2020 Vintage excels in Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10

Source: Supplied

The winners were announced on Wednesday, 13 October 2021 during an awards ceremony hosted with the support of FNB and Ever Solutions at five different restaurants in the Western Cape and Gauteng.

The Top 10 were judged by a panel of leading wine experts with Cape Wine Master Dr Winifred Bowman as convener, as well as Charles Hopkins, cellar master of De Grendel, wine judge and author Fiona McDonald, Rüdger van Wyk, winemaker of Stark-Condé Wines, Johann Fourie, chief winemaker of Benguela Cove, as well as two Cape Winemakers Guild Protégés, Kelsey Shungking of Mullineux and Leeu and Victoria Davis of Boekenhoutskloof.

"This year will be remembered as a world-class Top 10 and all 96 producers who entered can therefore rightly be proud of the performance of their 157 wines,” says RJ Botha, Chairman of Sauvignon Blanc SA. "We see exciting innovation with six winning wines appearing in the Top 10 for the first time, as well as a good balance with four winning wines that have already achieved this feat before."

This year's Top 10 (in alphabetical order) are:

• Bellevue Sauvignon Blanc 2021
• Diemersdal Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2021
• Flagstone Free Run Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2020
• Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2020
• Le Grand Domaine The Pledge Our Darling Sauvignon Blanc 2020
• Nitida Wild Child 2020
• Spier 21 Gables Sauvignon Blanc 2020
• Steenberg The Black Swan Sauvignon Blanc 2020
• Strandveld Pofadderbos Sauvignon Blanc 2021
• Thelema Sutherland Sauvignon Blanc 2020

"The results confirm diversity and growth in South African Sauvignon Blanc, as well as diversity in origin with the winners coming from diverse regions, including Darling, Durbanville, Constantia, Stellenbosch, Elgin and Elim," concluded Botha.