De Wetshof Estate reaffirmed its reputation as South Africa's House of Chardonnay at the Veritas Awards 2023.
Veritas chairman Christo Pienaar with Johann de Wet, CEO of De Wetshof and winemaker Loic du Toit.
De Wetshof Estate in Robertson reaffirmed its reputation as South Africa's House of Chardonnay with an impressive showing at this year's Veritas Wine Awards, winning a Double Gold and two Gold medals for three of its site-specific Chardonnay wines for which this estate is renowned.
The Veritas Double Gold medal went to the Limestone Hill 2023, an unwooded Chardonnay that has become a regular podium finisher at these and other annual wine competitions. Gold medals were awarded to the iconic De Wetshof Bateleur Chardonnay 2021, made from a single-vineyard planted in 1987, as well as to the De Wetshof Finesse 2022.
De Wetshof's third Gold went to its Sauvignon Blanc 2023, another variety that along with Chardonnay, De Wetshof pioneered at the Cape in the 1980s.
Johann de Wet, CEO of De Wetshof, says the three Veritas accolades not only recognise the estate's focus on producing quality Chardonnay, but also its ability to offer diverse wines from this Burgundian variety, each reflecting distinctive parcels of terroir found on the Robertson property.
"With seven Chardonnays in our portfolio – including a Blanc de Blancs Cap Classique – De Wetshof's goal is to express the varying flavour profiles achieved from Chardonnay vineyards growing on the farm's different terroirs, giving each wine a true site-specific sense of place," he says. "The three accolades at this year's Veritas are apt recognition for our goal of recognising this unique and diverse offering De Wetshof can achieve from the one variety we pioneered in South Africa and remain committed to."
The Double Gold-winning Limestone Hill Chardonnay has over the years shown itself to be a leader of the country's dynamic category of unwooded Chardonnays and is made from vineyards set in soils that contain the highest levels of limestone on De Wetshof. The 36-year-old Bateleur vineyard is set in rocky terrain, while Finesse has its roots in gravelly soils with a pronounced clay component.
Both the Finesse and Bateleur are wooded Chardonnays, the former aged in older oak for a supple palate-weight, while Bateleur sees maturation in new wood as the nuances achieved from the older vineyard allows the wine to offer freshness and delicacy without an over-powering oakiness.
De Wet says that South Africa is currently recognised as one of the world's leading Chardonnay producers outside of the variety's ancestral home of Burgundy.
"One of the reasons is the varying scope of the country's Chardonnay offering as a result of the Cape's terroir diversity," says De Wet. "The other is the commitment shown by Chardonnay producers in aiming for excellence in the world's most famous white wine variety.
"The recent Veritas Awards shows De Wetshof to be an example of these factors. We are able to make diverse, award-winning Chardonnays within a farm with 200ha of vines. And it is this terroir and our pioneering legacy that keeps us committed to excellence in the variety for which I believe the South African wine industry is set to become truly renowned globally."