The 43rd edition of Platter’s by Diners Club Wine Guide has announced its 2023 list of 196 wines in 28 categories that were awarded 5 stars this year. A total of 8000 wines by 900 producers was evaluated this year.
Red and White Blends as well as Chenin Blanc are the biggest 5 star classes, with 28, 27 and 28 individual labels, respectively. The Chardonnay, Shiraz/Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon wine categories also performed well, with 22, 16, and 12 brands, respectively.
The Top Performing Winery of the Year goes to the winery that achieves the most five-star ratings after the annual final tasting round, it being Mullineux this year, with 8 five-star wines. It is the Swartland- Continue reading →
Last week I met with Marlene Truter, owner of the new wine brand less, with Chardonnay 2021 and Pinotage 2020 cultivars. Its focus is more on sustainability, being sustainably grown, containing less alcohol, and uses the lightest glass bottles available.
The highlight of our Garden Route trip last week was having lunch at Bramon, a pioneering boutique wine estate outside Plettenberg Bay. This was one of the first wine estates in the area, and has established itself not only as a good wine destination, but as having a good friendly restaurant too. My French friend was blown away by us eating …. and drinking ……in the vineyard! 
Despite a hugely challenging year for the wine industry due to the drought, CapeWine 2018 is an impressive showcase of optimism, friendliness, and proudly South Africaness, running at the Cape Town International Convention Centre until tomorrow. I attended yesterday, with my Parisian friend Aurelié Jullien, and we were both impressed with the magnitude and professionalism of the exhibition, held every three years, and attended by the local and international wine trade. 
It was fellow writer Llewellyn Lambert who introduced me to the brand new winery Paserene, and who suggested that we stop at it when driving past it outside Franschhoek last week. We were very impressed with the beautiful new tasting room, and the exquisite three wines that we were offered to taste.