Platter 5 Star Tasting, Sweden – 1/2/2018

On the first of February Wines of South Africa had their annual Platter 5 Star Tasting at Restaurant Gondolen in Stockholm. This time we also had the pleasure to have WOSA´s CEO, Siobhan Thompson at the tasting. A great line up of wines were presented to the visitors. We had the tasting in a walking format with the bottles lined up on tables with white table cloths, and beside every wine an information sign with technical details about the wines was put up. In addition, a list of the wines was also given to the guests with added information such as the name of the importer. 

The idea of the tasting was to showcase a broad range of the very best wines from South Africa, all awarded with 5 stars in Platter Guide 2018. This meant that we had representation from really small producers all the way up to world famous brands, and the wines came in all formats! White, red, light, full bodied, dry, sweet, wooded, unwooded, still and sparkling – everything in line with showing the diversity of our wines. The interest in the tasting was massive. We had 60 people through the doors including some of our top sommeliers, wine journalists and also a bunch of really interested sommelier students. It was clear that these wines created a buzz through the trade and some of our guests stayed for hours, re-tasting the wines over and over. The format of having a walk-in tasting is really appreciated due to the fact that our visitors can come and go as they please. If they just have 30 minutes they can still taste through the wines without feeling they have to rush in any way. We also handed out Platter guides to our guests together with a small notebook where they could write their own comments. 

The feedback of the wines was great. It seems like Chenin Blanc and white blends are still number one when it comes to favourites amongst the sommeliers. But people were also impressed by the reds and the fact that many of them shown real elegance and structure. Our two MCC´s also created a big interest. They were totally different in style which led to a discussion about which one was the best. I would say the result came in 50/50. Half of the visitors liked the more intense Desiderius, while the rest had the more stringent Colmant Brut as number one. 

List of wines:

Colmant Brut NV
Pongracz, Desiderius 2009
Elemental Bob Grenache Blanc 2016
Savage White 2016
B Vintners Haarlem to Hope 2016
David & Nadia Skaliehop 2016
Mount Abora Koggelbos 2015
Raats Family Wines Eden High Density Chenin Blanc 2015
Warwick White Lady 2016
Swerwer Red 2016
Creation The Art of Pinot Noir 2016
B Vintners Liberté Pinotage 2016
The Winery of Good Hope Black Rock 2015
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2015
Raats Family Wines Cabertnet Franc 2015
Flagstone Writer´s Block 2016
Nederburg Two Centuries 2014
Nederburg Cabernet-Merlot Private Reserve Bin 109 2014
Groot Constantia Grand Constance 2014
 

- Maja Berthas, WOSA Market Manager - Sweden