South Africa’s Best White Wine is garnering even further accolades this year. Boschendal’s superlative Elgin Chardonnay 2015 has received 95 points in the prestigious Tim Atkin Report. This comprehensive guide to South African wine ranks 1400 wines from across the country, with nine of Boschendal’s wines scoring 90 points or more.
The ideal vintage to celebrate spring sunshine, the Elgin Chardonnay is part of Boschendal’s premium Appellation Series, and was hailed as South Africa’s Best White Wine in the 2017 International Wine Challenge (IWC). Additionally, it was awarded the Best Elgin Chardonnay Trophy and Best South African Chardonnay Trophy, sealing its domination in the South African Chardonnay category.
As well as the Elgin Chardonnay, Boschendal additionally received 94 for its Appellation Series Elgin Pinot Noir 2015, 94 for the Jean Le Long Prestige Cuvee 2007 Blanc de Blancs, 93 for its ‘Play Pen’ Riesling, and 92 for its Elgin Sauvignon Blanc 2016 and Grand Cuvee Brut 2012.
Shirley van Wyk, marketing manager at Boschendal, says the estate was particularly proud of these awards as they are judged amongst the finest wines in the world.
In his report, Atkin calls South Africa the world’s most dynamic wine producing country, in part due to the emergence of young winemaking talent. This is a view echoed by Boschendal, which firmly supports the nurturing of up-and-coming winemakers as imperative to continuing the estate’s wine producing legacy.
Additionally, Atkin calls for the protection of South Africa’s old vines, which he names a ‘dwindling resource.’ This again, is very much in line with Boschendal’s own mission to protect diminishing varietals through on-going commitment to its vineyards.
As one of South Africa’s first and most prominent Chardonnay producers, we made the decision to purchase Highfield Farms in the Elgin Valley in 2017. We’ve been sourcing our grapes from the farm for over ten years so we wanted to conserve the land for winemaking, especially as many other farms in the region are reverting to apple crops. We have a rich heritage in Chardonnay – it’s a varietal we’re proud of and hope to make for generations to come.
