Wine Diva

South Africa’s 2010 Tri-Nations Challenge Achievement

Evidence of the dramatic upsurge in the quality of South African wine emerged with the release of the full results of the 2010 Tri-Nations Challenge, judged in Sydney Australia in early August. At the awards function held on Friday night at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney, South Africa’s successes were celebrated with those of New Zealand (this year’s Tri-Nations Winner) and Australia.

South Africa won two class trophies – where the Kaapzicht Steytler Vision (a Cape blend) pipped all the Rhone-style and Cabernet Shiraz blends to finish top of class. In the dessert wine section Nederburg repeated its performance of a few years back taking the Trophy (for the Edelkeur 2005) and the runner-up slot with the 2008 Eminence.

As important as the top-of-class trophies was the wealth of medals garnered by the Cape’s producers. The Desiderius Pongracz and the J. C. Le Roux Pinot Noir Rose both won gold medals for South Africa in the sparkling wine class, while in the Chardonnay category Paul Cluver’s 2009 finished as runner-up with a double gold, and the Hamilton Russell 2009, the Tokara 2008 Reserve and the Jordan Nine Yards 2006 each took gold, beating such legendary Australian wines as Penfold’s Yattarna. Paul Cluver’s Weisser Riesling 2009 also picked up a gold in the aromatic class, while the De Grendel Koetshuis 2010, the Reyneke Reserve 2009 and the Quoin Rock Nicobar 2009 achieved gold in the Sauvignon category.

South Africa also pretty much dominated the other white wine class, with Beaumont’s Hope Marguerite 2009 Chenin Blanc, the Vergelegen Estate white 2008, the Tokara Director’s Reserve 2008, and the Strandveld Adamastor 2008 all getting golds. In the closely contested Shiraz class the 2008 Raka Biography and the 2007 Waterford Kevin Arnold were both gold medal winners, with Raka repeating its success in the Cabernet class with its 2008 joining the Glenelly The Glass Collection 2008, the Fleur du Cap 2007 and the Neil Ellis 2007 among the gold medallists.

In the Bordeaux blend class the 2006 Tokara Director’s Reserve was a double gold winner – and runner-up for the class trophy – while the KWV The Mentor’s Orchestra 2008 and the Vilafonte Series M 2007 also took gold. In the other red blend class, Waterford’s The Jem 2006 was runner-up to the Kaapzicht trophy winner, earning a double gold on the way, while Glenelly’s 2007 and Fleur du Cap’s Laszlo 2006 both took gold. The Anthonij Rupert Cabernet Franc 2006 was the only South African gold medal winner in the other red varieties class – and in fact the only Cabernet franc to win a gold medal. In the dessert wine class, Chris Mullineux’s 2009 Chenin Blanc Straw Wine won a gold medal, to share with Nederburg in South Africa’s domination of that category.

A more even spread of class winners and more double gold and gold medal winners than in any Tri-Nations competition in the past provides compelling evidence of South Africa’s 2010 Tri-Nations achievement.

The top wines from each of the three participating countries will be showcased in a series of road-shows in Australia, Hong Kong and China over the next few weeks, giving consumers in those markets an opportunity to compare the leading points scorers from each country in each class of the Challenge.

ISSUED BY:
Michael Fridjhon