'Riesling is one of the most amazing grape varieties in the world but, like most things that are very rewarding, it is also very challenging,’ says Paul Cluver Jr.
Jean-Christophe Mau bought Château Brown in 2004. Born into a family of wine merchants, his career began with the purchase of Château Preuillac in 1998.
Two years ago, the 2012 vintage of this wine won the South African Regional Trophy for Best White Blend under £15 – and now DeMorgenzon’s Maestro 2014 has gone one better and taken an International Trophy home to Stellenbosch.
Herbert Tiefenbrunner, father of current winery owner Christof, used to spend his summer holidays on the estate and, inspired by a vine growing along the wall of the house, decided to plant a vineyard on the site.
Perdeberg has accumulated a large collection of old-vine Chenin in the Agter- Paarl area, viewed as the ideal region for the variety.
The judges’ description of the wine is in tune with Vidal winemaker Hugh Crichton’s mission to achieve power and restraint in his wines, alongside concentration, complexity and fine texture.
A winning combination of delicious, mineral fruit and nice florality, with an Old World classicism at its heart, secured an International Trophy for this joint venture between UK retailer Marks & Spencer and Vignerons des Grandes Vignes.
Bay of fires has a truly classic nose of grass, gooseberry and minerals, showing wonderful aromatic intensity. The wine is impeccably balanced with a long aftertaste and, despite the power of its components, every element displays restrained elegance and harmony. Beautiful!
A trio of New World Sauvignon Blancs were in the running for this International Trophy, but it was Small and Small’s Marlborough example that won the day for its textbook expression of the grape.
The judges adored Leasingham’s combination of great freshness and minerality with an appealing roundness, which they said was ‘hard to fault’.
According to Viña Leyda winemaker Viviana Navarrete, it owes much to the qualities of the valley which gives the producer its name, and in whose early development the company was instrumental.
For Piper-Heidsieck cellarmaster Régis Camus, 2006 was a year of contrasts which eventually resulted in an ‘unexpectedly elegant and charming wine’
El Esteco was also the most awarded Argentinian winery in last year’s Decanter World Wine Awards – and the success in both years is a significant advance in the estate’s mission to create awareness about the Calchaquí Valley’s unique natural attributes.
According to Domaine de la Vougeraie, it may be a reminder of mother goddesses, a corruption of the French ‘bonnes mères’ or ‘good mothers’ or, most plausibly, derived from the old French and Burgundian word ‘marer’, to cultivate. In which case, Bonnes Mares are, literally, well-kept vines.
