Thursday, November 23, 2023

Platter's 2024 South African Wine Guide launch

The 2024 Platter's Guide to South African wine was launched at Andrea and Chris Mullineux's Roundstone Farm
near Riebeek Kasteel 
The farm is just off the road to Riebeek Kasteel, just before the mountain pass
We parked between vineyards and were taken by bus to the cellar


Tastings here are by appointment only 

A marquee had been set up to shelter us from the warm Swartland sun

Some canapés were served to keep us happy, these were Tomato Bruschetta topped with basil

Mini cones made of filo pastry filled with cheese and topped with chopped avocado

We were served Mullineux Old Vines White,
a great blend of mostly Chenin with Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Semillon Gris and Verdelho
It's complex, full and full of ripe peach, apple, pear, with good acid balance

The scrolls are awarded to only the top scoring Five Star wines and the overall top performers

The marquee was soon filled with the excited and expectant chatter of many winemakers and other guests

Getting our front seats in time. Luckily there was a cool breeze blowing; it was a rather hot day

The view over the Swartland from the cellar
Not only wine is grown here; this is an important wheat growing area and it is harvest time

Nearly time to start the Awards ceremony
To all see all the Platter's Five Star winners, see the link at the bottom of this article

Pinotage producers Sebastian Beaumont of Beaumont and Beyers Truter of Beyerskloof
Beyers was awarded Five Stars and Best in Category for his Faith Pinotage blend
and also for his superb Cabernet, Beyerskloof Eerste Ry 2019, one of the very best wines we tasted
Sebastian's New Baby won top honours in White blends, Other category and it too is delicious

Platter's wine co-ordinator Amanda Ferreira

A welcome from hosts Andrea and Chris Mullineux

Jolize van Wyk, Marketing Manager, Mullineux & Leeu

Talented Andrea made these hanging wreaths from local fynbos as well as the crowns awarded to the top performers

Platter's editor, Philip van Zyl begins the awards ceremony

Esh Naidoo, managing director, Diners Club South Africa gave the opening speech and presented the scrolls

Then Philip showed us the new 2024 edition and revealed the new colour, always kept secret until the last minute
It will be available in early December. John and Lynne had a silly bet on this year's colour,
John chose green and Lynne purple! 
We have at least one copy of every Platter's guide published since the original in 1980

The 2024 Platter's Wine Guide

Fairview cellarmaster Anthony de Jager and Platter's tasting panel member Meryl Weaver CWM
Anthony won top honours for the Shiraz/Syrah based Red blend with his Fairview Cyril Back 2020

After the awards, the food came out in abundance. Small deep fried fish bites with tartar sauce

And a tray full of delights

Spicy and crisp sausage rolls disappeared quickly

A selection including beetroot topped with sour cream and nuts, delicious spicy sausage rolls and Moroccan spiced rolls 

Lamb inside a roti then deep fried

Salmon crudo on a pancake topped with a cream and an orange segment

The tender and delicious barbecued Belly of Pork also disappeared very quickly

Mini pies

Following the awards, we could now taste the top winning wines
Andrea opened the cellar door and we were let loose
There were some exceptional wines, as expected and all are worthy winners

Just one mouthful reveals the wine, and the tasting has to be quick before the two bottles run out
Lynne did manage to taste all of the wines. There was a spittoon for each. First, the white wines ....

... and then the reds. And then the sweet wines and spirits which were in the tasting room

Sebastian Beaumont, Andrea Mullinex and Eben Sadie

Michael Bampfield Duggan of Wine Concepts with American wine writer Don Winkler, Editor of the  i-winereview

Selfie. Crowned Malu Lambert and Andrea Mullineux

Sebastian Beaumont and Matthew Copeland
Matthew won top honours in the Cape Bordeaux Red Blends with his Vondeling Philosophie 2019, another triumph

To see the top producers Click Here
The top wines in their categories and the full list of Five Star wines are Here
All our stories can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right

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