Convened by Top Five Trust in conjunction with the South African Pinot Noir Association, these awards identify five wines to serve as a benchmark for the development of distinctive South African Pinot Noir red wines. One of the major objectives of the competition is to illustrate the distinctive quality of South African Pinot Noir to the consumer and the international wine community.
The organisers, together with its sponsor, Mosaic Family Office, is proud to recognise and support the climate, people, soil and the multitude of other factors that go into making the best Pinot Noir reds in South Africa.
Mosaic Family Office is a leading provider of family office services in South Africa. The firm provides comprehensive family office services including incorporation of family office structures, company and trust administration, investment management, fiduciary services, tax compliance etc. Mosaic Family Office CEO, Hennie Loubser CA(SA) CFA®️, explains: "Mosaic Family Office is a proud long-term supporter of South African Pinot Noir red wine. The long-term cultivation and growth of family wealth and the successful production of Pinot Noir wine are almost equally difficult! The firm looks forward to continue its support of this extraordinary, one-of-a-kind grape variety."
Judging procedures were held on 3 August in Cape Town and saw 64 entries from 42 producers with wines from the 2013 to 2020 vintages inclusively. This exceeded our wildest expectations in this unusual year. The most entries were from the Walker Bay district (24), followed by Elgin (16), Stellenbosch (6) and the balance from Franschhoek, the larger Cape South Coast region, the Breede River Valley region, Ceres Plateau, and Durbanville.
JUDGING PROCESS
The judging process adheres to strict blind tasting standards as the wines are tasted over a preliminary and a final judging round. Scores are awarded according to the 100-point scale.
The judging panel consists of members made up of Cape Wine Masters, experienced sommeliers, industry professionals, Masters of Wine and qualified winemakers only. One panel member is appointed as chairperson.
The judging panel for this year’s competition was:
Chairperson
Dr. Winnie Bowman, CWM, Cape Wine Master and renowned international wine judge.
Panel members
Fiona McDonald, Editor of Cheers Magazine and renowned international wine judge.
Gregory Mutambe, head sommelier at the Twelve Apostles Hotel.
Anton Swarts, CWM, Cape Wine Master and senior winemaker at Spier Wines.
TOP SOUTH AFRICAN PINOT NOIR WINES
The five best Pinot Noir wines in South Africa are:
» Benguela Cove Vinography Pinot Noir 2019
» Elgin Vintners Pinot Noir 2020
» La Vierge Wines La Vierge Noir 2017
» Richard Kershaw Wines The Smuggler's Boot Pinot Noir 2019
» The Brew Cru Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge Pinot Noir 2019
90+ AWARD MEDALS
Wines that score 90 or more points, but do not make it into the top five, are celebrated with a 90+ award medal.
The 90+ South African Pinot Noir red wines are:
» Benguela Cove Estate Pinot Noir 2020
» Bosman Family Vineyards Magnum Opus Pinot Noir 2018
» Bouchard Finlayson Tetê de Cuvée Pinot Noir 2019
» De Grendel Wines Op die Berg Pinot Noir 2019
» Ghost Corner Pinot Noir 2019
» Iona Vineyards Elgin Highlands Pinot Noir 2018
» Lothian Vineyards Pinot Noir Vineyard Selection 2019
» Lothian Vineyards Pinot Noir Vineyard Selection 2020
» Ntida Pinot Noir 2020
» Paul Cluver Wines Estate Pinot Noir 2020
» The Brew Cru Pinot Noir 2020
CONGRATULATIONS
Top Five Trust and the South African Pinot Noir Association congratulate the winners of the 2021 Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Awards.
Click here to download the 2021 Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Tasting Report in pdf version.
