From left, Reon Richter, Mari Branders, Thys Louw, and Juandré Bruwer. On the far right is Christo Pienaar, chairman of Veritas.
Despite its reputation as a wine white producer, Diemersdal Estate’s medal haul was dominated by its red wines.
Double Gold went to Diemersdal Syrah 2023, The Journal Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, The Journal Pinotage 2020 and The Journal Pinotage 2022. On the Gold side, Diemersdal accrued medals for the MM Louw Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, The Journal Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, Pinotage Reserve 2022 and The Journal Pinotage 2021.
This year’s Veritas Awards attracted 1 265 entries from wines nationwide. Thys Louw, proprietor and winemaker at Diemersdal, says the results at this year’s Veritas Awards were doubly surprising. “Of course, surprise at the honour to win four Double Golds and four Golds, one of Diemersdal’s best achievements at any wine competition ever,” he says.
“And the second surprise was seeing our red wines dominating, where we usually manage to sneak a Sauvignon Blanc onto the winner’s podium. But what these results show is that Durbanville is a region capable of delivering a broad spectrum of quality wines.
“There is a long history of fine red wines being made in the area, and although Durbanville has over the past two decades become especially renowned for Sauvignon Blanc and other white wines, awards such as these at Veritas show that a region with suitable terroir and a legacy of winemaking going back to the 17 th century can deliver a diversity of quality wines. Durbanville is no one-trick pony, and the same can be said for many of South Africa’s other wine regions.
“I think this is what makes us so exceptional as a wine country, the fact that many of the winemaking areas have soils and microclimates suited to a diverse range of cultivars. It is something unique, and as a country as a whole, this should be embraced.”