One of the US’s most highly regarded wine magazines, Wine Spectator, has recently awarded top ratings to three South African red wines, an encouraging sign for the local industry in its export endeavors, as well as the ongoing drive to give its wines a reputation for higher quality.
Beneficiaries of the excellent ratings were two red blends from Warwick Estate, its 2000 Trilogy and 2000 Three Cape Ladies, and a relatively new red blend called Umkhulu Titan, made by Bellevue Estate in Stellenbosch.
The Warwick Three Cape Ladies received 92 points out of 100, the Warwick Trilogy received 91 points, and the 2001 Umkhulu rated 90, all very high scores for any wine from anywhere in the world.
It is important to note that Three Cape Ladies contains about 25% Pinotage, and wine was one of the first to be deemed a “Cape blend”, due to its use of Pinotage, which is mostly confined to South Africa.
With Pinotage giving the blend a unique “South African” flavour, this could be a sign that the grape is winning favour in the huge US market. What is certain is that the ratings and excellent publicity given to South African wines as a whole should help make them all easier to sell abroad. – I-Net Bridge