Medal go-round
It snowed. It was late April, in London’s East End – Tobacco Dock specifically – and it was supposed to be spring, with swathes of bluebells and daffodils showing their bright, cheery blue and yellow colours off in weak sunshine. But it was snowing… in the middle of London!
Naturally the judges on the South African panel at the Decanter World Wine Awards (South African Sommelier Association’s Higgo Jacobs, Greg Sherwood MW of Handford Wines and myself) had to leave the judging bench mid-flight in order to experience a city snow flurry first hand. And a flurry was all it was – but it was pretty unique, even for hard-bitten Londoners!
That was easily the most unusual thing that happened at the 2016 chapter of the Decanter World Wine Awards. As in previous years, the standard of South African entries was high. Based purely on my notes of the 43 wines which were blind tasted on the final day of the competition South Africa will boast 34 gold medals – with a number of those having been put forward as best in class to compete against other nations’ wines in the international trophy round. These wines, which would have been awarded Regional Trophies in previous years, will be designated Platinum award winners.
Perhaps the biggest observation I can make is that, certainly at this competition, South Africa is not competing in the cheaper or “value” option arena; the bulk of the gold medal winners were in the over £15 bracket. For example, in the under £15 brackets there was one sparkling wine, three Sauvignons Blanc, one Chenin Blanc, two single varietal reds, two Rhône varietal reds and two sweet wines – 11 wines in all.
The two single largest flights we faced in the trophy round were nine Rhône reds which is fully understandable considering South Africa’s ongoing love affair with Shiraz, and 11 Bordeaux varietal reds – both in the over £15 category. Reds also held sway over whites in a 27 to 16 split in the final lineup.
Although trophies have not yet been revealed, entrants will have been able to access their results from 10 May. Full results will be available for public consumption on www.decanter.com from 6 June.
Two weeks prior to Decanter, the International Wine Challenge (IWC) held the second tranche of its assessment. No fewer than 54 countries submit entries which are judged by 23 different panels over the course of two weeks. The final day of IWC also consists of a Trophy round, with the competition’s most senior judges running the rule over all the gold medals awarded – in both Tranche one (held in November 2015) and Tranche two (April 2016).
SA winners of International Trophies at the 2016 International Wine Challenge:
Cederberg Sauvignon Blanc 2015
De Morgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2015
De Morgenzon Reserve Chardonnay 2015
De Morgenzon Maestro Red 2014
Franschhoek Vineyards Semillon 2014
Krisemma Elgin Chardonnay 2014
Nederburg Private Bin Eminence 2012
Paul Cluver Seven Flags Pinot Noir 2014
Saronsberg Viognier 2014
Saronsberg Full Circle 2014
Tokara Director's Reserve White 2013
Tranche one gold medal winners were: Franschhoek Vineyards Semillon 2014, Krisemma Elgin Chardonnay 2014, Marks & Spencer Graham Beck The Rhona Blanc de Blanc 2010, Saronsberg Shiraz 2013 and Viognier 2014 as well as Tokara's Director's Reserve White 2013.
The freshly minted gold winners from 2016 are L'Avenir Single Block Pinotage 2014, Edgebaston Syrah 2014, Cederberg Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Kaapzicht Steytler Pentagon 2012, Jean Daneel Directors Signature Chenin Blanc 2014, De Morgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2015, Reserve Chardonnay 2015 and Maestro Red 2014, Thelema Chardonnay 2014, Paul Cluver 7 Flags Chardonnay 2015 and Pinot Noir 2014, Marks & Spencer Stonedance Roussanne 2015 (from Charles Back), Nederburg Private Bin Eminence 2012, Saronsburg Full Circle 2014 and Stellenrust barrel fermented Chenin Blanc 2014.
Once again it is plain to see that whites are favoured over reds with Chardonnay the single biggest “winner” and among the reds, it is the country’s blends which perform best.
This was echoed by one of France’s most prominent wine writers and critics, Michel Bettane, who was one of the three international judges at the 15th staging of the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show (OMTWS) during the first week in May.
Bettane said red blends were the way to go, expressing his opinion that blending was “civilized” and that he did not believe in single variety wines.
On the issue of South African wine pricing, Hong Kong-based head of wine for Christie’s in China Simon Tam said producers needed to be more confident about their wines’ quality and ratchet up the prices. Wine is not a status object but a luxury product and SA wines need to adjust their prices accordingly. Tam agreed with the sentiment which is being expressed more and more frequently: that South Africa is the most exciting wine producing country in the world.
Decanter’s results will be announced online at www.decanter.com on 6 June while the International Wine Challenge will announce international trophy winners at a gala dinner in London on 7 July. The OMTWS awards ceremony takes place on 31 May.
- Fiona McDonald