Monday, June 22, 2026

Taransaut Top 10 Merlot Awards at Klein Alto, Stellenbosch

An invitation to the Top 10 Hello Merlot awards was gratefully accepted
We were so impressed with the quality and the depth of the good merlots in last year's competition

This year, the event was held at Klein Alto, a very good function venue and restaurant on Alto estate in Stellenbosch 

The interior of the Klein Alto restaurant

and the tasting room, set up for the occasion

The small kitchen produced some magic









The newly released Alto Rosé, only available at Klein Alto
It is a blend of Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet franc

Very nicely refreshingly dry with good plum and berry flavours as it says on the bottle's back label

We gathered in the courtyard and chatted to the winemakers and other media

The spread for lunch after the awards and tasting was indeed impressive
A delicious collation of cheeses, a small camembert topped with preserved fig, cold meats, coppa, biltong, salami,
with fresh fruit, crisp raw vegetables and a huge collection of dips, sauces and different rolls and breads

Merlot Association chair Matthew Copeland and PR Consultant Sandra Lotz

The programme

Matthew Copeland, Chairman of Merlot SA, started proceedings
He told us that the SA Merlot competition began in 2022. This is the fifth year
He thanked all their sponsors and handed over to Renier van Deventer, who was the Chief Judge
Renier also judges for the Young Wine Show and Veritas 

One of the other sponsors

Ridgeback estate cellarmaster Renier van Deventer chaired the judging panel
He asked the question "What are you entering for?"
The first Merlot in South Africa was planted in 1982 and the total vineyard was 81 hectares
Today, it occupies more than 5,300 hectares, so is one of the top 10 SA varietals (Chenin Blanc fills 16 000 hectares)
Stellenbosch has most of the plantings (1 050, hectares), the others are in Paarl, Wellington and Breedekloof
Some vineyards are coastal and there are some in Elgin and Durbanville. South Africa has 5% of the world plantings
South African Merlot is getting much more attention across the world
Most of the entries have been in bottle for two years, so in 2024 the 2021 and 2022 were entered
In 2025, they came from 2022 and 2023 Vintages and this year, 2026, entries were from 2023 and 2024
Stellenbosch had the biggest entry - 21 of the 46 entries, followed by Paarl and Durbanville
Average alcohol was 14.3% (between 13.99 and 14.8) Sugar levels were 3.1 gm/ltr (2.1 to 3.9)
The average price of the wines is R243 (R100 to R550)
The judges' comments: "A golden thread of Merlot focus
What will do well or better when the focus is on clarity, brightness and depth
Focus on structure and varietal character. Fruit is ripe in combination with oak and in balance
Wood is not used to hide greenness.  First fills worked!
Red fruit balance, good oak and fruit and a wide range of styles
The entries define Merlot not as one style, but from varied areas with varied styles
The 2023 wines are youthful and powerful, 2022 very polished and elegant 

Mark Goldsworthy, South Africa and Scotland sales manager for Taransaud casks
The winner of the Top 10 wins a prize of a Taransaud barrel
As a cooper, he sees a lot of wooding on Merlot and barrel aged wines are well represented in the top 10
Prices are over R300; sadly, the low box wine prices sell more volume, so more support is needed for the top wines

Matthew told us that, to get into the top 10, a wine needs to score 95 points or more
The judges' choice was what was showing on the day of the tasting
The prize-giving then followed 

And this year's Top Ten winners are:


 Bein Merlot Reserve 2022 
Winemaker Luca Bein. Wine of Origin, Stellenbosch
Deep nose, lots of Merlot fruit in layers, lighter in style, lots of tingle on the palate,  some unripe fruit, needs time. 

Carmen Stevens 2023 
Made by Carmen Stevens. Wine of Origin, Coastal Region
Smoke hints on the nose, fruit a little shy
Berry fruit, chalky tannins, long flavours, good wood on the end, acid gaining balance. Needs time

Delaire Graff Banhoek Reserve Merlot 2023 Made by Morne Frey. Wine of Origin, Banhoek, Stellenbosch

An incredible nose, perfumed, fruit in layers and depth, superb
On the palate, lots of good layered merlot fruit, so perfectly ripe and velvety, drinking so well now, but has a great future

Dornier Merlot 2021 
Winemaker, Toit Wessels. Wine of Origin, Stellenbosch
A red velvet nose, integrated and impressive with hints of violet
On the palate, chalky tannins, lots of berry fruit, long flavours and spicy oak. Very enjoyable

Glenelly Glass Collection Merlot 2022
Winemaker, Dirk van Zyl. Wine of Origin, Stellenbosch
Wood dark berry fruit and smoke on nose; on the block buster palate, layers and layers of great ripe fruit, elegance and huge potential for aging. 

