This is the 16th year this prestigious Cap
Classique Challenge has been held. Run by the Mèthode Cap Classique Association
and sponsored by Amorim Cork it lauds the best MCCs in the land.
You know it is Spring when this
competition presents its awards. Held again at The Twelve Apostles Hotel on a
beautiful day, we were able to stand on the terrace
The hotel has a very large Functions
marquee
Simonsig team Francois Malan, Francois Jacques Malan and Hannes Meyer with Paul Gerber of Le Lude
Canapés before the event. These
were beef Carpaccio and creamed goats cheese with beetroot
And sweet cones of cream cheese
topped with cranberries
The event room filling up
Emile Joubert, MC for the day
The menu
PRO Emile Joubert gets the
awards underway. 97 entries were received this year. There are four annual
awards: the Blanc de Blancs category; Rose; Brute Cap Classique and the Museum
Class.
Joaquim Sá, MD of Amorim South Africa, told us that
this competition is the second longest running for a single category; Pinotage
is the longest. The country today has 220 Cap Classique producers responsible
for 300 labels; some are the strongest in the country. In the last year 4.4
million bottles of MCC have been sold locally which is an impressive 24.5%
growth. 16 years ago, when the competition began, sales were 700,000 a year. And
exports are continuing in the main overseas markets, with the UK, US and
African countries leading the appetite for South African bubbly. But we must be
aware that cheap Italian Prosecco and Spanish Cava are making inroads, with
sales in 2016 at R320 million rand and we are importing the same amount as our
exports. Therefore we must continue improving the presence of strong brands. The
consumers say that MCC is the jewel in SA's crown. Amorim Cork’s sales are up
27% for MCC corks this year from January to September. There are exciting
developments over the last year and a wide range of new approaches. Amorim Cork
has a commitment to elegance, class, quality, style and innovation. Worldwide
demand is growing for this perfectly natural product.
Christine Rudman
Peter Clarke of Domaine de
Dieux
Serving staff in conversation,
service is just about to begin
Time for the first course of a
delicate tender sous vide chicken breast, confit thigh, a sliver of crisped
chicken skin, a cooked egg yolk sauce, a truffle salad, a rich chicken
liver paté and a little chicken consommé. Complex but good
This was served with the
Simonsig Brut Rosé, always one of our favourite MCC Rosés
Heidi Duminy CWM, judging panel convener, said the overall standard was agreed by all judges to be excellent,
with vintage distinction playing a key role. She said she was in bubble heaven.
“The panel was particularly impressed by 2011 wines that are presenting
gorgeous refinement with 2015 also standing out for its character. Across the
styles, time on lees was the common thread that set the ordinary apart from the
outstanding. The top scoring wines displayed purity of fruit and deft use of
varieties, outstanding balance, complexity, freshness and harmony. The Brut
Category accounted for 45 of the wines entered and was the best performing
class overall, although," said Duminy, "there were some really
exquisite outliers in the Blanc de Blancs line-up. The judges found that time,
especially spent on the lees and experience make all the difference, it
elevates the top achievers very quickly"
“There is tangible evidence of
a better understanding of the intricacies of fruit quality, more strategic
intent in blending of cuvées, the role of varieties, careful use of oak and
restraint of dosage. They saw experimentation and differentiation and are
concerned at the use of sulphur and masking the fruit with too much dosage. Richness
from lees and not oak makes all the difference
Duminy’s fellow judges were
Higgo Jacobs, sommelier and consultant, educator and journalist Cathy Marston
and winemakers Elunda Basson and Johan Malan from JC le Roux/Pongrácz and
Simonsig respectively. A panel with wide experience and technical knowledge. Judging
was done to the 100 point system for the first time, which they liked very much as
it gave them more room for manoeuvre. The scores of producer-judges were
not taken into account for their own wines
Time to present the awards
This year’s Blanc de Blancs
award went to Simonsig’s Cuvée Royale Blanc de Blancs 2012, a 100% Chardonnay
wine with lees contact of 60 months. It was collected by Francois Malan and Hannes Meyer
In the category for Brut Cap
Classique, the category with most entries, Domaine de Dieux won the award for
their Domaine des Dieux Claudia Brut MCC 2011. The award was collected by one
of the owners, Sharon Parnell
In the Museum Class for wines
eight years or older, Graham Beck took the top honours for its Brut Zero 2005. Pieter 'Bubbles' Ferreira collected the award
Simonsig also got the award for
their excellent Pinot Noir Rosé 2015, a wine exclusively made for the
Woolworths retail chain. We liked that Allan Mullins was also asked to the
podium to collect the award with Hannes Meyer of Simonsig
Pieter Ferreira was also the
recipient of this years Frans Malan Legacy Trophy, awarded to someone who has
contributed greatly to Mèthode Cap Classique wines
And Pieter surely has
This prestigious award was
presented to Peter by Francois Malan
Francois Jacques Malan. Nice green eyes
Time for the next course, some
raw marinated tuna with a dashi custard, a soy jelly, some pork crackling and
an avocado cream, with slices of radish. It was controversial. Lynne loved it,
others did not. Perhaps you have to be a sashimi fan, which she is.
With this course we had the
Simonsig Cuvee Royale
And then it was time for the
Best Producer overall award which went, predictably after all their other
awards on the day, to Simonsig. Here Joaquim Sá, MD of Amorim South Africa presents
Hannes Meyer with the traditional trophy of a sword for Sabrage
With dessert we had the Graham
Beck Brut Zero 2005
Jacques Jordaan, Simonsig's very happy Marketing Manager
Danie Keulder, Nitida winemaker
Graham beck winemaker Pierre de Klerk
Rebecca Constable of Woolworths
wines with journalist Greg Landman
Ettiene Gouws of Amorim Cork
The winners with their trophies
Simonsig's trophies
Hannes Meyer trying out that
sword for sabraging a bottle of Simonsig MCC
Peter and Anne Ferreira so
pleased with their awards
Dessert had an apple theme and
lots of different textures and very sweet tastes on the plate. The apple was
lovely and tart, the jelly was good, the donuts were sadly hard and unyielding
And just when we thought it was
all over, some friandise to go with coffee, coconut fudge, baby meringue kisses
and some macarons. With a last glass of MCC
MCC lovers this is especially for you! The Cap Classique Association in conjunction with Amorim will be hosting an exclusive tasting of the award winning MCC wines at the Taj Hotel on the 28 September at 18:30
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
