The report aims to
celebrate the top-end of what Eedes has described as ‘the wine with a universal
following – arguably the best dry white wine in the world’. “After four years, the
question has to be asked: ‘Are we any closer to mapping South Africa’s best
terroir for Chardonnay?’,” is a key point of debate in the report.
Traditionally, the Elgin district and the wards of Hemel-en-Aarde are
well-known for being Chardonnay country so Stellenbosch’s dominance this year
was an interesting development.
A total of 60 wines
were tasted and judged by a panel led by Christian Eedes and including renowned
tasters Roland Peens and James Pietersen from Wine Cellar.
The Chardonnay
Report also aims to establish a recognised benchmark for the fourth most
planted white variety in South Africa. Four of the producers with wines in this year’s top 10
have achieved success consistently – Uva Mira, Hartenberg, Haskell Anvil and
Paul Cluver – indicating that a benchmark is now being set by these leading
producers.
South Africa’s best Chardonnays
are world class, as international commentators – from eRobertParker.com’s Neal
Martin to Tim Atkin – are now recognising. For a long time, the varietal has
been sold at a discount and to some extent still is. However, this is now
likely to change.
Daniël Kriel, CEO
of Sanlam Private
Wealth, says he is delighted to have once again partnered with Christian Eedes
in the compiling of this year’s Chardonnay Report. He congratulated this year’s Top 10
Chardonnay winemakers. “The quality we are now witnessing is outstanding – the
top wines were truly a delight to taste.”
Kriel said from an
investment point of view, Sanlam Private Wealth was seeing a growing confidence in ‘passion’ investments such as fine wine. “With
traditional markets continuing to be volatile, passion investments yield great
long-term returns and allow investors the opportunity to invest in something
they care about. It’s an investment that can be enjoyed not only for its
returns, but also for its ability to allow the investor to become a part of
something that they have always wanted to do, but don’t necessarily have the
time for,” he said.
The Christian Eedes
Top Ten Chardonnay wines for 2014 are:
Five stars
1. Hartenberg The Eleanor 2012
2. Uva Mira 2013
Four and a half stars
3.
Chamonix Reserve 2013
4.
Eikendal 2013
5.
Grand Vin de Glenelly 2013
6. Haskell Anvil 2012
7. Longridge 2013
8. Newton Johnson Southend 2013
9. Paul Cluver 2013
10. Stellenrust Barrel Fermented 2013
For further information,
or to download the full report, visit http://sanlamprivatewealth.sanlam.com
or www.winemag.co.za.