Decanter, International Wine Challenge reward South African winemaking

20 May 2011

At the International Wine Fair, held in London recently, South African wines excelled at both the 2011 International Wine Challenge with 13 golds and the 2011 Decanter World Wine Awards with 26 golds.

The International Wine Challenge had more than 10 000 entries and is regarded as possibly the best and most influential blind tasting in the world. A gold medal at this competition is equivalent to 95-100 on the 100-point scale and only wines scoring above 85 points receive medals in this competition. This year more than 370 winemakers, merchants and wine writers from around the world participated in the tasting panels. The Decanter awards had a 211 strong tasting panel comprised Masters of Wine, top sommeliers, wine critics and wine writers from across the globe.

Fleur du Cap

Both the 2010 vintages of Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Semillon and Viognier won gold medals at the International Wine Challenge, while the 2009 Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon clinched gold from Decanter. The judges were complimentary of the two wines, describing the Unfiltered Viognier as "very appealing and elegant" and the Unfiltered Semillon as a "beautiful medley of lemons, apples and pears" and a "good example of South Africa".

Waterkloof

Waterkloof Estate received a Gold medal and the Regional Trophy for Best South African White Single Varietal over £10 with two wines in the estate's Circumstance range at the 2011 Decanter World Wine Awards. The trophy was awarded to the Circumstance Chenin Blanc 2009, with the Circumstance Syrah 2008 bringing home the gold medal. The estate won six medals and two commended awards, setting a personal best performance in this annual international wine competition.

The Chenin Blanc pairs well with smoked trout or pork loin with sage and mushrooms and retails from R90 per bottle.