SA wines have shrugged off the quality deficit of the isolation years
A little more than 20 years ago an Australian wine show organiser came up with the idea of a Tri-Nations Wine Challenge, timed to coincide with the southern hemisphere rugby competition of the same name.
It was hosted in Sydney, with one representative from each country charged with assembling their submissions and all three judging them together. None of us was paid: our treat at the end of the three days was a slap-up dinner at Sydney’s most famous restaurant — an oriental fusion food culinary icon called Tetsuya’s.
To say that SA finished third (rather than last) in those first few years is to put a Fikile Mbalula spin to the facts. We won virtually no best-in-class trophies and our overall points tally was an embarrassing distance behind the country finishing second. Not all of this was attributable to the wines themselves: the Kiwi and Aussie judges inevitably preferred certain similar styles. It wasn’ ta matter of prejudice — just familiarity — but it hurt SA’s chances, which everyone acknowledged.
So, in time, a fourth judge from the UK was roped in to neutralise this effect. This may have helped, though (and this is more relevant) our wines were actually improving so the gap was beginning to narrow anyway. We started winning more trophies. At much the same time, the big bold style that had long vouchsafed Australia’s pre-eminence in world markets went out of fashion. Elegance started to count for more: this suited the Cape and the Kiwis. From then on — and for several years New Zealand claimed the trophy for Country of Show.
By the second decade of this century much had changed. Chile and Argentina came and went. Then the US was joined by Canada to make it a North American versus southern hemisphere competition. The results were more evenly matched: all the participants managed a fair representation of trophies, though the easier access to entries favoured New Zealand and Australia when it came to the highest number of overall points.
Then along came Covid, and none of the national judges could travel to Sydney. The organisers’ solution was to get the country representatives to select the wines, with Masters of Wine (MWs) living in Australia doing the judging. This worked remarkably well for SA. Some of our success might be attributed to the non-partisan effect of MW-only panellists (though actually this should have favoured Australia, where they were all resident). The more obvious explanation must surely be that the overall quality of Cape wine was dramatically better than when the competition launched.
Now called the Global Fine Wine Challenge, the latest iteration was judged in Australia last November. It now has a hybrid format, with some country judges and some MWs. I stood down to facilitate inperson judging by the newly appointed American panellist, Anthony Mueller. Incidentally, he rates SA wine for Robert Parker and is properly familiar with our wines.
Whatever the reasons, 2023 was a triumph for the Cape. While Australia topped the Bestin-Class list, we tied just behind, sharing second place with New Zealand (the US limped in with a solitary win in the merlot class). We showed a breadth and depth across a wealth of classes on a scale we could not have imagined 20 years ago.
The numbers speak for themselves: our five trophies were awarded to Stellenrust for the 58 Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2022, Donkiesbaai Grenache 2021, Tokara Directors Reserve White 2020, Zorgvliet Cabernet Franc 2020, and Bacco Estate Red Bordeaux Blend 2020. Our four runnerup double golds went to Bellingham Bernard Series Chenin Blanc 2022, Cederberg Shiraz 2020, Delaire Graff The Banghoek Bordeaux Blend 2018 and Erika Obermeyer Erika O Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, to go with a further 12 double golds and 30 gold medals.
A far cry from the empty trophy cabinet of the early days, this is a sign that SA has finally made up the quality deficit of the isolation years.
TO SAY THAT SA FINISHED THIRD IN THOSE FIRST FEW YEARS IS TO PUT A FIKILE MBALULA SPIN TO THE FACTS