.: Winemag Signature Red Blend Report 2019 presentation at Guardian Peak, Stellenbosch

An invitation to cover the Winemag.co.za 4th Annual Signature Red Blends Awards at Guardian Peak this week had lots of winemakers present to see what their wines had scored. It's a reward for those who are prepared to try something different with their blends and anything goes, as long as its not the Bordeaux Blend covered in the Cape Bordeaux Blend awards held a few weeks ago. We tasted some phenomenal wines. It would seem that the recent plantings of these varietals have now come of age as they are patently producing superb wines

The welcome drink was a glass of Dainty Bess Rosé MCC,

made from Pinot Noir by Christian Eedes’ wife Jane and very delicious it is too

Jacqueline Lahoud, Business Director of WineMag.co.za, asked "Should SA be following the Bordeaux style with our red wines, given our climate and terroir? Rhône might be a better direction? After all, some of our most famous old classics like Rustenberg Red, Chateau Libertas and Oude Libertas were made with grapes like Cinsault and other varieties, not in the Bordeaux style, and have lasted very well. 58 entries were received from 42 producers and the average score was 89.8, compared to 68 entries from 54 producers and an average score of 89.25 in 2018. There were 32 wines which rated 90 or higher on the 100-point quality scale compared to 30 a year ago. so a very impressive result

The judges: Christian Eedes, James Pietersen and Roland Peens looked for complexity and balance

They were surprised at how many winemakers used their own instincts when making these blends

Listening to the awards presentation with anticipation

This year, the wines were so good that they have a Top 12

Christian Eedes hopes that the concept is catching on. He said that we must be careful about what we take to the rest of the world. In the past fabulous South African blends were not "in the box" and that is what we should be trying to do. No rules, no minimums or maximums in this class; that is unnecessarily complicated and we should be trying to recognise the SA Blends for what they are. Eben Sadie’s Columella is a case in point. There were some oldies in the competition which have scored well and there are some new wines. Anything goes; the judges found the top scoring wines seamless. Blending was confident and they are in balance. And they often not the most expensive wines. The average price is R200 a bottle (cf. R400 for the Bordeaux class.) different varietals are now making great wines but, sadly, we don’t have many of those vines yet. Cinsault makes up 1.8% of our 93021 ha of vines, Grenache only 0.4% and these two varieties are becoming quite influential in blends, making them fresher, fruitier and more complex. The report states that "Of the 58 entries, 23 carried the very broad designations of either “WO Western Cape”or “Coastal Region”, leading to the thought that many producers are compelled to search far and wide for the various components they need to bring a wine." It looks as though we should be planting more of these interesting grapes which are showing so well

Winemaker Louis Strydom asked: What defined the top wines? Style? Elegance? Christian answered that one of the best wines was not identified by any of the judges and they said it was one of the best tasting of the year and was very enjoyable. He said that the 2016 and 2017 vintages were Cinsault driven. To see the final awards, go to https://winemag.co.za/signature-red-blend-report-2019-results/