Platter’s by Diners Club South African Wine Guide 2020 was launched at Cape Town’s Table Bay Hotel on 8 November 2019 with over 230 guests in attendance, the VIPs including the wine producers who achieved the maximum five-star rating in the new edition, including Rickety Bridge cellar master Donovan Ackerman.
Platter’s five-star accolade is reserved for wines that are “South African classics” and score 95 points or more on the internationally recognised 100-point scale. The Pilgrimage 2017 has also received ratings of excellence from Tim Atkin, international wine critic and British Master of Wine (MW), in his 2019 South Africa Special Report (94 points), as well as Christian Eedes, wine writer, judge and editor of Winemag.co.za (95 points).
The vineyard: The Pilgrimage is crafted from a 4,2ha block planted in 1905 on granite soils in the Franschhoek valley. Ancient gnarled and twisted dryland bush vines struggle to produce tiny yields of grapes, averaging 2,4 tonnes/ha. The Pilgrimage pays homage to the long and arduous journey these ancient heritage vines have travelled since 1905.
In the cellar: Whole-bunch pressed and naturally fermented, the wine matured for 11 months in a combination of foudre and older 500-litre barrels.
