The Chenin Blanc was also announced as the national class winner in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2009 logging the most wins for a single cellar.
This is the first time since the inauguration of the General Smuts Trophy in 1952 that a Chenin Blanc has been capped SA’s top wine, and it is the second time Boland Cellar won this prestigious award.
The SA Young Wine Show is by far South Africa’s largest and oldest competition for young wines with a total of 1972 wines from the eight wine regions entered by 129 producers this year. Shiraz once again led the number of entries with 154, followed closely by Chenin Blanc (147) and Sauvignon Blanc (135).
Chenin Blanc is the flagship white cultivar in the extensive Boland wine portfolio and the winemaking team is delighted with the accolades bestowed on this wine.
“Paarl is undoubtedly the top Chenin Blanc producing region in SA and Boland Cellar one of the leading Chenin Blanc producers. This combined with a Loire style of winemaking, extended fermentation and longer lees contact, results in an elegant and award-winning Chenin Blanc,” says Bernard Smuts, Winemaker at Boland Cellar.
Viticulturist, Jaco Engelbrecht ascribes the success of the cultivar to the diverse micro-climate of the Paarl region, which combined with the cool Atlantic breeze, granite outcroppings and shale soils all contribute to intense and beautifully balanced Chenin Blanc characteristics.
“The particular block was planted in 2002 on the farm of the Geldenhuys brothers and selected due to its unique micro-climate and location. Cool sea breezes funnel through the natural trough formed by the slopes of the Paarl and Paardeberg mountains in the late afternoon, ensuring moderate night temperatures. Night harvesting results in cooler grapes that also contribute to fresh fruit flavours,” says Engelbrecht.
The 2014 season has been one of the most challenging in years with sporadic rainfall in October and November 2013 and again in January this year that lead to unexpected growth spurts. Exceptional vineyard management long before harvesting resulted in top quality grapes being produced. Boland believes it is their ethos of working hand in hand with their dedicated producers and applying stringent scientific principles throughout the grape growing and wine making process, that is the major contributor to their success.
According to Boland CEO Paul Malan, the SA Young Wine trophies’ main aim is to give recognition to remarkable wines in its first year of production. By doing this, acknowledgement is given to the skills of the viticulturist, the winemaker, the producer as well as the proficiency of the cellar. The SA Young Wine Show also offers winemakers the opportunity to compare their know-how and skills to their peers in the industry and to assess wine quality at an early stage.
“Both the Paarl and SA Young Wine shows provide the ideal platform for tasting new cultivars, test wine growing techniques and experiment with winemaking styles to produce award-winning wines. It is rewarding to see that decades of sourcing ideal micro-climate regions for the production of quality vineyards with unique character, is paying off,” says Malan.
“Chenin Blanc is one of the oldest white grape varietals in South Africa and has certainly become one of the most popular white wine choices amongst consumers. Winning the General Smuts Trophy further cements Boland Cellar as one of the top Chenin Blanc specialists with the ability to create many different styles of Chenin Blanc,” concludes Malan.
Boland Cellar also received the CJP Chemicals Trophy for the Champion Chenin Blanc as well as the Vintec Trophy for Natural Sweet White, the Enartis SA Champion Wine Paarl and the ABSA Trophy for Champion Wine for the Paarl Region at the recent Paarl Young Wine Show.
For more information on Boland Cellar, visit www.bolandcellar.co.za.
CAPTION: The proud Boland Cellar production team sporting their accolades. Back from left to right: Paul Malan, JD Rossouw, Bernard Smuts, Johan Joubert and front left to right Carli Oosthuizen, Heidi Dietstein, Jaco Engelbrecht and Handrè Barkhuysen.