Wine Spectator applauds auction lineup

Marc Kent

Wine Spectator, a definitive wine guide in the USA, pronounced the overall quality of the auction wines as 'excellent' after putting 36 contenders from this year's lineup of 39 through its blind tasting regimen. In his article on the CWG Auction entitled “A South African Secret”, published in the latest edition, James Molesworth, says the results are far higher than what his tastings of South Africa's commercial releases typically produce.

“I was particularly impressed with the density and concentration of the wines – not just of fruit, but also of soul. As a group, they seemed to be a very honest expression of both their winemakers and place of origin, and they really stood apart from the several previously rated commercial releases which were placed in the tasting as ringers (a typical practice in our blind tastings),” said Molesworth.

The CWG Auction wines that attained the highest Wine Spectator score of 93 were Marc Kent's Boekenhoutskloof Noble Late Harvest Semillon Auction Reserve 2006, David Nieuwoudt's Cederberg Teen Die Hoog Shiraz 2005, and Carl Schulz' Hartenberg Gravel Hill Shiraz 2004. Of the eight wines scoring 92 points, Molesworth singled out David Trafford's De Trafford Chenin Blanc 2003 and Kevin Grant's Ataraxia Chardonnay 2006 as examples of what was on offer at the auction.

The 2007 Auction lineup also stood up to international scrutiny at tastings in the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Holland and Hong Kong this month. In Hamburg, where around 100 importers, wine writers and sommeliers tasted the wines, one of Germany's respected sommeliers, Hendrik Thoma, had nothing but praise for the Cape lineup.

“Absolute high quality, amazing skill, and stunning quality,” was how he described the wines. What stood out at the tasting in Hamburg was the balanced tannins and drinkability of the younger red wines without any trace of lack of ripeness or green notes.

Since its inception in 1985, the Nedbank CWG Auction has become a quality benchmark and the CWG label is an authentic assurance of quality recognised by leading wine buyers both locally and from abroad. Last year, the CWG Auction attained a record turnover of R3,62 million with foreign buyers making 24% of the total wine purchases.

For further details or to attend the auction, visit www.capewinemakersguild.com


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