Rietvallei Wine Estate has received top honours at the 2021 Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards, winning both the trophies for SA Terroir Top Estate and Top Producer – thereby not only reaffirming its unique terroir traits for fine wine production, but also the Robertson winegrowing area’s growing stature as leading origin of fine wine.  

Rietvallei was also named as national winners for the Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc categories and these winning wines were: 

• Estéanna Sauvignon Blanc 2020, the estate’s predominant that has now for two years been produced in a true blanc fumé style, with barrel-fermentation and subtle wood-contact.
• Chenin Blanc 2020, a dry and fruity wine that has trumped in the category with most entries overall and is the most prolifically planted cultivar in South Africa.

Additionally, the estate also won Robertson’s District’s categories for Cabernet Franc (JMB Cabernet Franc 2016), Red Blend (Rietvallei Estate 2016), Sauvignon Blanc (Estéanna Sauvignon Blanc 2020), Chenin Blanc (Rietvallei Chenin Blanc 2020) and Muscadel (Rietvallei Muscadel 2018) at this year’s 16th annual Terroir Awards.

The Awards’ results were announced at Overture Restaurant in Hidden Valley, Stellenbosch, on Wednesday 22 September. The national winners of the Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards 2021; derive from 17 terrains across the Cape Winelands.

Said Kobus Burger, owner-winemaker of this 158 year-old wine estate, “We feel extremely honoured to have been awarded these two trophies at this year’s Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards. It’s gratifying to see our area and its terroir-driven wines increasingly being acknowledged among the country’s leading wine terrains with their incredible diversity.”