Prescient Signature Red Blend Report 2021: Top 10 convened by Winemag.co.za
Introduction
This year’s Signature Red Blend Report convened by Winemag.co.za and sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient is now out. There were 50 entries from 38 producers and these were tasted blind (labels out of sight) by a three-person panel, scoring done according to the 100-point quality scale.
Top 10
The 10 best wines overall are as follows:
92 – Best Buy
Chateau Libertas 2019
Price: R59
Wine of Origin: Western Cape
Abv: 13.2%
91
Old Road Wine Co. The Spotted Hound 2019
Price: R99
Wine of Origin: Western Cape
Abv: 13%
About the category
Why should South Africa be bound by the Bordeaux model when it comes to creating great blended red wine? Perhaps the Rhône is a better reference point given local growing conditions while the so-called “Cape Blend” incorporating Pinotage potentially gives us a unique selling proposition. Then, of course, there are the red blends of yesteryear – Alto Rouge, Chateau Libertas and Rustenberg Dry Red to name but three – which conformed to no particular model but are revered for their complexity and longevity.
Once again, we called for wines which were “distinctive of their originators” and instead of the usual practice of dividing them into various sub-groups according to style (Pinotage-based vs Shiraz-based being the differentiation most usually made), we tasted them as one continuous line-up – the thinking being that the fundamentals of wine appreciation such as complexity and balance should apply when it came to making quality assessments.
What do top Signature Red Blends go for?
The average price of the 25 wines to rate 90-plus is R257 a bottle and of the Top 10 is R379. Offering the best quality relative to price is Chateau Libertas 2019 from Distell with a rating of 92 and selling for R59 a bottle.
Discovery of Report
The “Discovery of Report” serves to recognise previously unsung wines.
90
De Wet Vintage Mashup 2020
Price: R95
Founded in 1946, De Wet Cellar located in Worcester is grower-owned and processes 19 000 tons of grapes annually. The Vintage Mashup 2020 is a dead sexy blend of 34% Shiraz, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Pinotage and 13% Merlot – fragrant aromatics of red berries, rose geranium, fynbos and white pepper while the palate is medium bodied with lots of juicy fruit and fine tannins.
In-depth analysis
To read the report in full, including key findings, tasting notes for the top wines, buyers guide and scores on the 100-point quality scale for all wines entered, download the following: Prescient Signature Red Blend 2021