The jewel of Die Bergkelder, Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest, has triumphed once again as one of South Africa’s top wines by scoring the highest rating in Classic Wine magazine’s Dessert Wines tasting.

Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest 2010 was one of only three dessert wines and the only Chenin Blanc driven contender to earn 4½ stars, the highest rating awarded by the Classic Wine tasting panel. Singled out as “my personal best out of all 86 wines,” panel chairperson Marilyn Cooper describes this Fleur du Cap stunner as “the very best of Noble Late Harvests made in this style.” The Dessert Wines tasting included 25 Noble Late Harvests as well as Natural Sweet, Straw wines, Muscadels, Jerepigos, fortified reds and Sherries.

Taking top honours is nothing new for this star studded dessert wine with its extraordinary consistency as the only wine to have achieved 5-star ratings for five consecutive vintages from Platter’s South African Wine Guide attests. The 2010 vintage also holds a Double Gold from the Five Nations Challenge in Australia, a Grand d’Or at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards and a Gold medal at the Old Mutual trophy Wine Show.

Every Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest is the culmination of meticulous winemaking and exceptional skill that begins with the search for the ideal vineyard with the elusive botrytis character, known as “noble rot”. “Noble Late Harvest is one of the most challenging wines to produce and receiving such consistent praise makes it all worthwhile,” says winemaker Pieter Badenhorst.

Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest 2010 is a blend of Chenin Blanc (84%), Semillon (11%) and a dash of Muscat (5%). Classic Wine describes the wine as follows: “Classic ripe tropical fruit, with marmalade richness from the botrytised grapes. A grapeyness that can only come from a hint of Muscat, simply delightful. Creamy barley sugar on the middle palate, with tangy lime zest make this a gorgeous rich, concentrated wine.”

The award winning Fleur du Cap Noble Late Harvest 2010 is available at Die Bergkelder or selected boutique wine shops from around R115 per bottle. For more information, visit www.fleurducap.co.za, fleurducap.tumblr.com or join the Fleur du Cap Facebook community.