For the second successive year a wooded Cabernet Sauvignon – this time from Diemersdal Estate in Durbanville – excelled by clinching the prestigious General Smuts Trophy Trophy as overall SA Champion Young Wine of 2024, after also being named as the country’s Best Cabernet Sauvignon (wooded) at the SA Young Wine Show.

Diemersdal Estate has also won the General Smuts Trophy twice before, in 2013 with a Sauvignon Blanc and in 2022 with a wooded Shiraz. The General Smuts Trophy has been awarded annually since 1952.

Perdeberg Wines bagged the Pietman Hugo Trophy for the winery achieving the most points with its five best entries – this being the first time that Perdeberg wins this trophy. Perdeberg excelled by winning no less than four National Trophies, also as the only cellar winning more than one National Trophy, namely the Perdeberg Chenin Blanc (wooded), Perdeberg Viognier (wooded – other white cultivar), Perdeberg Natural Sweet White Wine and Perdeberg Malbec (wooded – other red cultivar).

This annual show for wines from the current vintage year is presented by the SA National Wine Show Association (SANWSA) in collaboration with Agri-Expo.

The General Smuts Trophy was last year also awarded for a Cabernet Sauvignon. It is the seventh time in the existence of this 192year-old competition – the oldest of its kind in the world – that this cultivar clinches this big one, the 73rd time of it being at stake. Wellington Wines won this coveted trophy last year with its Cabernet Sauvignon, following Wildekrans Estate in 1996, Muratie Estate in 1995, JP Bredell Wines in 1993, Saxenburg Estate in 1991 and Klein Constantia Estate in 1988.

This competitions’ impressive array of trophies was announced today (23 August) at a glamorous gala dinner presented by Agri-Expo in die Percheron Hall at Elsenburg Agricultural College. Altogether 48 wines achieved Class Winner status and 133 won Gold Medals.

Like last year, there was an increase in entries, a clear indication that the oldest wine show in the country is gaining further momentum. The judges agreed that the quality of the 2024 wines is excellent, despite a vintage year that posed plenty of challenges to winemakers due to difficult climatic conditions during the growing and harvesting periods.

This year’s 1 387 entries were evaluated by 88 specialist judges on 14 panels. The judging took place at the end of July in the Johann Graue Hall at Nederburg in Paarl over a period of five days, before the champions in 17 classes were named, as well as the two trophies for Best Wine and Best Producer. The specialist panels comprised five members each and a sixth learner-taster joined each panel for training without their scores being included.

A special bottle sticker was introduced in 2013 to feature on the bottles of the General Smuts Trophy wine and thereby show-off the overall best young wine of the year in the marketplace. This has led to more top trophy winners being bottled as such in recent years instead of losing their identity through blending.

The rest of the SA Champions are:

Sauvignon Blanc: Stettyn Wine Cellar

Chardonnay: De Wet Cellar, Chardonnay (wooded)

Sémillon: Cederberg Cellar

White Blended Wine: Badsberg, Chenin Blanc/Chardonnay (wooded)

Noble Late Harvest Wine: Van Loveren Family Vineyards

Shiraz: Stellenbosch Hills, Shiraz (wooded)

Pinotage: Wellington Wines, Pinotage (wooded)

Merlot: Montagu Winery Merlot

Red Blended Wine: Botha Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz/Merlot/Pinotage/Durif/Ruby Cabernet (wooded)

Dessert Wine: Boplaas Estate, Hanepoot Jerepigo

Muscadel: Aan de Doorns Winery, Rooi Muskadel Jerepigo

Cape Style: Jakkalsvlei Vineyards:  Any Other Cape Style Blend

Paarl and Breedekloof/Worcester fared the best as wine regions with five National Trophies each, followed by Klein Karoo three, Stellenbosch two and Robertson and Cederberg one each.

The chairperson of the SA Young Wine Show, Christo Pienaar, said that the quality of this year’s young wines was particularly high despite numerous challenges facing the winemakers. Consumers can look forward to the quality wines made this year to be enjoyed once bottled. “It’s noticeable that the national winners originate from all over the wine production areas, as well as a variety of winery types. I wish to congratulate all the cellars with their achievements and thank them for their ongoing support.”

The organisers emphasised that the SA Young Wines Show is liberally supported by suppliers to the industry and last year’s financial partners again committed themselves to building out the show. The five companies involved are well-known in the industry, namely Anchor Oenology, Enartis, Laffort, Nexus and Standard Bank. Their highly appreciated contributions will ensure a bright future for the Young Wine Show which is known as “the jewel of the industry.”

Overseas visit for top winemakers

One winemaker each from Diemersdal and Perdeberg, as winners of the General Smuts and Pietman Hugo Trophies respectively, can look forward to a sponsored six-day overseas trip – thanks to a longstanding partnership entered in 2019 between the SANWSA and POREX – a prominent Paarl-based supplier of machinery, winemaking equipment and vinicultural products to the industry. These winemakers will this year attend the Simei wine show in Milanand visit prominent wineries in the Bolzano area.