The By Invitation Only tasting of the Veritas top winning wines was held at the offices of Deloitte
at the edge of the V&A Waterfront precinct and was a very well attended event
We have to confess that we were both not very well
Lynne has had a nasty flu-type virus for more than three weeks and was recovering slowly
and John was just resisting it (unsuccessfully)
We tried very hard not to exchange it with anyone
It appears to have migrated from Europe and the UK, where many of our friends there have had it this year
Bennie Howard CWM, Master of Ceremonies
So many wonderful Cap Classiques to taste and they did give us a lift
We started with the crisp and delightful Paul René 2022
made by Henk van Niekerk who was manning the stand
His Brut Rosé Double Gold is superb, balanced, showing good fruit and some nice age
We loved the 2020 Double Gold Durbanville Hills Blanc de Blanc
We drank a toast to our dear departed friend, their former cellarmaster Martin Moore, who made the wine
In the Museum Class entries, the Laborie Blanc de blancs 2016 was quite superb
bottle age elevating an already excellent wine
bottle age elevating an already excellent wine
The double gold Spier Creative Block 2, a blend of Sauvignon Semillon was the wine of the night for Lynne
It Is full and satisfying, layered with minerality and great fruit in balance
Kobus van der Merwe, senior winemaker at KWV, with the wine that won the Duimpie Bayly Vertex Trophy
for the top wine in the competition at the 2026 Veritas Awards, the Laborie Blanc de blancs 2020
This was the third time a Cap Classique has taken the competition’s highest honour, selected from 1 293 entries
It comes from a single Chardonnay vineyard in Wellington
and a winemaking process that requires decisions to be made years before anyone opens a bottle
For Kobus van der Merwe, who has worked with the Laborie brand since joining KWV in 2013,
the vineyard is where much of the work begins
It has for many years been our favourite Blanc de blancs, it is beautifully crafted from exceptional grapes
The Vertex Trophy with the wine
A selection of the top Cap Classiques
Three more to taste but we only managed the Hidden Valley Brut 2022 showing nice age, which we like
Photographers Andrew and Angela Gorman, sans cameras
On to taste some of the wooded Chenin blancs
Always a winner is the 2024 Spier 21 Gables Chenin Blanc which won Double Gold
Layers of good fruit and lots of oak
Chenin Blancs were in two groups, Unwooded or Wooded
The 2025 La Cave wooded Chenin Blanc and Darling Cellars Old Bush Vine 2025 unwooded Chenin,
which we often buy by the case were standouts
Well made, full of stone fruit and lime, well balanced and very typical Chenins from a warm area and a cool one
so good with a braai or just quaffing
Chardonnays
We tasted mainly Wooded Chardonnay, and of special mention is the 2025 Tokara Reserve Collection
It is winning lots of prizes at the moment, deserved for this classy layered Chardonnay which is perfect for food
It was a Master award winner at the 2026 Global Chardonnay Masters in the UK
The 2025 Diemersdal Reserve is good, the 2025 Avontuur has lots of wood, but also lime and lemon
The two KWV Cathedral Cellar 2024 and 225 Chardonnays are always worth tasting,
they tend to benchmark the category
Mont Rochelle Miko 2025 has lots and lots of wood.
We tend to buy unwooded Chardonnays more often than wood-matured or fermented
and there were some favourites like the De Wetshof 2026 Limestone Hill, a classic Robertson wine,
full of clean, lean citrus fruit, minerality and class and well priced
The Weltevrede Calcrete 2025 has lots of that limestone character that Robertson does so well
and it's a great match with seafood and fish
The wooded Delaire Graff 2025 is very attractive with perfume on the nose and is well made and balanced
The GWM Grenache Noir won a gold and we really liked its almost Pinot character; exciting and a food wine
Made by Stettyn Family Vineyards between Villiersdorp and Worcester; almost Karoo, they say
Double gold winner, the De Grendel 2024 Op Die Berg Pinot Noir
Not a shy little flower, this wine is built to last with lots of strength and grippy tannins.
We really enjoyed the more gentle The Pledge Our 1060M Pinot Noir, full of possibility, ripe cherries and enjoyment
From Grand Vin de Stellenbosch. the grapes come from the Ceres Plateau,
where they grow good cherries and have frost and snow in winter
Made by Debbie Thompson, Cellarmaster & Manager, and Mosima Mabelebele and Yolande Loubscher Assistant Winemakers
They source grapes for their wines all over the Cape
Mosima is a Finalist in the Young Winemaker of the Year competition
A selection of good Double Gold Pinotages which John had time to taste and enjoy
His personal favourites are Pierre Wahl's Survivor and Abrie Beeslaar's Beeslaar Pinotage
Which can be regarded as yardsticks of elegant modern Pinotages
A single gold medal for the very quaffable Van Loveren Pete's Pick Colombard Rosé from Robertson,
and another for the Goedverwacht Great Expectations with its attractive dive in nose - from Bonnievale
Single golds for the two Viogniers The Ridgeback 2025 and the Silkbush 2026 from the Mountain Vineyards. and another for the Merwida Papenkuils 2026 Waterblommetjie Pinot Grigio
A selection of good Rosés in the second row
The VRL Daydream, a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir particularly impressed
As did the Du Toitskloof Pinotage Rosé. Both are from the 2026 vintage and are fresh and dry,
so a good choice if some people sharing a meal are eating meat and others fish or seafood
Finally on to the red wines, we began with some very good Merlots
We love the direction Merlot is taking; our winemakers seem to have cracked the style
It is serious, has good potential to age and to pair with good food
The 2023 Steenberg is quite superb and gained a wow from us. It is excellent and we should be looking closely at the style
Who says Constantia cannot grow red wines? They always have
The Dornier 2022 and the 2024 De Wetshof Estate Merlot 2024 also impressed
and the Groote Post 2025 is also exceptional
It was an Investec Gold Medal winner, the first Merlot to win that accolade
A good selection of Shiraz, we really liked the double Gold Stellenbosch Hills 2024
It's a food wine, good nose, silky tannins, great fruit and perfect for roast meats and steak
A selection of excellent Noble Late Harvest wines, all superb
We do need to sell more of these or they will disappear.
More sweet wines. We really liked the Bon Courage White Muscadel
Black Pearl owner/winemaker Mary-Lou Nash CWM and her daughter
And of course the Nuy muscadels, serial winners at Veritas
Classic Heritage wines. All must come from vineyards verified as at least 35 years old
A valuable chance to taste these much-lauded two Grand-mère Semillons 2023 and 2024 from Franschhoek
From a single vineyard planted in 1936
In Lynne's mind, Semillon is the best white wine we produce and yet it is so hard to sell here
Overseas, they cannot get enough of our Semillons
These elegant and refined wines have spice, citrus, pear, granadilla flavours
and are beautifully textured and lasting with crisp minerality on the palate
They cry out to be paired with good food
Haut Collection 2023 Chardonnay, Kleine Zalze Old Vines 2026 and their 2026 Vineyard Selection Chenin Blancs
Three more Heritage wines Daschbosch 2025 Steen (Chenin Blanc),
Flagstone 2023 Paradigm Chenin and Haute Collection Amphora Chardonnay 2023
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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