CWG 2015 report
In August I tasted blind, through the complete range of this year Cape Winemakers Guild Auction wines,  using MC 100 Points scoring method.

MCC Sparkling Wines
Graham Beck Wines CWG Pieter Ferreira Non Plus Ultra MCC Brut, Western Cape 2008 Color still youthful, pale straw, Chardonnay austerity, delicately ripe, lime, lemon and toasted almonds note, pure, structured and fresh, broad texture, plush with a nutty mid palate, Pinot fruit on texture, saline, smoky farewell, persistent.
Drink: 2018 until 2026+
480 bottles produced | 92 Points MC
Silverthorn Wines CWG John Loubser Big Dog MCC Brut 2010 Austere, unshowy, but wait for the palate, this is an exceptionally pure offering with bright citrus burst on the lean texture, need time to fill up, subtle notes of matchstick, requires patience.
Drink: 2019 – 2028+
Chardonnay 60% – Pinot Noir 40%
366 bottles produced | 92 Points MC
Villiera CWG Jeff Grier Meteor MCC, Stellenbosch 2008 Blend dominated by Chardonnay, showing citrus, lime and orange note, ripe profile with good purity, fine development and depth, resulting from 5 years on lees , bready, flinty, chalky complexity, plush, honeyed, rich style with generous dosage of 7g/l, yet structured, fresh, elegant, persistent length
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier
Drink: 2015 – 2021
780 bottles produced | 91 Points MC

    White Blends and Other’s
AA Badenhorst Family Wines CWG Adi Badenhorst Graniet-Berg 2013 Clear, pale straw, oxidative style, yet clean, good purity, apple, peach and citrus, touch of floral camomile note, profiling reminds me of a cross between Spanish and Portuguese white, structured and rich with phenolic broadness, generous mouth feels, alcohol noticeable though, full style.
Drink: 2015 – 2022
75% Swartland Roussanne & 25% Voor Paardeberg Grenache Blanc
300 bottles produced | 90 Points MC
Cape Point Vineyards CWG Duncan Savage Auction White 2014 Pale straw with yellow reflections, delicately pure, spicy grassy Semillon character dominant, lemon, cling peach, does not have the intensity of previous vintages, reflective of 2014, lean profile with fresh and elegant juicy note, saline.
Sauvignon Blanc 51% – Semillon 49%
Drink: 2015 – 2021
360 bottles produced | 91 Points MC
Lanner Hill CWG Nicky Versfeld Darling Semillon Double Barrel White 2014 Pale green, oxidative style with fragrant peach, papaya, unusual cheesecake and yoghurt notes, subtle citrus, tangerine, touch of oak, spicy musk, juicy, plush and generous, structured and rich, full style with substantial fruit.
Drink: 2015 – 2018
480 bottles produced | 92 Points MC
Mullineux CWG Andrea Mullineux ‘The Gris’ Swartland Semillon 2014 Pale green, Old World profile, subtle citrus, unusually Chablis like, perfume, complex gravelly note, lead pencil and wet sea shells, nutty mid palate, structured, need time to fill up
Drink: 2015 – 2020
498 bottles produced | 90 Points MC

Sijnn CWG David Trafford !Uri, Malgas 2014 Southern Rhone profiling with seductive fragrant ripe Viognier evident, stone fruit, dried pears, orange, papaya and lemon, floral Muscat note, musk, sweet oak, good purity, graphite, light smoke, juicy and generous texture, unusually tannic, (not phenolic ) for a white wine, mealy.
Drink: 2015 – 2018
Viognier 55% – Chenin Blanc 35% – Roussanne 10%
282 bottles produced | 88 Points MC
Chardonnay
Ataraxia CWG Kevin Grant Under The Gavel Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge Chardonnay 2014 Pale straw, unshowy, subtle and pure, confident style, perfect oaking, savory lemon and orange peel notes, structured bright freshness, lots of energy, racy, linear, saline texture, precise and crystalline, tight, need time, perfect showcase.
Drink: 2019 – 2021+
366 bottles produced | 93 Points MC
Bouchard Finlayson CWG Peter Finlayson Auction Reserve Estate Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Chardonnay 2012 Good purity of fruit, citrus and orange segments, flinty, smoky, matchstick, kind of Meursault like aromatics, fresh and elegant texture, subtle oaking, at peak now, persistent length Drink: 2015 – 2016
1140 bottles produced | 91 Points MC
Jordan CWG Gary Jordan Stellenbosch Chardonnay Auction Selection 2014 Straw, oxidative, good purity and appley, lots of citrus and ripe apples, peaches and apricot, broad texture and rich, honeyed mid palate. Seductive now.
Drink: 2015 – 2017+
924 bottles produced | 89 Points MC

