The 2009 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year
is Coenie Snyman for his 2007 Rust en Vrede Cabernet Sauvignon.
Fltr: Linda Manzini (MD, Diners Club SA), Coenie Snyman, Jane Ledger
(Regional Manager - Western Cape, Diners Club SA)
Second in line is Werner Engelbrecht for his 2007 Waterkloof Circumstance
Cabernet Sauvignon, with Johan Joubert in third place for his Kleine
Zalze Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007.
Rust en Vrede, established in 1694 by the then Governor of the Cape,
Willem Adrian van der Stel, is one of the Cape’s oldest estates,
and in 30 years has had only two appointed winemakers. Specialising
in the production of red wine only, Rust en Vrede is one of South
Africa’s premium estates. Their full bodied and complex wines
reflect the uniqueness of the Stellenbosch terroir. Coenie Snyman
joined the team in 2006 and says he has a 15 year plan, but his main
focus is on improving the quality and style of his wine. Coenie says
he doesn’t think he’s a perfectionist, but rather describes
himself as a conformist – “you do it right, or you do
it right”.
The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon was the first vintage Coenie made at Rust
en Vrede. “ I was just getting to know the vineyards, so I did
nothing experimental during the winemaking process. I just made a
normal, well-balanced, structured wine”.
Judges described the wine as being deep and rich with excellent potential.
A decidedly civilized young cabernet with a great future.
Coenie received his sought-after award at a prestigious ceremony held
at maze restaurant in the One&Only resort, the recipient of the
‘Best Winelist’ at the recent Diners Club Winelist awards.
The sheer volume of entries into this year’s Diners Club Winemaker
of the Year Awards, instituted in 1981, meant that a screening process
had to take place prior to the main judging. Surprisingly, still a
hefty 64 wines remained, highlighting to Diners Club and the judges,
the continued interest in the award.
The wine screening was undertaken by Gyles Webb of Thelema, a two
time winner of the Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Award and the
winner of the previous Cabernet Sauvignon category in 1996. Gyles
was assisted by Marc Friederich, owner of the highly successful Marc’s
restaurant in Paarl and Johan Fourie, senior winemaker at KWV.
Diners Club International was honoured to have John Avery from Avery’s
of Bristol as this year’s international judge. An expert in
many wines, in particular Cabernet Sauvignon, John also has vast knowledge
of South African wines having visited here many times. The South African
judges come with equally high credentials, being selected for their
expertise in different areas of the wine industry. Carrie Adams of
Norman Goodfellows in Johannesburg and Margaret Fry, a Cape Wine Master.
KWV Winemaker Nomonde Kubheka, and Wade Bales of the Diners Club Wine
Society. Chairing the proceedings was the irrepressible Dave Hughes.
Fostering young blood in the judging panel was Associate Judge Tobias
Brauweiler, a sommelier at the Grande Roche Hotel, where the judging
took place.
At the end of the first round of judging the auditors determined that
six wines had all scored between eighteen and nineteen points on the
Davis twenty point scale. An outstanding result. After six fresh samples
were prepared, the judges arrived at a clear winner.
Overall the judges were highly appreciative of the quality of wines
entered, finding no winemaking faults of any kind, resulting in most
of the wines being at the top end of the scale. International judge
John Avery was pleasantly surprised by the ripe berry fruit qualities
and that South African winemakers seem to focus on well balanced wines
with good fruit characters rather than the big blockbusters of a few
years back.
“ We were extremely pleased about the overwhelming
response and support we once again received this year. We believe
the winners had tough competition and the quality of all the wines
was superb. The judges really had their work cut out for them this
year. We wish both winners hearty congratulations from Diners Club”
said regional manager of the Western Cape, Jane Ledger.
The next three categories for the annual Diners Club Winemaker of
the Year are:
Fltr: Wade Bales, Tobias Brauweiler, Nomonde Khubeka, Dave
Hughes, Carrie Adams, John Avery and Margaret Fry.
2009 Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year
The 2009 title goes to Clayton Reabow from
Môreson for his 2007 Premium Chardonnay. Yet another Diners
Club Young Winemaker of the Year hails from the Franschhoek valley.
Fltr: Linda Manzini (MD, Diners Club SA), Clayton Reabow, Jane
Ledger (Regional Manager - Western Cape, Diners Club SA)
In second place was Pieter de Wet for his 2009 De Wetshof Estate
Limestone Hill Chardonnay, and in third place Nadia Newton Johnson’s
2008 Newton Johnson Chardonnay.
Môreson has been described as a little slice of magic in the
Franschhoek valley, where their wine is their love, their passion
and their magic. Môreson put everything they have into making
their wines spectacular, and believe that magic is what happens when
all their hard work, passion, love, laughter, disappointments, tears,
frustration and long hours combine to form an exquisite bottle of
Môreson wine.
Clayton has a B.Sc Agriculture, in Oenology and Viticulture, at the
University of Stellenbosch (2000 to 2004). From 2005 to 2007 he worked
locally for Grande Provence, Distell, Laroche L'Avenir and Vrede en
Lust and internationally in Bordeaux, France (at Chateau de Fleur
du Bouard in Lalande Pomerol) and along the Mosel River (in Zell).
He joined Môreson, as winemaker, in May 2007.
