A lucky group of us had a spectacular tasting at Teddington Wine Society in November.
Our topic was South Africa, a wonderful wine country that produces loads of great value wines – according to David Cartwright of Seckford Agencies, a major importer of South African wines, in 2022 70% of UK South African wine sales were at less than £10/bottle. In an article for The Buyer (https://www.the-buyer.net/people/seckfords-david-cartwright-south-african-wine-in-uk) he argued that South Africa should target higher price bands, as they had the quality of wine to offer incredible value for money within them.
Our tasting definitely showed what quality looks like! We kicked off with a Sauvignon Blanc from the lovely Waterkloof Estate in Stellenbosch, which at £14.50 was at least half the price of pretty. much every other wine we tasted (see the Wines we have tasted page for full details). We then had a super ‘Cape Blend’ – of Roussanne, Semillon, Roussanne, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Clairette sourced by Thorne & Daughters from around the Western Cape region – great complexity, lovely toasty notes. Two Chenin Blancs completed our whites – and both were stunning, with the ‘Geographica Bonsai’ from Stellenbosch marginally pipping the Bosberaad from Swartland in terms of people’s preference.
Our reds were a Cabernet Franc (Geographica Thoreau) which was loved by anyone who loves that grape variety’s graphite, earthy notes, a Shiraz from Fairview Estate in Swartland which pipped the (considerably more expensive) Leeu Passant Dry Red from Stellenbsoch as the night’s favourite though it was a close run thing.
I pushed the boat out to explore what South Africa can do, and the conclusion was – a lot! A super evening, enhanced still further by a lovely dinner from Cook and some rather good Ossau Iraty and mature Gouda.