Holden Manz Merlot Reserve 2023
Winemaker, Emil Kluge. Wine of Origin, Stellenbosch
Incense wood from French oak, quality, perfume of rose and violets and red fruit
Sweet fruit on palate draws you in, a lovely entry and a food wine. Great berries and wood melding together

Rainbow's End Merlot 2023
Winemaker Anton Malan. Wine of Origin, Stellenbosch
Elegant nose, well integrated and ripe fruit, repeats on the palate 

Stellenbosch Reserve Kweekskool Merlot 2023
Winemaker, Ignus Ferreira. Wine of Origin, Stellenbosch
A mysterious nose that draws you in with a good balance of fruit and wood and style
On the palate, sweet berry fruit with a good hit of acidity, long flavours, to drink now or in the future

L'Avenir Provenance Merlot 2024
Winemaker, Dirk Coetzee. Wine of Origin, Stellenbosch
Incense French oak, light but good fruit, a bit shy, but with promise 
Powerful fruit on the palate, in the classic French style of Merlot, restrained but elegant, fruit and wood working together
A food wine with a great future. Sommeliers take note

Villiera Monro Merlot 2023
Winemaker, Danielle Coetzee. Wine of Origin, Stellenbosch
Shy on the nose, true to the popular Merlot style
Bitter wood tannins, layered with dark wood, grip with fruit acids on end, long flavours, signal a possible long future   

The view from Alto toward the Helderberg
The prizewinners were asked to step outside to the lawn to have their photograph taken

Mark Goldsworthy with a contingent of media people


Some of the Top Ten Prize winners or their representatives

Back row L to R: Dirk van Zyl, Glenelly; Kaylin Baxter and Danielle Coetzee, Villiera;  Diedre Vermeulen and Priscilla Weber, Carmen Stevens; Emil Kluge, Holden Manz 

Front Row: Morne Frey of Delaire Graff; Joe Toweel representing Bein; Toit Wessels of Dornier; Anton Malan of Rainbows End

Dirk Coetzee of L'Avenir was delayed and could not appear in this photograph

Presentation of a Taransaud 300 litre cask to the winner,
Dirk Coetzee, L'Avenir cellarmaster and Lara Barnard, assistant winemaker

Dessert, after the presentation, was small, but beautifully crafted and delicious
A rich chocolate torte, topped with blueberry compote and almond praline

A view of misty vineyards looking over to the Alto entrance. The views are spectacular from this area

Table Mountain, the embodiment of the Titan Adamastor, resting at the foot of Africa

All the stories we have produced since 2012
can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page
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Friday, June 19, 2026

Wine Concepts Grape Escape Festival at Moyo, Kirstenbosch


We always know we will have a good evening when we go to a Wine Concepts tasting
and the Grape Escape Festival, held at Moyo restaurant in Kirstenbosch this month, lived up to expectations
We cannot taste all the wines, we make selection of each offering

There were so many wines to taste that we kept to the brief of unusual and rare varietals
 - there was a largeish sprinkling of Chenin blancs, the most-grown wine in South Africa =
and we met some wonderful new (to us) farms and winemakers

Sophie Germanier has a very good wooded Viognier, Wine Frame 2025,
and a very interesting and different Limited Edition Cap Classique, made from Shiraz and Viognier
which we really enjoyed; it's crisp, but full of fruit

We really liked the Credo Chenin Blanc Verdelho Viognier 2023. The flavours meld so well

Bev Murray with the Strandveld wines
Big applause from us for the continuing excellence of the Skaamgesiggie Pinot Noir Brut Rosé
The 2023 The Navigator, made from Syrah with Grenache noir and small amounts of viognier and Mourvèdre,
earned a wow from both of us. Layers of fruit and depth and future

Sijnn's Low Profile 2023, made from Syrah and Touriga nacional and small amounts of five other varietals,
 is a food wine, layered with flavour and depth

The Raar Grenache Noir 2025 from Riebeek Valley Wine Co was so impressive; Lynne wrote YUM!
Perfumed on the nose, herbal and green notes on the palate, then very good dark fruit. A visit is called for

