The magnitude and 180-year-old history
of the SA Young Wine Show – the only competition for wines from the current
vintage – heightens the value of winning one of the two main awards. This year
Diemersdal was awarded the General Smuts Trophy for the best wine of the show
and Bon Courage the Pietman Hugo trophy for the highest marks secured for the
five best wines entered.
A barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc from
a 30-year-old block on the Louw family’s farm in the Durbanville Valley won the
honours from amongst 2,060 other hopefuls, and more specifically 110 Sauvignon
Blanc entries. “Winning this trophy is probably the most difficult achievement
in the industry and it is especially superb to win this trophy for a Sauvignon
Blanc, which is our flagship variety,” says Thys Louw, 6th generation wine maker at Diemersdal.
“I feel that the secret for the success of this wine is that we don’t irrigate
this specific vineyard at all – which leads to strong-flavoured grapes.” The
wine also received the SA Champion trophy for the best Sauvignon Blanc of the
show.
According to Louw the wine was made in
the new, ultra-modern cellar where an approach of minimum interference
especially conserves the character of the variety. “Wine lovers can expect good
minerality and tropical fruit on the nose, with some integrated oak on the
palate.”
Bon Courage shone on the prize giving stage of the Young Wine Show
when father and son team, André and Jacques Bruwer, were the recipients of no
less than three SA Champion trophies and therefore also the Pietman Hugo
trophy. “I’ve been
participating in this competition from the very start of my wine making career
– way back when this was still the only competition for wines in South
Africa,” says André. “Winning
the Pietman Hugo is the ultimate reward for us!”
The three Championship trophies went to
their Red Jerepigo, the Noble Late Harvest and the Natural Sweet White Wine. “The 2013 harvest was a good one
with healthy grapes (and consequently no unnecessary chemicals) and a 5 - 10%
lighter harvest, which gave us a higher quality grape.” According to Jacques
their absolute passion for wine making and a hands-on approach in the vineyard
definitely contributed to this achievement.
For more information and the full
results visit www.youngwineshow.co.za or contact
Elsabe Ferreira at tel 021 863 1599 or via email to admin@veritas.co.za. Get the latest news on Facebook at South African
Young Wine Show or Twitter #sayoungwine.
