According to panel Chairman Christian Eedes’ report “South Africa’s top producers in this category now have a handle on generating wines showing fruit purity like never before. There are plenty of wines which are indeed very sexy on account of their luscious fruit, the fact that they involve blending arguably contributing to a more complete and less severe drinking experience than is the case with single-variety Cabernet Sauvignon.”
The trusted panel has notoriously high standards and awarded only 13 wines 90 points or higher and of these, nine were from Stellenbosch once again affirming the regions claim to being the epicenter of quality in South Africa for Bordeaux cultivars and blends.
The Ernie Els Signature continued its run of exceptional ratings with the 2013 vintage being rated in the top 3 of all the entries with a score of 93 points, only one wine scored higher. The panel had this to say:
“Red and black fruit, floral perfume, vanilla and spice. A powerful, luxuriously-styled wine with luscious fruit, bright acidity and smooth tannins. Extraordinarily rich and dense but still balanced and savoury”
The RisCura Award is a further feather in winemaker Louis Strydom’s cap, who has been making the wines at Ernie Els since inception, and follows an exceptional 93 Points from Wine Spectator for the 2012 vintage and no less than four Platter 5 star ratings over the years for the same wine.
Strydom says “We have always believed that our terroir is ideally suited to Cabernet and the other Bordeaux cultivars and have been working hard over the years to fine tune the intricacies of growing and blending these cultivars. As an example we currently have 7 different clones of Cabernet Sauvignon in production on the estate and by the 2017 harvest we will have 11, each bringing a unique component and character to our blends which adds wonderful complexity. The finer details are very important to us and we have always had a no-compromise attitude when it comes to quality so this award really means a lot to us.”
Tickets are available for an informative seated tasting of all of the wines rated above 90 points on the 29th June 2016 at the Pear Tree Restaurant at The Cullinan Hotel in cape Town. You’ll need to hurry as there are only 60 seats available.