Nederburg judged top SA producer at leading London show
Thursday, 3 December, 2009
De Kock Communications
Nederburg has been judged South Africa's most successful wine producer
at the 2009 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) in
London, winning a total of 14 best-in-class scores on the event.
These were earned for wines in every tier of its range from the entry-level to the micro-vinified cuvées and announced at a gala banquet at Guildhall, attended by over 500 guests from around the world.
Only 5,5% of the entries achieved gold medals in the contest, in which all wines are tasted blind. Considered one of the most prestigious in the world of wine, it celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and annually attracts around 7, 000 from over 80 countries.
A gold medal and top marks went to the 2007 vintage of the winery's signature Nederburg Auction wine, Edelkeur. The judges described it as having a "raisiny, rich bouquet, laced with tea and orange marmalade, luscious but also fresh and zesty."
The noble late harvest wine that debuted on the inaugural Nederburg Auction in 1975 is sold exclusively through this channel and for many remains the benchmark against which other wines of this style are measured.
The other best-in-class wines were all awarded silver medals. They included the 2008 Foundation Chardonnay/Viognier; the 2008 Winemaster's Reserve Noble Late Harvest (that carries a Platter five-star rating and won two trophies at the 2009 International Wine Challenge); the 2007 Manor House Cabernet Sauvignon; the 2008 Manor House Sauvignon Blanc; the 2006 Ingenuity Red; the 2008 Ingenuity White (also a five-star Platter wine); and seven Nederburg Auction wines: the 2007 Eminence, the 2006 vintages of both the Private Bin R163 Cabernet Sauvignon and R172 Pinotage and the 2007 vintages of the Private Bin R121 Shiraz, R181 Merlot, R103 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz and R109 Cabernet/Merlot.
"Such affirmation is very rewarding, particularly on the eve of the 2010 FIFA World CupTM, when the international focus on South Africa is mounting," says global marketing manager for Nederburg, Rudolph du Toit. Nederburg and FIFA have signed an agreement entitling the winery to make and market a range of South African wines for next year's tournament. These have been launched internationally, including South Africa.
"That the IWSC has acknowledged our wines across the range, from the Foundation and Winemaster's Reserve labels to the limited-edition Manor House, Ingenuity and Nederburg Auction collections, gives credence to our claim that we apply the same attention to detail in each of our wines."
Nederburg also earned an additional three IWSC silver medals for auction wines: the 2008 Edelkeur, as well as two Private Bin wines, the 2007 R163 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2006 R121 Shiraz.
Earlier this year, Nederburg took the title of most successful producer on the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show for the second year in succession.
In October, Nederburg won the second highest number of Veritas double gold and gold medals at the SA National Wine Show.