The Maria 2014 won the
Bloggers’ Choice Award in the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative (BWI) category
and was awarded 4 stars, indicating an “excellent wine of distinction”.
This coveted accolade acknowledges Neethlingshof’s commitment to making
world-class wines through sustainable farming and wine making practices.
According to winemaker De Wet
Viljoen, the creation of an environmentally friendly wine does not excuse one
from the obligation of presenting the wine lover with a high quality wine. “The
Maria has been classified as being sustainably produced, but the consumer does
not have to buy this wine based purely on this noble conviction,” he says.
Grapes for The Maria 2014 wine were
handpicked from Neethlingshof’s south-facing Weisser on the Hill and Sauvignon
Blanc dry land vineyards, which are exposed to the cooling mists of False Bay.
This terroir creates the ideal environment for botrytis cinerea (noble
rot) to flourish – a condition producing grapes of concentrated intensity. The
juice was fermented for 18 days with 24 hours’ skin contact.
The blend comprises 76% Weisser
Riesling and 24% Sauvignon Blanc. It is golden yellow in colour, with
concentrated flavours of fruit cake, honey and marmalade. It has an impeccable
sugar acid balance.
The Maria is named after the
resourceful and gutsy young widow Maria Magdalena Marais, who took over the
building of the estate’s manor house – now a national monument – after the
death of her husband, Charles, in 1813. Maria continued to develop a vibrant
and viable farming operation that included 80 000 vines. The farm, once called
Wolwedans, was renamed to Neethlingshof after a subsequent 19th century owner,
Marthinus Laurentius Neethling, who served as mayor of Stellenbosch and was
also a member of the old Cape Parliament.
Wines entered into the Nedbank Green
Wine Awards are tasted blind and scored according to an internationally
accepted 20-point/five-star system by esteemed wine experts including Christian
Eedes, Fiona McDonald, Nomonde Kubheka, Francois Rautenbach and Winnie Bowman.
Once the initial results are calculated by an auditor, the judges taste the
five top-rated wines (red and white) again and rank them to determine a winner
in the various categories.
The competition is organised on the
back of statistics indicating wine consumers increasingly prefer more natural,
eco-friendly and hand-made products.
The Maria 2014 will be available at
public tastings planned for Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban in November.
For
more information about Neethlingshof and its wines, visit www.neethlingshof.co.za,
call 021 883 8988 or make contact on its Facebook page.