Nederburg scored a hat-trick at The Drinks Business Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters 2018 in the United Kingdom, bringing home three gold medals, the only ones awarded to Cabernet Sauvignons from South Africa. Thirty-six wines from wine-producing countries across the world earned gold medals, while only six achieved ‘master’ status.
The 2015 vintage of Nederburg Private Bin R163 Cabernet Sauvignon, made for exclusive sale on the annual Nederburg Auction (this year on 7 and 8 September), earned an incredible 94 points and a gold medal in the 100% Cabernet Sauvignon oaked, £50+ category. The 2013 vintage of this wine was also rated 94 points and won a gold medal during last year’s edition of the challenge.
Nederburg Two Centuries Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 scored gold in the 100% Cabernet Sauvignon oaked, £20-£30 grouping, with 93 points. This wine is not a newcomer when it comes to impressing wine experts. Last year, it won the coveted Warren Winiarski Trophy for the best Cabernet Sauvignon at the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC).
The 2014 vintage of this wine earned 92 points and a silver medal in the Cabernet Sauvignon competition by The Drinks Business.
The third gold was claimed by Nederburg Heritage Heroes The Brew Master 2015, with 93 points achieved in the Cabernet Sauvignon oaked blend, £15-£20 category. Dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, this Bordeaux-style red blend also features Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec.
This wine commemorates brew master and tea specialist Johann Graue, who revolutionised winemaking in South Africa with his clonal experiments to isolate top-performing vines for reproduction, as well as his introduction of cold fermentation techniques. The co-owner of a leading brewery in Germany before coming to South Africa, he acquired Nederburg in 1937 and a foundation of excellence which could be followed by his successors. Graue understood long before anyone else, that one had to start with the best raw materials and that excellent wine originated in the vineyard.
“This is a sentiment, a golden thread that runs through Nederburg. It underscores our winemaking philosophy and guides our thinking. And this foundation for excellence was born with Johann Graue and further carried on by those winemaking legends that went before us,” says Andrea Freeborough, Nederburg cellar-master since 2015.
Andrea Freeborough, Nederburg cellar-master (LR)
“We are grateful for the affirmation by the judges of 2018 The Drinks Business Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters. It spurs us on in doing more and achieving more, experimenting more, producing Cabernet Sauvignons reflecting a sense of place, that can stand tall and proud among some of the best in the world,” she explains.
Nederburg is well-known and respected for its ability to produce Cabernet Sauvignons of distinction. It presents a timeless style that pays tribute to the winery’s long-established history while at the same time reflecting access to new research and technology in the vineyards and the cellars.
“We hand make these awarding-winning wines with great care and meticulous attention to detail. They are all made from fruit sourced from two top-performing dry-farmed vineyards situated on the north-west facing slopes of Simonsberg in Simondium (Paarl wine region).
“The vines are mature and grow in red/yellow Tukulu/Clovelly (deep clay and granite) soils ideal for root penetration due to its good water-holding capacity and limited compactness. Little is done to interfere with these vines that are in perfect balance with nature.
“In the cellar, the selected fruit is further sorted with each block individually vinified. Open-topped fermenters are used to provide greater colour, complexity of aroma and flavour, and optimal tannin extraction.
“These wines were matured in a selection of new, second- and third-fill French oak barrels for a period of 22 to 30 months prior to blending.
“The resultant wines are all richly fruited, plushly layered and well-proportioned with bold, assured flavours and firm, fine-grained tannins. They have been made to mature over decades, rewarding those with patience.”
The judges of this year’s The Drinks Business Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters:
Patrick Schmitt MW
Jonathan Pedley MW
Patricia Stefanowicz MW
Clement Robert MS
Alistair Cooper MW
Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW
Victoria Burt MW
Philippa Carr MW
Nancy Gilchrist MW
Rupert Millar
