Cellarmaster, Niel Bester, said: “We had high hopes of the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc after the successful sell-out of the 2011 vintage, and this has been confirmed with this award. When blending this wine my focus was on the ageing as I believe that South African Sauvignon Blancs have the potential to develop. We thought it would come into its own after 12 to 24 months – and it did. As for the 2010 Grand Brut, it has made us very proud, because it was our debut Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wine, and a new addition to our range of cultivar wines.” Bester – who celebrates 21 years at Plaisir de Merle this year – knows what to expect from his vineyards and earmarks specific vineyards that will give him the desired style of wine. Few cellars can boast the honour of having a winemaker with such dedication, passion and knowledge of the infinite details of getting the best from his vineyards. The grapes for the Sauvignon Blanc were harvested by hand and sourced from three different vineyards - two on Plaisir de Merle and one in Darling, with the grapes sourced from a cool climate area adding an extra dimension that Bester wanted, and contributing to the traditional cool climate typicity such as green peas, green figs and nettles associated with the cultivar. It is elegant, delicate with prominent passion fruit and tropical fruit aromas, but still retaining that typical Greenness in the flavour. The Plaisir de Merle Grand Brut MCC 2010 was made in the classic French tradition from two noble varieties, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A scintillating blend which truly captures the essence of these two noble cultivars with the Pinot Noir imparting distinctive body, flavour and maturity and the Chardonnay a clean flintiness. The Decanter World Wine Awards is the world’s leading and most rigorously judged wine competition and the most authoritative source of wine recommendations for wine lovers worldwide. This year an expert panel of 219 judges, including 75 Masters of Wine, and 13 Master Sommeliers, from 27 countries all around the world assessed 14 362 wines from 52 countries. Of these 156 wines were awarded a Regional Trophy (1.09%), 229 a Gold Medal (1.59%), 1 665 a Silver Medal (11.6%), 4 165 a Bronze Medal (29%) and 3 658 a Commended Medal (25.47%). Plaisir de Merle wines are available from leading bottle stores, wine departments of most supermarkets and from the Tasting Centre on the farm. The Sauvignon Blanc 2012 sells for R90 from the cellar door and the Grand Brut 2010 MCC for R180. Plaisir de Merle Wines are exported to 43 countries around the world. Visit the website on www.plaisirdemerle.co.za or follow on Facebook. FURTHER INFORMATION: JENNY MCQUEEN, TEL 021 439 5063/082 579 9125, email: jenny@mcqueen.co.za LIZE-MARIE GRADWELL - BRAND MANAGER, 021 809 7000, NIEL BESTER, PLAISIR DE MERLE, CELLAR 021 874 1488, TOURS & TASTINGS TEL 021 874 1071 BACKGROUND TO THE DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS (DWWA) The DWWA was launched in 2004, and is celebrating 10 years as the world’s leading wine competition. The DWWA is respected internationally for its prestigious reputation and unrivalled consumer influence. Wines are organised for tasting by country, region, colour, grape, style, vintage, and price, to ensure that wines are judged in flights against their peers. Wines awarded a Gold or Silver medal are re-tasted by the Regional Chair for his or her confirmation. All the Gold medal-winning wines within each region are divided into categories according to price (under or over £15) and style or grape variety. All Gold, Regional Trophy and International Trophy winning wines are tasted up to four times. All Regional Trophy winners are then split into categories according to grape variety or style. These wines then compete for the Exceptional Value International Trophies (under £15) and International Trophies (over £15) in a separate tasting judged by Chairman, Steven Spurrier, our guest Vice-Chair, Gerard Basset MS MW OBE, and three Regional Chairs – the top wines from each region being pitted against each other to win the DWWA’s ultimate accolade. For more information on the DWWA, and for a full list of results, please visit: www.decanter.com/dwwa