STEENBERG VINEYARDS SPEARHEADS SEMILLON RENAISSANCE
Posted on 06. Jun, 2011 by BottlePlatePillow in 1) Bottle News, 4) General News, Just In, Steenberg
Steenberg Vineyards in the Constantia Valley is driving the imminent renaissance of Semillon in South Africa, with winemaker, JD Pretorius flying the flag. Renowned as a top producer of Sauvignon Blanc, Steenberg Vineyards is also being recognized for its world-class Semillon varietals and blends, recently scoring two coveted accolades for its Steenberg Semillon 2010. A 100% Semillon, this refined vintage not only made it onto the Top 100 SA Wines ratings guide, but also won a Gold Medal at the prestigious International Decanter World Wine Awards.
Semillon
The limited release Steenberg Semillon 2010 is the epitome of the Constantia Valley’s best. According to Pretorius it’s an excellent ‘food wine’ which has a good natural acidity, but with much more body than Sauvignon Blanc. The elegant wine has overtones of delicious peach and apricots and hints of crème brûlée and lemon meringue on the palate, followed by quinces and tangerine on the aftertaste. It has great structure and length with a soft creaminess that lingers on the palate. ‘This Semillon spent a total of eight months in in a combination of new and second fill French oak barrels, adding a light toasty character to the mainly fruit driven wine, which makes it a wonderful match for almost any meal’, he enthuses. (Only 350 x 12 cases have been produced – cellar door price R190 per bottle).
Pretorius believes that the time has come to acknowledge Semillon as an outstanding cultivar with great potential. He recently demonstrated this most effectively at a 20-wine Semillon blind tasting held at Steenberg for a group of wine writers, retailers, wine stewards and sommeliers. It seems that Pretorius has garnered a stronghold of followers among the ranks of experienced wine aficionados, to support him in his quest to take the ‘Semillon renaissance’ into the future.
The Semillon tasting was attended and reviewed by respected wine writer Christian Eedes in an article that appeared on his popular blog whatidranklastnight. A firm fan of the Constantia Valley’s Semillons, he particularly commended the Steenberg Semillon 2007 and substantiated Pretorius’ view of a Semillon revival, with interesting, recent statistics. According to Eedes, Semillon was the 12th most planted variety in South Africa at the end of 2010, with the total area amounting to 1 182.4 hectare. ‘An overall impression arising out of the tasting (at Steenberg) is that single-variety Semillon is destined mainly to be the pursuit of wine-geeks. Vinifying it
PAARDEBOSCH WINERY – SWARTLAND
Marius Malan grew up on their family farm, Staart van Paardeberg, on the foothills of the Paardeberg Mountains. Grape growing and producing wine run in the family and it was always Marius's dream to become a winemaker. After graduation at Elsenburg in 2005, Marius worked as assistant winemaker and viticulturist at Uva Mira, thereafter joined Slaley as chief winemaker and viticulturist. Read more...
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