Paul Cluver CWG Andries Burger The Wagon Trail Elgin Chardonnay 2014 Pale bright, crystalline, delicately fragrant, ripe tangerine and citrus notes, touch of oak, racy lots of energy, juicy and engaging, generous offerings, structured broad and spicy, flinty, persistent length
Drink: 2015 – 2024
540 bottles produced | 93 Points MC
Waterford Estate CWG Kevin Arnold Stellenbosch Chardonnay Auction Selection 2011 Pale straw, advanced color, Burgundian, leaning towards Meursault profiling, lifted, very ripe, touch of botrytis, citrus, lemony, peach and apricot, hazelnut, floral, jasmine, oaky, grilled nuts, flinty, fresh, elegant, spicy, long, peaking now.
Drink: 2015 – 2018+
480 bottles produced | 91 Points MC
Chenin Blanc
Miles Mossop CWG Saskia-Jo Swartland Chenin Blanc 2014 Bright pale straw, expressive and ripe, grassy, citrus, peach, mint and fennel, subtle, kind of Burgundy meet Loire in profile, some pyrazines, structured, bright and racy yet plush, spicy.
Drink: 2015 – 2020
85% Chenin Blanc – 15% Clairette Blanche
540 bottles produced | 92 Points MC
Mullineux CWG Andrea Mullineux Trifecta Swartland Chenin Blanc 2013 Pale straw, oxidative, Manzanilla note, confident style, ripe apples, juicy yet lean structure, nutty, white hazelnuts, racy energy, savory, textured and broad, layered, complete, salivating saline, long length.
Drink: 2015 – 2021
420 bottles produced | 93 Points MC

Sauvignon Blanc Bartho Eksteen CWG Vloekskoot Bo Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Sauvignon Blanc Wooded 2014 Fragrant peach notes, ripe and generous, toasty oak, touch of musk spice, judicious profile straddling between New Zealand’s pyrazine style with France flinty character and South African opulence, the structure is crisp and lean, racy, linear, nuttiness derived from the oak maturation, racy freshness, persistent length.
Drink: 2015 – 2026
450 bottles produced | 93 Points MC
De Grendel CWG Charles Hopkins Coastal Region Wooded Sauvignon Blanc 2015 Fragrant, ripe, pure expressive style, delicate with kelp notes, subtle touch of oak, structured mouth feels with pithy grapefruit, elegant, racy and spicy, orange tang
Drink: 2015 – 2018
306 bottles produced | 92 Points MC
Louis Nel CWG “A Thousand Kisses Deep” Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc 2015 Pale green reflections, crystalline, pure, delicate, green apple note, spicy pears, saline, good energy.
Drink: 2015 – 2016
480 bottles produced | 90 Points MC
Nitida CWG Bernhard Veller Durbanville Sauvignon Blanc Barrel Twenty Eight 2014 Expressive, pure, ripe Sauvignon with fine combination of stone fruit and pungent pyrazine, kind of New Zealand’s style grassiness, nettles, green kiwi, passion fruit and citrus, juicy, plush savory texture with a spicy farewell, saline, faintest touch of oak, persistent length.
Drink: 2015 – 2019
300 bottles produced | 91 Points MC

Sweet
AA Badenhorst Family Wines CWG Adi Badenhorst ‘Geel-Kapel” Swartland Muscat de Frontignan 2013 Since I was tasting the line up blind, it was obvious this advance color offering with it’s hazy and cloudy gold hue was an unstable and not clean wine. Oxidative, stemmy with beer yeast note, kind of IPA style craft beer, notes of orange peel, floral, rose buds, musk, high alcohol evident, lean, yeasty and nutty on texture, tannic, phenolic, flat, individual style, this is a highly controversial wine, IMHO, not worthy being on the auction, considering the very high standards of sound winemaking that have generally prevails over the last 3 decades.
By offering a wine like this the CWG have potentially open a back door, for possible mediocrity in the future!  Simply put, cloudy and unstable wine, does not have it’s place at that level of precision. I have looked at every possible angle, I just can’t place this wine anywhere, there is simply no benchmark anywhere in the world that it can relate to.
I am all for naturalness in wine, more especially from a viticultural perspective but when one is paying an average price of R 352 per bottle over the last 11 years, this is a gamble, not worthy of investing in!
This kind of offering is dangerous and does not do justice to Swartland as a region, guys have to be careful, not to cast doubt in consumer’s mind. Generous 79 for those who thinks it’s acceptable to drink funky wine, but a solid 59 points for its unstable faulty conditions.
360 bottles produced | 59 / 79 Points MC

Boplaas CWG Carel Nel Ouma Cloete Calitzdorp Viognier Straw Wine 2013 Advanced color, gold yellow, with touches of botrytis, raisin, dried peach and apricot, sweet but not cloying, honeyed, cashmere texture, elegant, could do with brighter acidity, fine effort nevertheless, it will age because of the relatively high residuals.
Drink: 2015 – 2030+

798 bottles produced | 89 Points MC

[Author: Miguel Chan]