanc 2019, Swartland, South Africa
£19.68, Justerini & Brooks You can pour this and drink it straightaway with pleasure, but it repays time in the glass handsomely....
Oct 15, 2020
WINE OF THE WEEK: Springfontein Terroir Selection Chenin Blanc 2018, Springfontein Rim, South Africa
£16.96, Private Cellar There were a couple of other South African wines, red and white, in the running for this week's slot, but this...
Sep 16, 2020
A Sneak Preview of the 2017 Vintage of One of the World's Great Sweet Wines
Excelling again: the just released 2017 vintage of Vin de Constance, still in the traditional asymmetrical 50cl bottle, but now with a...
Aug 6, 2020
WINE OF THE WEEK: Vergelegen Chardonnay Reserve 2017, Stellenbosch, South Africa
£15.49–£18, Roberts & Speight, drinkfinder.co.uk, TheDrinkShop.com, winedirect.co.uk, Noble Green Wines The South African wine industry...
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