For the second consecutive year, Van Ryn’s 15-year-old Potsill Brandy was named World’s Best Wine Brandy, at the 2024 World Drinks Awards, beating fierce competition from France, Spain, Australia and other prominent South African brandy producers.
This marks the fourth time within five years that Van Ryn’s brandies have been awarded the prestigious title. In 2020 Van Ryn’s 12-year-old Potstill Brandy achieved the same title, followed by Van Ryn’s 20-year-old Potstill Brandy in 2022, and its 15-year-old Potsill Brandy award in 2023.
Wine-brandy is made from distilled wine and matured in French oak barrels. The Van Ryn’s Potstill Brandy range is made in the same specialised production methods used for the production of cognac – the name cognac, however, is reserved only for brandies made in south-west France.
Each year the World Drinks Awards aims to celebrate the very best in the global drinks industry, with the World Brandy Awards category recognising the finest brandies from around the world, tasting each entry blind and scoring the brandies according to nose, palate and finish, balance, character, complexity and overall quality.
The panel of international judges described the Stellenbosch distillery’s entry as “a graceful liquid with notes of liquorice and toffee, and the thick creaminess of clotted cream. Stone fruit on the palate, as well as a drizzle of golden syrup and some residual tannic fruit”.
Master blender Marlene Bester said achieving the world’s best title twice in a row for Van Ryn’s 15-year-old Postill Brandy is definitely a highlight for the team.
“Year-on-year our brandies receive the world’s best accolades, showcasing our commitment to innovation, quality and the art of crafting exceptional brandy, building on our reputation as one of the world’s leading fine brandy houses,” she pointed out.
At Van Ryn’s distillers understand the importance of time, Bester added. “We allow our brandies the luxury of maturation for several years, quietly developing their complex layers of flavours during their slumber,” she explained.
“Although we lose approximately 3% of volume per year to the Angel’s Share, the result is an incredibly smooth brandy that reaps rewards in both character and quality.”
Enjoying brandy is not a secret society! Master blenders around the world always recommend aged brandies with a dash of water or on the rocks.
