This year Boland Cellar impressed with a Chenin
Blanc by walking off with the coveted General Smuts trophy for SA Champion
Young Wine and the prestigious Les Tastevins Du Cap Trophy for the Champion
Chenin Blanc for the sixth time. Chenin Blanc was crowned the national champion
for this cellar in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009 – logging the most wins for
a single cellar.
“Paarl is
undoubtedly the top Chenin Blanc producing region in South Africa and Boland Cellar one
of the leading producers of this variety,” commented a proud wine maker,
Bernard Smuts. “This, combined with a Loire
style of winemaking, extended fermentation and longer lees contact, resulted in
an elegant and award-winning wine.”
Looking more
closely, Smuts believes the success ascribed to this Chenin is because of 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. “That and our ethos of
working hand in hand with our dedicated producers and applying stringent
scientific principles throughout the grape growing and winemaking process has
lead to this successful wine.
“This particular
block was planted in 2002 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.
Exceptional vineyard management long before harvesting resulted in top quality
grapes being produced and night harvesting contributed to fresh fruit flavours.”
“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 among 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. 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,” concluded Boland CEO Paul
Malan.
For Badsberg, the only cellar in the
history of the SA Young Wine Show to wine both the Pietman Hugo Trophy and the
General Smuts trophy in one year (2009), selection of specific blocks over
years proved to be a true success recipe.
Cellar master
Willie Burger and his formidable team won the Pietman Hugo trophy for the
highest score for the five best entries for the fourth time. Badsberg also
claimed the trophies for SA Champion White Blend and SA Champion Dessert Wine.
“The diversity of
our soil, the climate and the huge amount of different blocks of vineyards to
choose from is part of the reason we make quality wines across a broad spectrum
of wines,” Burger explained.
Two other cellars, Bon Courage and Spier, raked in two SA Champion trophies each. For father and son
team, André and Jacques Bruwer, the terroir on the farm contributes to their
sweet success with a natural sweet wine, as well as a noble late harvest.
“With three rivers
flowing through the farm three types of soil were created – rocky Karoo with a high lime contents, an alluvial soil and a
sandy loam soil. This fusing of the Breede
River’s sandy soils and
the mountain soil created something completely unique. Combine that with our
climate, as well as a hands-on approach and the careful management of cropping
and irrigation and you’re off to a great start.” says André.
Spier cellar master
Frans Smit and his winemaking team showed off their talent with a Sémillon and
Chardonnay. “For us,” Frans explained, “the best possible wine is made from
carefully selected blocks out of specific terroirs with the least amount of
handling during the winemaking process.”Find the latest SA Young Wine news on Facebook, Twitter and Google+
Captions
Boland
front l to r Johan Joubert, Bernard Smuts, Jaco Engelbrecht, JD Rossouw
back l to r Handré Barkhuysen, Heidi Dietstein, Paul Malan
Badsberg
front Willie Burger, Henri Swiegers
back Jaco Booysen, Nicholas Husselman
2014 SA Young Wine Champions (group)
front l to r
Pieter Bruwer (Bon Courage), André Bruwer (Bon Courage),
Bernard Smuts (Boland), Isabel Teubes (Bellingham), Willie Burger (Badsberg),
Izelle van Blerk (KWV), Jacques Erasmus (Spier), Stephan Basson (Babylon’s
Peak)
back l to r
JM Crafford (Stettyn), Jaco Booysen (Badsberg), Nicholas Husselman (Badsberg),
Jaco Engelbrecht (Boland), Louis van der Riet (De Krans), Johann Smit (Spier),
Henri Swiegers (Badsberg), Michael van
Niekerk (Audacia), Albertus Louw (Perdeberg), Reinier van Greunen (Namaqua),
Hermias Vollgraaff (Montagu), Jaco van Niekerk (Lutzville).
Photographer
Lionel Besterfiel