Wednesday, 20 September, 2017
Tim Atkin MW
There are six different bands: first, second, third, fourth and fifth growths, consisting of 20 wines each, and a larger group of 100 crus bourgeois. I’ve increased the number of wines included from 150 to 200 in 2017.
My 2017 classification is a snapshot of the Cape wine industry. Mindful that a critic should attempt to reward talent, irrespective of a long track record in some cases, I have chosen my favourite producers, rather than parroted the opinions of others. Track records can be overrated in my view. Some of my classified producers have only made a few vintages – Alheit, Beeslaar, Blackwater, David & Nadia, Lismore, Patatsfontein, Storm and Thorne & Daughters, for example – but I think that’s irrelevant. I think these wineries will help to define the Cape wine industry over the next quarter of a century.
To read more online, click here.
Click here to read the report (pdf).