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Vintage 2017 wines are fast being identified as some of the finest SA has ever produced and heralded as one of the best wine investments to make this year, according to Roland Peens, director of winecellar.co.za fine wine merchants.
"The top 2017 reds are slowly hitting the market and they are very, very good," says Peens. "In fact, only time will tell if they are on par or better than the 2015 vintage which has been touted as the greatest modern-day vintage."
While 2017 marked the third year of the Cape drought, winemaker Abrie Beeslaar says "the ripening months saw cool nights which allowed for freshness and structure amidst the concentration of colour and flavour produced by the small berries and bunches.
The 2017 whites and early-release Pinot Noirs have shown a consistent brilliance and purity unlike any other Cape vintage. The Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Sauvignon based wines excelled in 2017.
"The wines showed remarkably well, with superb structures and surprising balance given their youth, thanks to vibrant, assertive and ripe fruit profiles," writes Lauren Buzzeo of Wine Enthusiast, commenting on 2017 Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignons.
Fin24 reported earlier that the South African wine industry should put more focus on supplying higher value products both locally and internationally, according to Anton Smuts, chairperson of Vinpro. Vinpro is a non-profit company which represents 3 500 South African wine producers, cellars and industry stakeholders.
At the annual Nedbank Vinpro Information Day in Cape Town on Thursday Smuts cautioned, however, against over pricing on quality provided. In his view, this would have a negative impact on brand SA's international wine image.
Smuts said profitability is still under pressure in the wine industry, but that there is more of an understanding between producers and those operating in the value chain.
Rico Basson, managing director of Vinpro, pointed out that the SA wine industry is still one of the biggest export industries in the country.
