Ideal Micro-Climate Regions Garner Young Wine Success

Tuesday, 2 September, 2014
SA Young Wine Show
Decades of sourcing the ideal micro-climate regions for the production of quality vineyards with unique character is paying off and was evident at the annual SA Young Wine Show, the oldest wine competition in South Africa giving recognition to remarkable wines in its first year of production.

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

subscribe to news
Boland
Boland

Badsberg
Badsberg

2014 SA Young Wine Champions
2014 SA Young Wine Champions

more news