Results of the Malbec Challenge 2024

Friday, 25 October, 2024

Malbec Challenge

The winning wine of the Malbec Challenge 2024 is Niel Joubert The Proprietor Malbec 2015, an excellent example of how well a high-quality Malbec can age.

The 2024 Malbec Challenge's judging by a panel of three tasters using the international 100 point system took place on 26 September 2024 in Cape Town. The panel, chaired by Cape Wine Master Christine Rudman, consisted of Janine van Zyl, a qualified sommelier and CWM candidate, and Joseph Dhafana, a sommelier and owner of Mosi Wines. The wines were judged blind, as is usual with these challenges, and no discussion took place until after the score sheets had been handed to the auditor from Cecil Kilpin and Co.

A juicy, soft-skinned variety, Malbec requires care in the vineyard to avoid over-cropping or sunburn damage, and in the cellar quick and careful fermentation to prevent oxidation. The winning wines mainly used either only older oak or a combination of new and used barrels to showcase the succulent drinkability part of its character. Plantings are still small, well under 1% of vineyards.

More than half the wines entered came from Stellenbosch or Simonsberg-Paarl. The rest were from Banghoek, Paarl and Agter-Paarl, Wellington, and Cape Town, and, further afield, from Breedekloof and Swellendam. The different origins reflected in the wines, and overall the panel was impressed by the fruit concentration and typicity, agreeing that the majority had the ability to age, with well-considered oaking and tannin structure. Prices ranged from R125 to R365 for a limited release, with the majority in the R200-R300 bracket. Vintages ranged from 2015 to 2023, with the majority being 2022, the current industry release.

As a category, Malbec performed very well, with half the wines earning a Gold medal (90+ points), and the rest all in Silver (80 – 89 points). The winning wine was Niel Joubert Proprietor 2015, an excellent example of how well a high quality Malbec can age. It was already accessible, deliciously drinkable, yet had the potential to age further.

The competition has a generous sponsor, RX South Africa, agents of Tonnellerie de Mercurey wine barrels, an internationally respected family-owned specialist Cooperage based in Burgundy, France. Tonnellerie de Mercurey is reputed for its precision in blending oak, using wood from three different forests in each barrel to ensure consistency.

Niel Joubert’s prize is a new 225 L or 300 L French oak barrel in a toast of their choice. In addition, funding was provided for the awards function.

In previous challenges, when the winning winemakers were asked what had inspired them to plant Malbec, the answers ranged from for it to be part of the classic 5-variety Bordeaux blend, or because they had visited countries where Malbec is widely grown, like Argentina or Cahors in France, and were impressed by it.