Producers of South Africa’s top-selling cultivar make exceptional site-specific wines.
In a closely contested challenge, the judging panel of the 2024 FNB Sauvignon Blanc SA Top 10 awarded no less than seven wards, six districts, and three regions.
Out of the 160 wines entered by 91 producers, the 2023 vintage stood out with seven winners in the Top 10. Six of the winning wines are wooded, a style that has increasingly been making its mark over the 18 years of this annual competition.
Sauvignon Blanc South Africa announced the winners on Wednesday 16 October at De Meye Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, with Ryan O’Connor and Success Lekabe as masters of ceremonies. Guests were challenged to solve a quiz of music and wine notes to identify the winning wines from 20 finalists, with ZZ Top, Queen, Harry Styles, and André Rieu giving a helping hand!
This year’s Top 10 (in alphabetical order) are:
- Alvi’s Drift Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (wooded) (Scherpenheuvel, Worcester)
- Cederberg Wines Ghost Corner Wild Ferment 2023 (wooded) (Elim, Cape Agulhas)
- Diemersdal Winter Ferment Sauvignon Blanc 2024 (Durbanville)
- Flagstone Free Run Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (Coastal Region)
- Hermanuspietersfontein Kat met die Houtbeen Sauvignon Blanc 2022 (wooded) (Sunday’s Glen, Walker Bay)
- Iona Elgin Highlands Sauvignon Blanc 2024 (Elgin)
- Lomond Sugarbush Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (Cape Agulhas)
- Maastricht The Contour Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (wooded) (Durbanville)
- Stark-Condé Round Mountain Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (wooded) (Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch)
- Zevenwacht Z Collection Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (wooded) (Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch)
The Top 10 features five winners from the Coastal Region, four from the Cape South Coast, and one from the Breede River Valley. A total of seven wards boast winners, representing six districts, with two winners each for Durbanville, Cape Agulhas, and Stellenbosch, and one each from Elgin, Sunday’s Glen (Walker Bay), and Scherpenheuvel (Worcester).
The judging panel was convened by Cape Wine Master Dr. Winifred Bowman and featured specialist judges Johann Fourie, head winemaker at Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate; Dr. Carien Coetzee, oenologist at Basic Wine; Morgan Steyn, winemaker at De Grendel Wines; and Mahalia Kotjane, owner-winemaker of Three Quarter Wines. The panel also included two protégé judges: Kelsey Nel, winemaker at Hartenberg Wine Estate, and Anke van Zyl, an intern at Neil Ellis Wines.
“Sauvignon Blanc is in an exciting phase, as showcased by the versatile styles from different areas in the Top 10,” says RJ Botha, Chairman of Sauvignon Blanc SA. “The six wooded winners show our winemakers’s craftmanship in developing different elements of this noble grape, building texture, and adding layers. The excellent performance of the 2023 vintage again confirms the aging potential of South African Sauvignon Blanc. Many thanks to our partners FNB and EVER Solutions for their contribution to our success,” says Botha.
This year’s competition, the only competition fully dedicated to Sauvignon Blanc, was once again supported by the Top 10 title partner, FNB, and platinum partner, EVER Solutions. Ever has been a leading international producer of winemaking solutions since 1973, trading in South Africa since 2006 as EVER Solutions.
Stephan Claassen, FNB Commercial’s Provincial Head for the Western and Eastern Cape, congratulated the Top 10 winners, who stood out above the rest to showcase exceptional wine-making skills and talent, in a closely contested challenge. “Our longstanding partnership with Sauvignon Blanc SA goes a long way in promoting the global stature of South African wines, as well as the local development of this sector. This platform allows producers to be recognised and rewarded for their innovation and excellence, enhancing their potential for growth. Well done to all the producers for ensuring that our home-produced Sauvignon Blanc cultivar continues to sustain international recognition for its quality and standards.
Furthermore, our involvement goes beyond the sponsorship of the awards, and is focused on supporting the entire ecosystem around the wine industry, including the various businesses in the value chain and stimulating job creation in the agri sector,” adds Claassen.
