GT and Anne-Marie Ferreira, with the five Tokara Top 10 wines.
Tokara, the prestigious family-owned Stellenbosch wine estate, has been crowned Winery of the Year securing Best Red Wine overall, three category winners and five Top 10 wines in the Prescient Top 20 Wines of South Africa 2020.
The acclaimed Tokara Reserve Collection Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2017 vintage, was declared South Africa’s Best Red.
The Director’s Reserve White 2017 took top honours in the Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon category, and the Reserve Collection Chardonnay 2019 is also a category winner.
All three of these wines scored 95/100, the highest points awarded for any category in this year’s Wine Reports convened by winemag.co.za
Showing consistency across their entire wine offering, the Director’s Reserve Red and the Reserve Collection Syrah, also from the standout 2017 vintage, completed the estate’s Top 10 full house in their respective categories.
“Tokara has truly come of age after 21 vintages steered by our compass, the remarkable Ferreira family. I could not have scripted a better end to the year 2020,” said general manager Karl Lambour.
“We are so proud of our hugely talented team from the vineyards and winery, to the people behind the scenes in the tasting room and administration.”
Judged by the Prescient panel as “a very stylish offering”, the Tokara Reserve Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is a proud Stellenbosch flag bearer for the variety.
Other accolades garnered earlier this year include Platter’s 5-stars, and Double Gold medals from Veritas and Michelangelo International Wine Awards.
This year it is notable that eight of the Prescient Top 10 Cabernet Sauvignons hailed from Stellenbosch. “Cabernet sauvignon is king when it comes to red grapes in Stellenbosch. The marriage between the variety and the Tokara site is where the magic really begins,” says winemaker Stuart Botha An elegant expression of the estate’s prized vineyard blocks on the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain, this full-bodied cabernet sauvignon is richly textured and vibrant.
It shows classic graphite notes, dark cherry, briary fruits and pleasant hints of fresh herbs with redcurrant – all interwoven with five spice and cedar wood.
A total of 927 wines in 20 different categories were evaluated for Prescient Top 20 Wines of South Africa 2020.