Bringing home the bling 1 May 2008

Plenty of gold for the Cape from the Concours Mondial

The Concours Mondial de Bruxelles is one of the more popular international competions for  Cape wineries to enter. It would seem, in fact, that there are national habits involved in choosing which to enter. New Zealand had only one wine in the 2008 competition, and Australia 96, while South Africa sent in 199 hopefuls and Chile a splendid 278.

It’s not surprising, in fact, that Chile likes the Concours Mondial, whose judges (240 of them), as that country’s wines tend to do particularly well: this year Chile won ten Great Gold medals as opposed to the Cape’s five (and Australia’s four). The total number of entries this year for that huge phalanx of judges in Bordeaux was 5890 wines and 299 spirits (from around the world; pretty close to just three times the.number of South African wines entered for Veritas).

The South African winners of the top awards (Great Golds) were

• Kleine Zalze Shiraz Family Reserve 2006

• Rust en Vrede Merlot 2006

• Spice Route Flagship Syrah 2005

• Spier Private Collection Shiraz 2005

• Spier Vintage Selection Shiraz-Mourvèdre-Viognier 2005

The 23 South African gold medals (out of a total of 550 awarded) went to:

• Bellingham Bernard Podlashuk The Maverick Winemaker Syrah 2005

• Bellingham Chardonnay With a Splash of Viognier 2006

• Boland Cellar N°1 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005

• Boland Cellar Winemakers Selection Merlot 2005

• Cederberg Five Generations Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

• Cederberg Shiraz 2006

• Cirrus Syrah 2006

• Cloof The Very Sexy Shiraz 2006

• DeWaal Merlot 2006

• Dieu Donné Methode Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs Brut 2005

• Dieu Donné Shiraz 2004

• Fairview The Beacon Shiraz 2005

• Fairview Pinotage Viognier 2007

• Fairview Jakkalsfontein Shiraz 2004

• Kumkani Cradle Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

• Kumkani Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

• Plaisir de Merle Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

• Riebeek Cellars Reserve Shiraz 2005

• Rust en Vrede Shiraz 2004

• Doolhof Signatures of Doolhof Merlot 2006

• Stellenzicht Syrah 2001

• Vilafonté Series C 2005

• Zandberg Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

There were also 45 Silver medals for the Cape (out of a total of 1179 ).