Rietvallei Estate is continuing its run of clinching awards in premier wine competitions, now boasting a Double Gold and Gold award at the Veritas Awards 2021.

Receiving these coveted medals during the awards function at the stylish Val de Vie Estate Polo Club in Paarl on Saturday, were the JMB Chardonnay 2020 (Double Gold) and Estéanna Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot 2009 (Gold). 

This follows on the Estate recently clinching six Gold medals at the Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards and earlier also being named as national winners for both Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc categories at the Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards and winning both the trophies for SA Terroir Top Estate and Top Producer.

The Veritas Awards had almost 1 300 entries, judged by a jury of 64 specialists during a five-day blind tasting session. Chardonnay was highly competitive with 93 entries, while Red Blends received the most entries, namely 166.

• Rietvallei JMB Chardonnay 2020 is from a single vineyard – full-bodied and complex, the result of fermentation in 300-litre French oak barrels and a further eight months of maturation on the lees. It is part of the Estate’s top-tiered, limited edition Heritage Collection portfolio.  

• Rietvallei Estéanna 2009 is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Full-bodied and well-rounded after maturation of 24 months in new 300-litre French oak barrels, with the structure to mature for a good ten years plus. Big, literally and figuratively, in a magnum bottle also part of the Estate’s Heritage Collection.