Hartenberg shines at CWG and Veritas

This past weekend proved to be a highlight in Hartenberg Estate’s year with the farm featuring in one of the record breakers of the Cape Winemakers Guild Auction (CWG) as well as scooping two Gold medals at the highly prestigious Veritas Awards.

Regarded as a social event on the wine industry calendar, the 29th which took place on Saturday, 5 October at Spier, was a resounding success with a number of Auction records broken. One of these went to Hartenberg Estate for a record price of R6 200 paid for a case of six Hartenberg Auction Reserve Shiraz 2010 produced by celebrated winemaker Carl Schultz.

The auction attracted 145 local and 18 foreign buyers, and in total 3 218 cases were sold at an average price of R2 609 per case and an average price per bottle of R435. The line-up of 58 wines included 35 red wines, 18 white wines, 2 Méthode Cap Classiques, one dessert wine, a port and a potstill brandy.

“We are delighted about the outcome of the auction. Not only did Hartenberg maintain its position of achieving a top ten average case price, but the Auction Shiraz set a new CWG record for highest price ever paid for a wine on CWG auction,” comments Carl.

Available exclusively through the Cape Winemakers Guild Carl describes this elegant wine as being deep, black-red in colour, displaying black and red fruits on the palate. Perfumed notes with treacle aromas are also present, resulting in a velvety palate with juicy fruit.

And the success didn’t end there, with two Gold medals awarded to the Hartenberg Merlot 2010 and Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 at this year’s Veritas Awards Gala Dinner which also took place on Saturday evening at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Veritas annually honours the country’s best of the best with double gold, gold, silver and bronze medals. This year a total of 1 792 wines and brandies vied for the prestigious double gold Veritas medal.

The Cabernet Sauvignon displays a rich deep colour with aromas of truffle, lead pencil and cigar box whilst the palate is rewarded with layers of juicy, rich red and black fruits, vanillin oak flavour and savoury, lingering tannins. An elegant wine with rich fruit flavours. This classically structured wine is an ideal accompaniment to most red meat dishes such as a rich meat stew, venison or game, springbok fillet, rare roast beef, pink lamb or even grilled black mushrooms with garlic mash. Available from select specialist wine outlets nationwide this award-winning wine retails Auction of the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild, for approximately R130 per bottle.

The Merlot is described as silky and elegant with a long lasting flavour, displaying hints of dark chocolate, black and red fruits, as well as vanilla and orchards of plum. The perfect wine to enjoy with a hearty butternut and sage cannelloni, chicken in a mouth watering savoury sage sauce or seared duck breast, and retails for approximately R130 per bottle from select specialist wine outlets nationwide.

‘These latest accolades are most certainly a highlight of this year, as it reaffirms our mission in creating versatile and award-winning wines,’ comments winemaker Carl Schultz.