Tasting with different tongues
Thursday, 8 December, 2005
Sara de Villiers
With so many competitions clamoring for attention on the local and international wine circuit, what makes the Santé Classic Wine Trophy 2005 awards stand out from the crowd? Sara de Villiers reports.
Well, for one thing the judging panel was entirely French. The awards ceremony held recently at the Santé Winelands Hotel and Wellness Centre near Paarl, proved our vines may be rooted in African soils, but our wines are winning over some rather refined French palates. Now in its eighth year, the competition attracted over 500 entries.
Standards are high and only ten gold medals are awarded for red wines, five for white, one for the best sparkling wine and one for the best sweet wine. The jury (made up of thirteen local and international sommeliers, restaurateurs, winemakers and wine buyers) is undeniably French in its background and outlook.
Just how much does this influence the panel’s assessment of the wines? 'What do you call a tourist who can only speak one language? French!' chuckles Jean-Vincent Ridon, convener of the Classic Wine Trophy Awards. Stubborn Gallic pride aside, Ridon believes the French are now far more open to experimenting with new wines than they were in the past. 'The French judges I invited to be on the panel work in the global market as restaurateurs, wine buyers or sommeliers, so they regularly taste wines from all over the world,' he explains. 'They arrive with no preconceived ideas of what a "typical" South African Pinotage, Cabernet or Shiraz should taste like.
The wine could come from Rustenberg or an undiscovered gem and they wouldn’t guess. They taste with the French consumer in the back of their minds. In a country such as South Africa with its tremendous diversity of styles and terroirs, the panel hopefully provides a fresh perspective from a distinctly French angle,' says Ridon. The need for such a competition arose in the mid-Nineties when Ridon arrived in South Africa from France.
'I was invited to taste on the Veritas panel and we were instructed to look for wines with no faults. But I believed we should be looking for wines that possess outstanding qualities and character, rather than merely being flawless,' he comments. At the time the industry was looking to the Australian wine industry as a model for success. Easy drinking, uncomplicated ‘quaffers’ were in vogue.
'But I believed that South Africa has more to offer. We should be looking at South Africa as a country of top terroirs, capable of producing wines with sufficient elegance to rival the French and the rest of the world,' says Ridon. The competition was introduced in an attempt to reward wines made in the classical way. 'There is still a market for collectors’ item wines which will improve with age,' says Ridon.
'In the old days guys like Rustenberg, Kanonkop and Thelema were the only contenders for this title, now there are plenty more potential icons. The Classic Wine Trophy Awards reward our winemakers for going that extra mile.' 'We want to move away from those terribly muscular, over extracted, over oaked styles because there is more to making wines with staying power. In general we are looking for stunners with length, balance and longevity,' explains Ridon.
This year the gold medals all went to Chardonnays, while most judges found the Sauvignon Blancs unpleasantly green, unripe, and vegetal. Hot vintage Syrahs and Rhône-based blends fared better than the Merlots. 'With global warming taking its toll, we have to focus on varieties which can cope with the changing climate,' suggests Ridon. The French market is evolving and consumers are more experimental. Many people new to drinking wine find the classical French styles too inaccessible, preferring the ‘unfussy’ nature of New World wines. This is good news for South African producers eager to infiltrate this notoriously difficult market.
'The French style epitomizes elegance, balance and beautiful integration, but that’s not to say there isn’t a lot of really awful cheap French plonk,' admits Ridon readily. Punting your wine as having won a gold medal at the Classic Wine Trophy may pique the interest of a foreign buyer, say the producers, but the organizers need to follow up with considerably more exposure to give this competition clout.
'It’s fantastic having an all French panel with some of the best palates in the world, but after the ceremony you need to take it further. The winners must be promoted to reap the benefits of such a competition. Even putting stickers on your bottles can attract consumers. We need to scream these results from the mountains,' suggests GlenWood winemaker DP Burger who received gold for his Shiraz 2004.
Judges
Claude Gillois – owner of the Vins du Monde (French importer of wines); Dominique Laporte – Best Sommelier of France 2004, Third Best Sommelier of Europe 2005, French wine writer; Khaled Roubah – wine merchant Belgium, winemaker in Burgundy (Domaine du Coeur) and Languedoc, Marie Louise Barnyols – journalist for the Revue des Vins de France and wine selector for the Lavinia Group; Miloud Azzaoui – Sommelier for the Murano Restaurant – Miloud received a letter from Nelson Mandela for his contribution to South African wines in the US market; Germain Lehodey – Finalist Best Sommelier of the World 1982. Former Sommelier La Tour D’Argent in Paris, Manager Lynton Hall KZN; Stephane de St Salvy – Cellar Master for Vrede en Lust; Marc Friederich – Best Sommelier of Switzerland, owner of Marc’s in Paarl; Phillippe Dietrich – Oenologue and winemaker, Manager for Paetzold South Africa; Jean Muller – Sommelier and owner of Caveau Wine Bar in Cape Town; Jean Paul Ridon – restaurateur and wine writer, Marcia Carcano – oenologist and Sommelier, wine buyer for La Pastina Group, Thibault Lelarge from Champagne Lallier.
Trophy Winners 2005
Red Wine Trophy: Spice Route Malabar 2002
White Wine Trophy: Amani Chardonnay 2003
Jury Trophy: Glen Carlou
Gold Medals Red Wine: Anatu Shiraz 2003 Fairview Solitude Shiraz 2003 Glen Carlou Pinot Noir 2004 Glenwood Shiraz 2004 Hamilton Russell Ashbourne Pinotage 2001 Hartenberg Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2003 La Motte Shiraz 2003 Lindhorst Statement (Shiraz/Merlot/Cab) 2003 Ridgeback Shiraz 2003 Spice Route Malabar 2002
Gold Medals White Wine: Amani Chardonnay 2003 Bouchard Finlayson Chardonnay 2004 Eikendal Chardonnay 2004 Groot Constantia Chardonnay 2004 L’Avenir Chardonnay 2004
Gold Medal Dessert Wine: De Krans Tawny Port
Gold Medal Sparkling Wine: Graham Beck Blanc de Blanc 2000