WineX top 10 wines on show

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There are over 1 000 wines for you to sample at WineX Johannesburg, so where to start? Editor Christian Eedes advises on 10 examples of Sauvignon Blanc that you shouldn't miss, while Carrie Adams, partner and wine buyer at leading Johannesburg retail outlet Norman Goodfellows, and wine writer Neil Pendock make some more general recommendations.

 

Eedes's hit list

How you undertake WineX depends a lot on your desired outcome. Some apparently view it as an opportunity to socialise while sipping on some of SA's top drops at a discount, and good for them. However, if you're looking for a slightly more enlightening experience, then it helps to taste category by category, allowing you to make a considered decision when it comes to personal preferences.

Here are some examples of Sauvignon Blanc for you to calibrate against.Alexanderfontein is the entry-level range from Darling winery Ormonde. The 2009 is herbaceous on the nose and palate with bracing acidity and a very dry finish. Great quality relative to a typical retail price of R35 a bottle.

I'd just about given up on quality Sauvignon from Stellenbosch and then along comes the 2009 from Bartinney in Banghoek. The palate shows ripe, juicy fruit balanced by tangy acidity. A show-stopper. De Wetshof in Robertson is famous for its various versions of Chardonnay but don't overlook the 2009 Sauvignon: an elegant, understated wine with lime fruit and bright acidity.

Iona Sauvignon Blanc from Elgin is generally something of an acquired taste, but this wine typically matures well. The 2009 is herbaceous on the nose and has a citruspith quality on the palate. Well-integrated acidity and excellent length. For something different, try the Jordan Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc 2008.

Time in oak means the variety's typical racy acidity is tempered and the wine has gained a little extra weight and richness. Oak Valley is another relatively new Elgin label attracting a cult following. The 2008 is a touch reductive ("sweaty") on the nose but shows complexity on the palate with green through to tropical flavours.

Much has been made about the suitability of Agulhas for the cultivation of Sauvignon and this is borne out once again by the very elegant Quoin Rock Cape Agulhas 2009, defining characteristics being bright acidity and dry finish.

Franschhoek winery Rickety Bridge has two versions of Sauvignon, a standard label 2009 and Paulina's Reserve 2008. Both are good but I prefer the purity and austerity of the standard label to the richer, fuller Reserve wine.

Southern Right is co-owned by Anthony Hamilton Russell of the eponymous Hemel- en-Aarde winery and this wine shows his classical leanings. Wonderfully clean, pure and fresh.

When you appreciate that Vergelegen makes 10 000 cases of its standard label Sauvignon Blanc, then the quality on offer is stupendous. The 2009 incarnation of this wine includes an intriguing dash of 3% Semillon. I thought this wine was wonderfully rich and textured, while remaining perfectly balanced.

Adam's hit list

My personal favourites change daily as I am inundated with offerings from producers eager to market their labels (a pleasant problem to have) but here are some wines that recently caught my attention.

Aside from the trendy Picasso look-alike label of the Saronsberg Provenance Rooi, which is fun, what's inside this bottle is impressive. Layers of red and black fruit.

Glenelly Red 2004 is a very "under-theradar" label from Madame May-Eliane de Lencquesaing of Bordeaux Second Growth Pichon-Longueville fame. She has quietly planted vineyards and built a rather sensational winery next door to Rustenberg in Stellenbosch. The 2004 is a Bordeaux-style blend of very silky texture.

Bellingham has a range which you might know as The Maverick but which has just been re-launched in remembrance of company founder Bernard Podlashuk. Try the Viognier 2008, a wine with freshness and manageable alcohol - a difficult trick with this awkward variety. Sublime! Ataraxia Chardonnay cannot go unmentioned. The 2008 has just been rated 5 Stars in Platter's 2010, the 2007 having achieved the same feat a year ago. Rapidly becoming a South African benchmark.

Chamonix Pinot Noir Reserve 2008 has such a pretty nose of English violets that you want to bottle it as perfume, but the explosion of gorgeous black cherry fruit on the palate outweighs even the nose. Promise to have some!

Fleur du Cap's reputation is one of quiet reliability. Not so quiet with its very expressive Unfiltered Sauvignon Blanc. Give it a whirl and don't spit.

Constantia Glen is a relative newcomer. They have a 2007 Bordeaux-style blend called The Saddle and whilst I am not the biggest advocate of reds from this area, I like this wine so much I could bath in it.

Spice Route is the label, Chakalaka is the name, and only Charles Back could get away with it! It's a juicy Rhône-style red, it's a must-try and it's a must-swallow. Warwick will be there and you have to have a sip of their Trilogy red blend. It continues to impress both locally and internationally and no wine exhibition would be complete without it.

And if it's bubbles that take your fancy, I suggest you cleanse your palate with a taste of Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel. With a 30-yearold pedigree, you can't really go wrong.

Pendock's hit list

Some folks are afeard of heights, others of spiders. Me, I'm scared shitless by shows and admit to a well-developed case of festivalphobia. As I sail blithely from the roaring forties into my frigid fifties, I do appreciate the involuntary frottage at popular tasting islands - heck, it's likely the only kind of public frottage available between now and the opening of GauTrain.

But the deepseated root of my phobia is the niggling worry that I may have missed something, exacerbated by overheard whispers like, "Have you tasted the Bokmeteenkoelgeskietfontein Roussanne yet? Pure magic!" Here is a painless antidote to festivalphobia: a crib sheet of gems you might otherwise overlook, compiled on a recent road trip through the winelands.

"A" is for Alexanderfontein: the Ondine 2008 Chenin Blanc is leesy and Loire-ish while the Ondine 2009 Semillon is giant haystacks in a bottle. Both are bargains.

Down the drag at Darling Cellars, the 2009 Onyx Sauvignon Blanc is my pick of the ultra-grassy school of SA's favourite white. A suitable accompaniment to Tom Waits singing All the World is Green, it's so intense you can even add a few cubes of ice like Erica Platter.

Back to "A" and the Allée Bleue Chenin 2008 is honeyed and rich while the Avondale Chenin 2008 is the opposite: oxidative in style with a herbal, heather character. GlenWood is a Franschhoek winery easy to miss as you whizz past the Robertsvlei turnoff on your way for lunch at Reuben's. The 2007 Merlot is an elegant symphony of strawberries.

For a surprise, try the Bilton Viognier 2008. Fermented on the skins, this is cult Italian winemaker Josko Gravner practicing his art on the Helderberg.

At Springfield, Abrie Bruwer's Whole Berry 2007 Cabernet is his best yet while at Villiera the Brut Natural 2007 MCC is all chalk and rock chips and as dry as a dinosaur's jaw bone.

Franz Kafka look-alike Rudi de Wet used to make Rubicon at Meerlust and, asked to describe the 2004 Webersburg Cabernet for Platter's, he noted: "This is almost the best SA wine I've ever tasted." Let's hope he got paid the customary R55. But do you agree?