Here’s the line-up:

Whites
The Berrio The Weathergirl 2008 (R75)
Whalehaven Chardonnay/Voignier 2008 (R65)
Douglas Green Chenin/Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (R30)

Reds
Bilton Sir Percy 2005 (R160)
Gabrielskloof The Blend ‘08 (R105)
Clos Malverne Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2007 (R75)

You can read the individual reviews below, but what was interesting was that whilst the team guessed the price-points correctly for the reds, the whites were a totally different story. The cheapest, Douglas Green at R30, was thought to be the mid-range wine, but most surprising of all was The Weathergirl failing to seduce a single member of the Team and being ranked last (cheapest). There were gasps of surprise at this when the wines identity was revealed at the end.

So how does it come to be that a world-class blend, made by celebrity wine-maker Bruce Jack and sporting a chest full of medals including a 5-star Platter rating came last? Several members of the Taste Team suspected bottle-taint or some other problem. Wine Extra spoke to Bruce Jack who, whilst surprised, mentioned that wines from Elim tend to show very marked stages of development and that this vintage could simply be in a “mood” at the moment. We also spoke to Frances Pratt, owner of The Berrio who immediately grabbed a bottle from his fridge and agreed it was “very closed on the nose” and lacked up front fruit. Reading our tasters reviews with a glass of the wine in his hand he had to agree with Jack’s suggestion the wine could be simply in a phase. What should also be noted is that The Weathergirl is a very mineral/flinty style of wine and could have suffered next to the more vibrant styles of the other two… yet The Weathergirl was tasted first.