Four wines from Raats Family Wines were included in the inaugural road show hosted by the Premium Independent Wineries of South Africa in Soho, London last month and Jukes blogged about his favourites amongst the line-up. Proclaiming that the 2012 Original Chenin Blanc, 2011 Old Vine Chenin Blanc, 2011 Dolomite Cabernet Franc and 2011 Red Jasper were all “scintillating,” Jukes eventually highlighted the Old Vine Chenin as his favourite due the fact that it scored the highest points and “oozes class and breeding, showing concentration and balance along with one of the longest, haunting finishes of the entire collection of wines.” Jukes is widely recognized as one of the most influential wine writers in the United Kingdom and his wine column in the Daily Mail has over 9-million readers. In addition, he also writes for his personal blog and contributes articles to MoneyWeek, The Week and Decanter magazine. Raats was thrilled by the praise from Jukes. “It is really fantastic when someone like Matthew Jukes makes such great comments about my wines. It also once again proves that I was on the right track when I started looking for old blocks of vines to make this wine. The average age of the vineyards that yield the grapes for the Old Vine Chenin is approximately fifty years old and they definitely produce an exceptional wine with unique characteristics. It is also great that Jukes recognises the consistent quality of my wines as I believe that is what consumers look for as well,” explains Raats. For more information, visit www.raats.co.za.