In Simonsig’s best performance in the competition to date, the wine estate saw five of their wines selected for the list of Top 100 SA Wines for 2015. The Simonsig wines chosen were the Tiara 2011 Bordeaux style blend, Frans Malan 2011 Cape blend, the Merindol Syrah 2012, Redhill Pinotage 2012 and the Simonsig Chardonnay 2013.
The annual Top 100 list, the result of a rigorous judging of the finest South African wine offerings, is recognised as a leading indicator of the country’s finest wines.
According to Johan Malan, cellarmaster at Simonsig Estate, the achievement at this year’s SA Top 100 surpassed every expectation.
The selection process is done by a panel of heavy-weight judges – including four British Masters of Wine – so just having one of your wines on the list is a great honour, especially as the standard of South African wines is currently the highest it has ever been. – Johan.
“Seeing five of your wines among the list of the Top 100 wines in South Africa is a remarkable achievement for Simonsig’s cellar and vineyard teams. It is also a fitting tribute to my father, Frans, who established our vineyards and initiated Simonsig’s first estate bottled wines in 1968 with a vision of making fine wines,” he says.
This year’s SA Top 100 accolade also underscores the Malan family’s belief that Stellenbosch is home to some of the finest terroir in country, a fact now also recognised around the world.
Johan is especially pleased that the Estate’s four red wines which made it onto the SA Top 100 – Tiara, Frans Malan, Redhill Pinotage and Merindol Syrah – constitute the entire red portfolio in the Estate’s Malan Family Selection range.
“With a broad and varied wine offering and our reputation as the pioneers of Méthode Cap Classique, Simonsig has had to work hard to position our Malan Family Selection as wines that can stand alongside the best in the country,” he says. “Tireless efforts to select and manage the best site-specific vineyards for each variety, judicious blending and focus in the cellar are paying dividends as the Malan Family Selection is currently getting the attention we think it deserves.”
Johan says the SA Top 100 is an excellent vehicle for guiding the consumer. “Besides the high quality of South African wines, there is also the fact that the wine-lover has never had so many wines to choose from due to the proliferation of producers and wine labels,” he says.
“With its distinctive logo, which will adorn our five selected wines as well as the other 95, the list of SA Top 100 Wines is a welcome indication to consumers looking for wines which have passed a stringent selection process recognising top quality.”
With this year’s achievement, Simonsig brings its tally of Top 100 spots to 17 in the last five years.
This year’s Top 100 judges were Masters of Wine Tim Atkin, Richard Kershaw, Greg Sherwood and Justin Knock, well-known British wine writer Jamie Goode, Cape Wine Master Lizette Tolken and winemaker Duncan Savage.
