Zevenwacht Old Vine Chenin Blanc produces Top 100 & Double Platinum Wine

Thursday, 16 May, 2019
Zevenwacht Wine Estate
The premier National Wine Challenge aims to identify winning wines by cultivar and blend with medals awarded for the top-scoring wines. The NWC incorporating the Top 100 SA Wines, is the leading fine-wine-only awards in SA and abroad with the Top 100 highest scoring wines earning a place in the coveted Top 100 SA Wines 2019.

The Zevenwacht Estate Chenin Blanc 2018 earns a place in the Top 100 SA Wines and a NWC Double Platinum award. This result is especially pleasing as a renewed effort and focus has been put into the 38 year old vineyard which produced this wine. This vineyard is also registered with the Old Vine Project, an initiative that aims to preserve as many old vines in South Africa as possible, and bring awareness to the exceptional quality of juice produced by older vines and the specific sense of place reflected in the wines.

The 2018 Chenin Blanc was barrel fermented and barrel aged for 10 months on the lees using 15% new French Oak barrels with the remainder in seasoned oak. Regular lees stirring for the first three months added to the complexity and rich mouth feel of the wine. Cellarmaster Hagen Viljoen believes that the cooler slopes and granite soils of these South West facing vineyards give a beautiful expression and purity to the Chenin.

In addition, Double Gold awards were received for the Zevenwacht The Tin Mine Red 2015, Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2018 and Syrah 2017, the latter wines were awarded Double Gold in 2018, showcasing consistency. Double Silver Awards also went to the Zevenwacht Estate Chardonnay 2018 and Merlot 2016. Cellarmaster Hagen Viljoen, and Winemaker Charles Lourens, are delighted with these accolades. Hagen stating ‘Our winemaking philosophy is to honour the terroir of our grapes with minimal interference in the winemaking process. It‘s therefore very gratifying to have our wines recognised for their distinctive style and quality.’

Through careful vineyard management and refined winemaking, Zevenwacht Wine Estate have crafted wines that leave an indelible impression and have garnered awards both locally and internationally, a testament to the quality of every drop.