We have long been fans of Piekenierskloof wines
and their Grenache Blanc 2025 really impressed with a beautifully layered palate
The 2025 Grenache Noir needs time and has good deep promise
The 2024 Tannat has a dive in nose, interesting flavours, it had grip and is different, a food wine and very enjoyable
The 2024 Heirloom Red - Syrah, Grenache noir, Mourvèdre, Cinsault - has elegance, the grapes blend well and it's classy

Roodekrantz 2024 Once Upon a Time Cinsault has such good fruit, Cabernet notes
rather than the Pinot reference one usually finds in a well-made modern Cinsault. Very quaffable

The 2024 Painted Wolf Viognier is full of fruit and delight
Their 2024 Solo Roussanne has great fruit and wood in balance too

Bobby Wallace on the Paul Wallace stand had his much talked about, here and abroad, Off the Record 2025 Chenin Blanc
It is full of herbal fynbos notes then apple and pears in layers of flavour. Very good
We also really enjoyed the 2024 Highlander Cabernet Franc
and the 2023 Black Dog Malbec which is dark and mysterious, full of layers of flavour and wood

Good to see Billy Hughes of Hughes Family wines
with his 2022 The Bees Viognier, a classic full of fresh flavours and integrated wood

The Morgenster 2024 Vespri Vermentino impressed with freshness and good fruit
The label script of this range is very confusing and unreadable
and we wondered why the name Morgenster is so small at the bottom of the labels

Carsten Migliarina never fails to impress us with his well-crafted wines
His 2024 Albarino has a good nose; dryness at first on the crisp palate
then, vrooom, the layers of fruit appear. Very much a food wine
The only sweet wine of the evening was the evening's star, his 2025 Vine Dried Pinot Gris
A beautiful mouth feel, the layers of classic, full honey sweet wine,  then crisp apple tart tatin
with caramel on the end, nostalgic and delicious
We have to keep buying and enjoying South African sweet wines; they are disappearing at an alarming rate

Keermont Terrasse White is an illustration of how to make a good blend from these unusual grapes
Freshness, peach from Viognier, complexity and joy
A blend of Chenin Blanc, 15% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Chardonnay, 12% Viognier, 10% Roussanne and 2% Marsanne
Fermented and aged in seasoned barrels

Kleinood's Tamboerskloof Viognier was the first of that varietal to appear on the South African market
An original and still outstandingly good

Good to be able to taste the Jordan Assyrtiko again, it still has that excitement of flavour and difference
Another wine to go with Mediterranean food



Induzo wines showed their 2025 Transformative Pinot Grigio from the Swartland
Freshness on the nose, lots of lime, lemon and tropical fruit flavours with mango at the end

Lowerland Die Wonderdraai White 2024, a blend of 65% Chenin banc, with Colombard and Sauvignon blanc
Ripe peaches with a little spice and Sauvignon acidity at the end
An interesting Wine of Origin from Prieska on the south bank of the Orange River, in the Northern Cape

Dornier Moordenaarskloof is made from Swartland Tinta Barocca, rich, deep dark flavours typical of the varietal
The Pinot Grigio is more flavourful than most wines of this varietal, with moderate acidity and gentle fruit

Fram Grenache Gris is has a light coppery tone, gentle tropical fruit favour with a berry note at the end
and a rich, slightly chalky mouthfeel




The Cape Town Wine Hub's Mediterranean style wines are made by Tanya Beuttler with Chris Williams of The Foundry 
The Premium White Blend 2022 is made from 88% Verdelho, 6% Marsanne, and 6% Grenache Blanc
and the Premium Red Blend of Shiraz 60%, Grenache Noir 40%
Excellent wines which richly deserve the accolades shown on the bottles

Chenin blanc is hardly a rare varietal, but superbly made by Dewaldt Heyns

Brookdale winemaker Xander Sadie
showed his The Twenty Red Field blend 2024, Sixteen White Field Blend 2024, and Grenache noir 2025
Both are rich and interesting wines made from Mediterranean grape varietals,
grown together, intermixed, in the same vineyard and picked, crushed and vinified together
The superb Bradbourne White blend 2024 is made from 45% Grenache blanc with Roussanne and small amounts of Marsanne and Picpoul blanc

Samantha Suddons really impressed us with her Vine Venom wines from the Swartland
Her Carignan and Grenache Serenade Cap Classique has notes of sourdough yeast, red apple and wearable perfume

Stellenrust has built an enviable reputation with its Chenin blancs
The Old Bush Vine Cinsault continues with the same quality. Ripe cranberry fruit, wonderful texture and ageability


All the stories we have produced since 2012
can be opened from the archive list near the top of the column on the right of this page
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