Perdeberg and Windmeul Triumph at Paarl Wine Challenge

Tuesday, 16 August, 2016
Paarl Online
Perdeberg and Windmeul Cellars came out tops at the Paarl Wine Challenge during the awards ceremony hosted on Thursday, 11 August. Windmeul took the class victory and only gold medal in the Chenin Blanc category, while Perdeberg was awarded the gold medal in the Pinotage category.

The Perdeberg The Dry Land Collection Pinotage 2014 was also chosen as best wine at the show by the panel of judges, which was chaired by Dave Hughes.  It is the second year in a row that Perdeberg has come up trumps in the red wine category, with their Cabernet Sauvignon taking the honours in 2015.  In addition, Perdeberg scored another four silver medals and a bronze in the Chenin class as well as third place in the Pinotage category.

According to winemaker Riaan Moller of Perdeberg, their secret weapon lies with their viticulturist Heinie Nel. “He makes sure that we get the right grapes from the dry land vineyards.  This Pinotage came from three different blocks, which were hand-picked.  The 18 months in oak resulted in a full-bodied wine that is well-balanced with sublime structure – and I think that was the winning recipe.”

Windmeul took the Chenin class victory with their Windmeul Reserve Chenin Blanc 2015 and was runner-up in the red category with their Windmeul Pinotage Reserve 2015 – a wine of which the predecessors have traditionally scored exceptionally well in the ABSA Top 10 Pinotage competition.

According to Windmeul’s senior winemaker Abraham van Heerden, they place a lot trust in their members, who provided them with old bush Chenin grapes of the highest quality.  “We have the highest regard for these grapes from vines that are over 40 years old and tried to keep the wine as fresh as possible, which resulted in a really elegant, crispy Chenin.  It was definitely a team effort from the vineyard to the cellar.”

There was once again fierce competition in the Cellar Assistants’ tasting competition, which forms part of the social development programme of the Paarl Wine Route.  With a mere two points difference between the top three, Perdeberg’s Ben Samuels took top spot with the Nederburg pair of Ayanda Dyasoni and Thando Ngqolowa finishing second and third respectively.

The Paarl Wine Challenge is sponsored by MCC Label and for the second year in a row, entries were restricted to Wines of Origin Paarl and its wards.  According to Paarl Wine Route Chairman Stephen Richardson, Pinotage really stole the show and indicated that Paarl is not only about Chenin. 

“Not only is Pinotage established as a uniquely South African grape, but it is also receiving international acclaim.  We are all eagerly anticipating this year’s ABSA Top 10 competition to see how the Pinotage from Paarl will perform,” said Richardson.

For more information, visit www.paarlonline.com.

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PWC 2016 class winners
PWC 2016 class winners

Cellar assistants top 3
Cellar assistants top 3

PWC 2016 winners
PWC 2016 winners

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