Clayton’s winemaking style is intelligent, focused and passionate.
He creates spectacular wines; all with a huge amount of depth and,
that trademark Môreson characteristic, balance. The Diners Club
award comes on top of his 2007 Premium Chardonnay being awarded gold
at the 2009 Chardonnay du Monde Competition, and 4 stars in the John
Platter Guide.
The grapes were hand picked in small batches of 4 tons each, and whole
bunch pressed in the early morning to ensure freshness and top quality
juice; no sulphur was used. After 24 hours, the settled juice was
transferred to new oak barrels for fermentation. Natural fermentation
was used on 50% of the juice, and the rest was inoculated. The wine
spent a total of 12 months in oak, on its primary lees, with batonnage
every 7 days. The final blend consists of 100% Chardonnay with 90%
being fermented, and matured, in new French and Hungarian oak and
the balance being fermented and left sur lie in tank.
This lively wine shows green and gold hues. Packed with classic Chardonnay
fruit, it entices the senses with layers of chestnuts, vanilla and
underlying grapefruit and lemon zest. A lengthy barrel-maturation
on gross lees has allowed for maximum oak and fruit integration; providing
a firm palate that gives backbone to concentrated fruit and the richness
of the wine. The wine will develop exceptionally in bottle, leading
to new nuances and depth for years to come.
The Young Winemaker category was introduced in 2001 to recognize rising
young talent. A remarkable reflection on the high quality being produced
by our youthful winemakers is that, of the 71 entries, not one was
rejected for any kind of fault whatsoever!
The judging was done by the same panel that judged the Winemaker of
the Year. The entries included a fair spread of single varieties such
as chenin blanc, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, viognier, and a couple
of blends where occasionally some of the fruitier varieties played
a part.
Six wines came out on top and were then re-judged and, as with the
main competition, a clear winner emerged. Of the final six, four were
chardonnays, one a multiple blend and one an extremely fine viognier.
Judges described this winning wine as elegant yet substantial in the
mouth with a clean and fragrant finish. It develops with every sip
making it the ideal wine to drink now or in the near future.
Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year category for 2010 is Dry Red
(unfortified).
Recap of the 2008 Diners Club Winemaker of the
Year
WINE magazine announces on behalf of Diners Club International
that the2008 Diners Club Winemaker of the Year competition has been
declared invalid and the prize withdrawn.
This follows the decision by Duncan Savage of Cape Point Vineyards
to step down as this year’s winner. A condition of entry was
that the winning winery should have 250 twelve-bottle cases for sale
in South Africa on announcement of the result and it subsequently
emerged that Cape Point was unable to comply with this. After due
consideration, it was decided not to appoint a replacement winner.
Diners Club Winemaker of the Year Award Winners
YEAR
WINE CATEGORY
WINNER
PRODUCER
WINE
1981
Innovative Wines
W Finlayson
Blaauwklippen
Zinfandel 1980
1982
Cabernet Sauvignon
W Finlayson
Blaauwklippen
Cabernet Sauvignon 1980
1983
Rhine Riesling
G Brözel
Nederburg
Rhine Riesling 1983
1984
Sauvignon Blanc
M Rossouw
Eersterivier
Sauvignon Blanc 1984
1985
Gewürztraminer
G Brözel
Nederburg
Gewürztraminer 1985
1986
Wood-aged White
S Back
Backsberg
Chardonnay 1985
1987
Pinotage
B Truter
Kanonkop
Pinotage 1985
1988
Muscadel
W Linde
Nuy
White Muscadel 1985
1989
Pinot Noir
P Finlayson
Hamilton Russell
Pinot Noir 1986
1990
Special Late Harvest
A Bruwer
Bon Courage
Gewürztraminer SLH 1989
1991
Cape Riesling
W Linde
Nuy
Riesling 1991
1992
Merlot
J Daneel
Buitenverwachting
Reserve Merlot 1991
1993
Chardonnay
D De Wet
De Wetshof
Finesse Chardonnay 1993
1994
Bordeaux-style Red
G Webb
Thelema
Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 1992
1995
Cap Classique
N Krone
Twee Jonge Gezellen
Krone Borealis Brut 1993
1996
Cabernet Sauvignon
G Webb
Thelema
Cabernet Sauvignon 1994
1997
Sauvignon Blanc
J Grier
Villiera
Bush Vine Sauvignon Blanc 1997
1998
Shiraz
D Malan
Allesverloren
Shiraz 1996
1999
Cape Blend
R Wiid
Hazendal
Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 1998
2000
Port
P de Villiers
Landskroon
Port 1997
2001
Chenin Blanc
E Hall
Kanu
Chenin Blanc 2001
2002
Pinotage
D De Waal
De Waal
Top of the Hill 2001
2003
Semillon
J Loubser
Steenberg
Constantia Uitsig Reserve Semillon 2002
2004
Cap Classique
P Ferreira
Graham Beck
Brut Blanc de Blancs 1999
2005
Merlot
C Schultz
Hartenberg
Merlot 2004
2006
Chardonnay
G Mocke
Chamonix
Sterhuis Chardonnay 2004
2007
Shiraz
M Kent
Boekenhoutskloof
Syrah 2005
2008
Dry White Blends
Not awarded
n/a
n/a
Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year Award Winners
