Two wines from the Stellenbosch wine region feature among the 2024 FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10.
In the closely contested challenge, the judging panel awarded no less than seven wards, six districts, and three regions. Of the 160 wines entered by 91 producers, the 2023 vintage stood out, with seven winners in the Top 10. Six of the winning wines are wooded, a style that has increasingly been making its mark over the 18 years of this annual competition.
Sauvignon Blanc South Africa announced the winners at De Meye Wine Estate in Stellenbosch on Wednesday 16 October, with Ryan O’Connor and Success Lekabe as MCs. Guests were challenged to solve a quiz of music and wine notes to identify the winning wines from 20 finalists, with ZZ Top, Queen, Harry Styles and André Rieu giving a helping hand!
- Stark-Condé Round Mountain Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (wooded) (Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch);
- Zevenwacht Z Collection Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (wooded) (Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch);
- Alvi’s Drift Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (wooded) (Scherpenheuvel, Worcester);
- Cederberg Wines Ghost Corner Wild Ferment 2023 (wooded) (Elim, Cape Agulhas);
- Diemersdal Winter Ferment Sauvignon Blanc 2024 (Durbanville);
- Flagstone Free Run Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (Coastal Region);
- Hermanuspietersfontein Kat met die Houtbeen Sauvignon Blanc 2022 (wooded) (Sunday’s Glen, Walker Bay);
- Iona Elgin Highlands Sauvignon Blanc 2024 (Elgin);
- Lomond Sugarbush Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (Cape Agulhas); and
- Maastricht The Contour Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (wooded) (Durbanville).
The judging panel was convened by Cape Wine Master Dr Winifred Bowman and featured specialist judges Johann Fourie, head winemaker at Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate; Dr Carien Coetzee, oenologist at Basic Wine; Morgan Steyn, winemaker at De Grendel Wines; and Mahalia Kotjane, owner-winemaker of Three Quarter Wines. The panel included two protégée judges: Kelsey Nel, winemaker at Hartenberg Wine Estate, and Anke van Zyl, an intern at Neil Ellis Wines.
“Sauvignon Blanc is in an exciting phase, as showcased by the versatile styles from different areas in the Top 10,” said RJ Botha, chairperson of Sauvignon Blanc SA. “The six wooded winners show our winemakers’s craftmanship in developing different elements of this noble grape, building texture, and adding layers. The excellent performance of the 2023 vintage again confirms the aging potential of South African Sauvignon Blanc. Many thanks to our partners FNB and EVER Solutions for their contribution to our success.”
This year’s competition, the only competition fully dedicated to sauvignon blanc, wasagain supported by title partner FNB and platinum partner EVER Solutions.
- A Top 10 booklet with tasting notes can be downloaded at https://sauvignonblanc.com/.
- A sauvignon blanc seminar and the Sauvignon Blanc SA annual general meeting will take place at Hazendal Wine Estate on Bottelary Road on Thursday 21 November.
