A wine competition that actually matters.
Earlier this year, Tamlyn Currin of Jancisrobinson.com travelled to Paarl, South Africa as one of three international judges at the Investec Trophy Wine Show 2025. She has since written about the experience for the magazine, calling it “profoundly different from most wine competitions”, a showcase not only of South Africa’s best wines, but of mentorship, respect and collaboration across generations.
In her follow-up piece, Currin profiled a selection of bottles sent to her on her return from SA, benchmark examples that illustrate why categories like Cap Classique and Sauvignon Blanc are shining brighter than ever.
On Cap Classique: “This is what we do better than anywhere else – fruit-driven traditional-method sparklings.”
On Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon–Sémillon blends: “Sauvignon thrives here with luscious (but not brash) fruit interleaved by gorgeous striations of green and gold herbs and minerality.”
At Museum Wines, we’re delighted to have secured six of the wines featured in her report, available now.
They may not carry Trophy Wine Show medals, but they represent the same calibre, character and momentum that define South Africa’s most exciting wines today.
#BenchmarkSAWines
More Museum Top Ratings
Tamlyn Currin on SA Wine
Stony Brook Vineyards
Lyle Cap Classique NV
100% Chardonnay, Franschhoek
£24.98
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17.5 Points – Jancis Robinson MW
“Full bottle 1,662 g. 100% Chardonnay. 42 months sur lattes.
There is something almost Riesling-like in the purity of yellow-white-light focus of this wine. It falls like a shaft of light, moving like light and as still as light. The acidity is top soprano, pitch perfect. It’s citrus crystal and apple orb, kumquat bitter-sweet and only the faintest scrape of walnut peel tells me that this was aged for 42 months on the lees. It is so linear, and fresh, and bright. You could drink it now, you could drink in 10 years’ time, maybe more. Now where are those fried clams …?” – Tamlyn Currin.
Jasper Raats
Driefontein Blanc 2023
100% Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch
£26.99
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17 Points – Jancis Robinson MW
“Full bottle 1,385 g. From a single vineyard on decomposed granite south of Stellenbosch. Grown organically without any chemicals. Spontaneous fermentation, no winemaking additives, unfined and unfiltered. Simply gorgeous. Curdsy creamy curves of green and gold. Luscious slathers of lime marmalade and honey spliced by razor-sharp acidity and then bay-leaf sweet spiciness and candied-angelica sweet greenness. Sour cream, aloe, matcha and cinnamon. A carnival of flavours. Gloriously flamboyant and attention-seeking!” – Tamlyn Currin.
Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards
Sing-a-Wing Sauvignon Blanc 2022
100% Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch
£29.99
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16.5 Points – Jancis Robinson MW
“Full bottle 1,388 g. Screwcap. Whew! That’s a struck-match nose if ever there was one. Super struck-match stinky and the smell of crushed coriander/cilantro stalks. I was worried it was going to be aggressively herbal but it’s far more interesting and multidimensional on the palate than I was expecting. Chewy, even chunky, tangerine fruit. Hints of lime pickle and bitter marmalade. Dill and makrut lime leaf and sage flowers. Salt-and-lime finish.” – Tamlyn Currin.
Colmant
Blanc de Blancs NV
100% Chardonnay, Western Cape
£29.99
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16.5 Points – Jancis Robinson MW
“Full bottle 1,660 g. 100% Chardonnay. 45 months sur lattes. Disgorged 5 November 2024. Elegant and understated, loose but well tailored, like a white linen shirt, long, collared, untucked. Just enough flow, just enough drift, just enough seam, just enough structure. Lemon blossom on the finish. ” – Tamlyn Currin.
Overgaauw
Sauvignon Blanc 2023
100% Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch
£16.99
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16.5 Points – Jancis Robinson MW
“Full bottle 1,210 g. Screwcap. A cool drift of crushed blackcurrant leaves on the nose. And just lovely, lovely balance on the palate. Juiciness and ripeness without in-your-face brashness. Pink grapefruit, sweet blackcurrant, fresh basil leaf and fresh orange peel. A silky scoop of papaya in the middle. You can taste the sunshine but it gives the wine brightness rather than acoustic decibels. As refreshing as a glass of iced Moroccan mint tea!” – Tamlyn Currin.
Van Hunks
Brut Reserve NV
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Western Cape
£24.98
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16 Points – Jancis Robinson MW
“Full bottle 1,646 g. I thought that the name ‘Van Hunks’ was a tongue-in-cheek made-up name but according to the back label, it’s from a genuine legend. Ahem. The fizz is pretty nice. Creamy. Think fresh scone piled with whipped cream and lemon curd. It’s easy, all rounds and swirls and slow, easy circles rather than angles and lines. The bubbles hiss ever so softly, like ocean foam up a white-sand beach.” – Tamlyn Currin.
