Friday, October 05, 2012

South Africa’s leading Chardonnays for 2012 revealed


Cape Town, 03 October 2012: The results of the 2012 Christian Eedes Chardonnay Report were revealed today at an intimate gathering in Cape Town. The report, produced by emerging wine commentator Christian Eedes in partnership with Sanlam Private Investments (SPI),  aims to celebrate South African wines from this much loved varietal which Eedes describes as ‘the grape responsible for the greatest dry white wine in the world, despite what Riesling lovers might like to think!’.
A panel of judges, led by Eedes, scrutinised 60 carefully chosen Chardonnays in order to identify their top ten and compile the in-depth report which is available online as a reference for all wine lovers.
Eedes says the top ten Chardonnays for 2012 were nothing short of world-class, and he is delighted with the broad range of styles coming through in this year’s selection. "There were two 5-Star wines in this year's report, each in a very distinct style. The Jordan Barrel Fermented 2011 is for me archetypical Chardonnay - intense citrus, creamy texture, bright acidity. Technically correct but not at all boring. The Uva Mira Single Vineyard on the other hand is a bit more quirky with some more hard-to-describe savoury flavours."  
Alwyn van der Merwe, director of investments at SPI, said that SPI’s involvement in the report has been a happy and fruitful journey so far. “It is wonderful to see Christian’s Chardonnay report gathering momentum year-on-year and we believe it is carving a strong and important niche for itself on the annual wine calendar.”
He said that as an investment house SPI always keeps a close eye on ‘passion investments’ - of which wine is an important example – as an alternative investment option for high net worth clients. “From an investors’ perspective, wine has a long legacy of value and continues to be a passion investment option with strong appeal globally. Although this upward trend is set to continue, I do offer a word of caution. The wine market is still mostly unregulated and fraudsters have preyed on eager wine investors in the past. I strongly advise potential investors to speak to the experts, and consult references like the Christian Eedes Chardonnay Report to help identify top quality South African wines.”
The Christian Eedes Top Ten Chardonnay wines for 2012 are:
Five stars
1.    Jordan Barrel Fermented 2011
2.    Uva Mira Single Vineyard 2011
Four and a half stars
3.    Almenkerk 2011
4.    Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2011
5.    Hartenberg 2010
6.    KWV The Mentors 2011
7.    Radford Dale 2011
8.    Sterhuis Barrel Selection 2010
9.    Sumaridge 2010
10. Tokara Reserve Collection Walker Bay 2011

For further information, or to download the full report visit
www.sanlamprivateinvestments.co.za or www.whatidranklastnight.co.za.

Ends


For further information contact Elysa Miller on 021 469 1572/ 072 142 5159 or Elysa@atmosphere.co.za

About Christian Eedes
Long-serving team member and previous editor of Wine magazine, Christian Eedes is an acknowledged wine expert and has extensive experience judging a number of high-profile wine competitions - including the Veritas Awards, Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, Platter’s Wine Guide, and was chairman of the panel for the 2011 FNB Sauvignon Blanc Top 10. 
For more information visit http://www.whatidranklastnight.co.za/about/ or @ChristianEedes.
About Sanlam Private Investments
Part of the Sanlam Group, Sanlam Private Investments (SPI) is an international, holistic, integrated wealth management business that provides advice and manages assets for high net worth private individuals and their families in South Africa, the UK, Western Europe and Australia. 400 people across 23 international offices oversee and administrate R120bn in assets under management for 30,000 clients. SPI has offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Claremont, Tygervalley, Stellenbosch, George, Knysna and the UK.

For more information visit www.sanlamprivateinvestments.co.za or @SPIMasterMind

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