Credo Chenin Blanc shines for third time
Monday, 10 June, 2013
Stellenbosch vineyards
Credo Chenin Blanc recently won its third award with a silver medal from the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show.
Following
Stellenbosch Vineyards’ successful launch of the Credo label in April
this year, the Credo QuattuorChenin Blanc 2010 has impressed judges
locally and internationally.
In April the Chenin Blanc was awarded as one of the Top 100 SA wines, followed by a bronze medal at the 2013 Decanter World Wine Awards.
The other week, judges at the Old Mutual Trophy wine show awarded a silver medal.
Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show (OMTWS)
Compared to previous years, there was a marked drop in the number of medal winners at the 2013 OMTWS. With 1038 entries, only 77 silver medals were awarded compared to the 178 silver medals awarded last year.
According to OMTWS Chairman Michael Fridjhon, it was in the silver medal count that the tougher standard of this year’s show was revealed. “When a judging panel has to choose between awarding a high bronze or low silver, it’s really, in the end, a matter of calibration. I’m involved in many of these ‘threshold’ decisions and this year more wines were nudged down into bronze rather than up into silver.”
Worldwide wine authority and one of this year’s OMTWS judges, Oz Clarke, said: “We felt that a silver was a massively important award. I’m not sure I know of any other show where the silver is taken quite so seriously as it is here.”
About Credo Chenin Blanc
The grapes for Credo are sourced from vineyards in the Stellenbosch area. Full ripe fruit was handpicked in the third week of February 2010 and fermented in 300litre French oak barrels. The wine was kept on the primary lees for 8 months batonage. Wine was then racked from primary lees and returned to the same 300litre French oak barrels where it was aged for another 28 months (80% barrels were first fill and 20% were second fill).
Barrel selection was done to select only the best barrels.
Before bottling, the wine was lightly filtered.
The wine has a rich straw colour with a golden tint. Honey, pineapple and treacle on the nose give way to intense butterscotch and tropical flavours on the palate. Beautifully balanced acidity and careful use of French oak complete this wine of rare distinction.
This wine would be great to enjoy now, but could be enjoyed up to 8 years from vintage. It is also best suited with exotic spiced dishes or curries.