Boplaas Family Vineyards has excelled at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show (OMTWS), claiming the trophy for Best SA Port. The victory announced on June 30 is historic, coming on the 20th anniversary of the highly esteemed competition but also during the wine industry’s most challenging periods in recent history.
“We are delighted about this good news,” says Carel Nel, Boplaas owner and cellarmaster. “The pandemic has been devastating for many industries including ours, and the Calitzdorp region that is our home is still very much in the grips of a prolonged drought.
“The recognition for our port and the light it casts on the hard work of many people over generations who have been involved in its making, is very welcome.”
A total of 673 wines were entered this year. As is tradition, few medals are awarded, making any achievement at OMTWS a significant one. This year 32 wines received gold medals while 16 trophies were presented.
The port that enraptured OMTWS judges this year was the Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve Port 2017, which scored 96 out of 100 points. The same wine was named SA Champion Port at the SA Young Wine Show in 2017 and was singled out by the Platter’s South African wine guide for five stars and the title of Port of the Year.
The 2017 vintage is yet another ambassador for the Nel family’s legacy of crafting the very finest Cape fortifieds utilising Portuguese varieties. They include Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barocca, Souzão and Touriga Franca. The farm employs traditional vinification with dedication to style in creating wine that will offer decades of enjoyment.
The Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve was produced from Portuguese varieties on old vines at the farm in Calitzdorp, along with small parcels of top-grade fruit from vineyards that supply Boplaas. Grapes were hand-harvested at optimal ripeness and fermented in lagars, the Portuguese name for open-top tanks. Intense manual pigeage was employed to extract optimal flavour, colour and tannin prior to fortification.
Portuguese grapes thrive in the Calitzdorp region because they are hardier and well-adapted to warmer climates. It is anticipated that they’ll play a bigger role as global warming intensifies. The suitability of the Calitzdorp region for the Portuguese varieties, however, was realised quite by chance and a fortunate accident or two.
The story began in 1970’s, when Boplaas patriarch Oupa Danie Nel returned from a visit to the Swartland with his Chevy El Camino packed with bottles of Pinotage and Shiraz. His friends and neighbours needed no encouragement to make short work of the Shiraz, so the decision was taken that this was a variety to plant.
Vines were sourced and planted. Only later however was it discovered – in part by Carel, Oupa Danie’s son – that something was amiss. Carel was still studying oenology at the University of Stellenbosch when it was revealed his father’s vines were Tinta Barocca and not the intended Shiraz.
A trip to Portugal followed and soon the Nels had befriended many of the Douro’s top port producers. Over decades, they’ve been exposed to fine fortified wines, acquiring the art of crafting them too.
