{"id":50162,"date":"2013-10-27T11:02:11","date_gmt":"2013-10-27T09:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=50162"},"modified":"2013-10-27T13:29:58","modified_gmt":"2013-10-27T11:29:58","slug":"paul-cluver-and-groot-constantia-christian-eedes-top-top-10-chardonnays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/paul-cluver-and-groot-constantia-christian-eedes-top-top-10-chardonnays\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Cluver and Groot Constantia Christian Eedes top Top 10 Chardonnays!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Christian<\/a>The third Christian Eedes Chardonnay Report, and its Top 10 wines for 2012 \u00a0in the category, was released and were announced at Burrata on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Welcoming the guests, sponsor Sanlam Private Investments CEO Dani\u00ebl Kriel said that he values the ‘decent price’<\/em> of South African wine and food each time he returns from an overseas trip. \u00a0 He added that his company is passionate about wine and art investment. \u00a0Having researched the topic on Wikipedia, Kriel said that Chardonnay is the most grown grape variety in the world. \u00a0He also said that South Africa’s first Chardonnay vines had to be smuggled into the country. He thanked the producers who had offered their wines for evaluation, and for their passion for South African wines.<\/p>\n

Wine writer and judge Christian Eedes said that Chardonnay is a ‘wine with a universal following \u2013 arguably the best dry white wine in the world<\/em>\u2019. Christian\u00a0and his judging panel of \u00a0Roland Peens of Wine Cellar and \u00a0James Pietersen, Beverage Manager of Balducci\u2019s and Belthazar, tasted 60 Chardonnays that have performed well at recent competitions. \u00a0Each wine was evaluated and scored out of 20 points\/5 stars. \u00a0PKF were the tasting auditors.<\/p>\n

Characterising top Chardonnay crafting, Christian said: ‘Chardonnay happily responds to a wide range of production techniques (including fermentation and maturation in barrel, malolactic fermentation and stirring of the lees) and these tend to impose themselves on the end-result in significant ways. It might be said, however, that what seems to separate the excellent from the merely good is a purity of fruit, which shines through regardless of how elaborate the winemaker has been’.<\/em><\/p>\n

Christian and his panel found a wide divergence in Chardonnay styles in the judging this year: ‘There seems to be a growing realisation that to compete at the top end of the market, playing it safe is not going to cut it. Consequently, there are some really innovative, even wacky, wines out there’. \u00a0A past emphasis on ‘clean and crisp’ Chardonnay has seen a shift back to ‘more mouth-filling, broad-flavoured wines<\/em>‘. \u00a0The panel found three broad styles of Chardonnay:<\/p>\n

* \u00a0pretty floral aromatics<\/p>\n

* \u00a0spontaneous ferment and\/or oxidative winemaking<\/p>\n

* \u00a0rich and ripe heavily wooded<\/p>\n

He described the two top 5-star Chardonnays as follows:<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 ‘\u00a0The Groot Constantia 2012 has a good core of fruit, oak adding heft, \"Christian<\/a>bright acidity and a saline finish’<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 \"Chritian<\/a>‘The Paul Cluver 2012 is pure and focused, with a lovely tension between concentrated fruit and a riveting line of acidity \u2013 a very classy offering’.<\/em><\/p>\n

History was made in that the Hamilton Russell Chardonnay has been on the Christian Eedes Top 10 Chardonnay list for three years running, made by winemaker Hannes Storm. \u00a0A number of the Top 10 Chardonnay winemakers could not receive their certificates personally, as they were at Winex in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

The 2013 \u00a0Christian Eedes Top 10 Chardonnays, available as a pack of ten at Wade Bales, were announced as:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Five star<\/span><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Groot Constantia 2012<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Paul Cluver 2012<\/p>\n

Four and a half stars<\/span><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2012<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Haskell Anvil 2012<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Tokara Reserve Collection Stellenbosch 2012<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 KWV The Mentors 2012<\/p>\n

Four stars<\/span><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Boschendal Reserve Collection 2012<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Crystallum The Agnes 2012<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Fleur du Cap Unfiltered 2012<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 Rustenberg Five Soldiers 2011<\/p>\n

\"Christian<\/a>The canap\u00e9s served by Burrata Chef Annemarie Steenkamp were delectable, and included pea and asparagus soup, prawn lollipops, salmon blinis, chicken mayonnaise on brioche, chicken croquettes, and risotto balls.<\/p>\n

Christian concluded his evaluation of the country’s top Chardonnays as follows: ‘South Africa\u2019s premium Chardonnays are a compelling proposition and moreover offer great quality relative to price. The top 10, ranging from R95 a bottle for the Fleur du Cap Unfiltered 2012 to R300 a bottle for the Rustenberg Five Soldiers 2011, will hold their own in just about any company. Burgundy remains the benchmark but then you can easily find yourself paying R700 a bottle for Premier Cru and far north for Grand Cru<\/em>‘.<\/p>\n

\n

Disclosure<\/strong>: \u00a0We received a bottle of KWV The Mentors 2012 with our media pack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Christian Eedes Chardonnay Report 2013<\/strong>. \u00a0www.whatidranklastnight.co.za <\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Twitter @ChristianEedes<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com \u00a0<\/a> Twitter: @WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The third Christian Eedes Chardonnay Report, and its Top 10 wines for 2012 \u00a0in the category, was released and were announced at Burrata on Thursday. Welcoming the guests, sponsor Sanlam Private Investments CEO Dani\u00ebl Kriel said that he values the ‘decent price’ of South African wine and food each time he returns from an overseas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,672,1918,20,21,19],"tags":[15117,1285,9534,21899,32378,14431,19173,412,1393,2721,21823,8654,15892,884,58,21900,15891,60,15884,59,21898,9634,13550,5433],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t