.: Tasting the Veritas Awards Golds and Double Golds

We were invited to taste the Veritas Double Gold and Gold award winners at the offices of Deloitte in the Waterfront. This is the first award tasting we have had for over two years and it was rather strange at first to be with so many people. It was also a sign of a return to normal life and everyone there showed their enjoyment. Luckily the crowd was small, (they did a series of tastings over a few days) and the space was good. We tried to taste carefully on our own, not get into groups and it was such a great experience to be BACK in BUSINESS again. There were some excellent wines to taste, a few surprises and a few familiar brands that always rise to the top. The wines are all tasted blind at the competition tasting

Warmly greeted by Elsabe Ferreira who is the background organiser of Veritas. She always does a superb job

We began the tasting with the unusual white varietals
and were delighted to see two familiar faces behind the tasting counter,

Anzel Rheeder and Suzanne van Dyk from Darling Cellars
It is sad that these varietals do not often earn Double Gold;
they are so interesting and many of them might be our future, with the increase in global warming

The Jordan Riesling, 93 points and Double Gold, was excellent;
fresh and full of lovely crisp fruit and honey, with just a hint of the terpenes to come
The Stettyn 2021 Chardonnay Pinot Noir has lovely full flavours of fruit, honey and caramel

Van Loveren 2021 Niel's Pick Colombard has a pretty floral nose and flavours of green figs and guava
The 2021 Hedgehog Colombard from Orange River Cellars is rather green and grippy
with passion fruit, English gooseberry & guava
Great Expectations 2021 Colombard from Goedverwacht has lots of guava and fig
It is good to see this cultivar, once the most planted in SA and used mainly for brandy,
coming back as an interesting wine grape

Ghost Corner 2018 Bowline is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon
It "ties the knot between the two grapes" says the farm. A blend with character and depth and a hint of wood
Double Gold for Frans Smit of Spier for his 2018 White, a Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon
Lovely aromas of fig leaf and elderflower, full and crisp on the palate with lasting classic flavours,
some creaminess and just a hint of wood on the end, 18/20
Boschendal Suzanne Sauvignon Blanc, full of the classic fig and green flavours and aromas

with lovely richness on the palate, 17/20

Spier 2 Creative Block is a blend of 94% Sauvignon Blanc and 6% Semillon and impresses every time
It has tropical flavours with hints of asparagus, a lovely fullness on the palate and some minerality on the end
We know that the Darling Cellars Winemakers Selection Sauvignon Blanc Chenin is great
It is crisp with good layers of fruit; we bought a case when we tasted it at a recent visit to the cellar
Exceptional quality and value for money too

Ghost Corner 2018 Semillon was superb and a classic example of this grape, 18/20
Very satisfying, crisp and mouth filling
3rd Time Lucky 2019 from Buitenverwachting Cellarmaster Brad Paton is very enjoyable;
peach and honey notes on a drier palate, with wood on the end
The 2021 Viognier from Arra is very shy on the nose, but full of the classic peach flavours on the palate

We were excited to see and taste the Danie de Wet Chardonnay which is a classic
The De Wetshof Bon Vallon Chardonnay 2021 is also excellent and very popular
Very French in style with lovely rich Robertson fruit and clean crisp flavours, 19/20

Three more good Chardonnays which all reflect the different terroirs in which they were grown;
Constantia, high Stellenbosch and Robertson

Three more, Almenkerk from cool Elgin and Saxenburg and Kleine Zalze from warmer Stellenbosch

The Tokara Chardonnay was a wow!
Delicate nose and powerful on the palate, excellent layers of flavours with a wood note on the end, 18/20

Philip Engelen of Brooklands House and the Cape Town Club,
Angelo Casu of Grand Dedale Country House and Michael Pownall of PMR Hospitality Group;
all enjoying an opportunity to enjoy great wines in good company

The de Wet Chenin Blanc had a classic Chenin nose, concentrated and complex on the palate and worth its double gold
We need to find some!
The Simonsig Chenin Blanc is clean, green and zesty, so enjoyable

Three more excellent Chenins

Bennie Howard CWM, Vice Chairman of Veritas welcomed the guests

Four excellent Cap Classiques

Some favourite Cap Classique marques
Lynne loves really dry Chardonnay Blanc de Blanc and Laborie has been top of her list for a long time

When it came to tasting the red wines, sadly, we ran out of steam and time
and could only taste a few before the session ended
Many regrets, perhaps next time we must only taste the double golds,
instead of starting at the beginning and trying to get to all of the wines

Yes, we do believe that putting award 'gongs' on the bottles helps to sell them
Here are some of the Shiraz blends with Grenache, Mourvedre, Viognier blends that are so popular and delicious

The blank white one is Le Bonheur Estate Barrel Selection. But why would you design a label that cannot be read?
Speaking as former wine merchants, labels need to jump out at you from the shelf; they need to outsell competitors
Roodeberg has always been an iconic South African wine; good to see KWV still winning awards

Merlot was well represented in the Veritas awards this year

Merlots have improved so much, no longer are they full of mint and dry tannins, we love the riper fruit and the careful winemaking

Four more. We know the Monro is excellent and Landskroon is one we will try to taste soon

Cinsault is back in favour, and the new style wines are fresh and fruity and so enjoyable
We only found one Pinot Noir and presume that not many of our phenomenal Pinots were entered. Why?
We think the direction in which Pinot Noir is going is straight up to the top
Or did the panel not appreciate this wonderful grape?
It was good to see a Grenache getting a double gold
This One Formation is from Boland Cellars with grapes from the Paardeberg and we must get some to taste soon

We are loving the wines produced from Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot;
the winemakers are able to do wonderful things with these southern Rhône grapes
Wines full of elegance, rich fruit, excitement, wonderful aromas, good structure and class
If wood is used judiciously, they will last and have a long future

Pinotage did well this year

Some are familiar, some we have yet to discover

Four excellent award winning Shirazes

followed by three more

Well done to Nuy; their Muscadels have always been superb and are very affordable
We have always found that they go on to improve so much with age, especially the red Muscadel
We tend to keep them for ten years before opening, which enhances their richness

The de Krans Cape Vintage Reserve (Port) is superb - but who is drinking much port nowadays?
We need to encourage people to rediscover these wonderful port style wines and dessert wines

and two richly rewarded Museum class beauties from Boplaas with well-deserved double golds
and a 2020 Nederburg Noble Late Harvest

Some more treasures for drinking with dessert, cheese or after a good meal

Two excellent Museum Class Sauvignons Blanc,
one a real favourite of ours, the 2014 Rhinofields Sauvignon Blanc from Durbanville Hills
and one we bought a lot of when we were visiting the UK, the Kleine Zalze Family Reserve
Also tasted was the vintage Desiderius Pongrácz Cap Classique wine

More Museum Class winners; Durbanville Hills Tangram white blend 2016,
De Grendel’s excellent Op die Berg Chardonnay 2017
and the Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Chenin Blanc 2013

Two of our best Chenin Blancs, and another excellent Sauvignon Blanc. We think the Spier 21 Gables is one of the very best Chenins available, so full, layered and complex