WHILE WE WERE hanging in there, trying to establish the names of the judges at the latest Global Sauvignon Blanc Masters staged by The Drinks Business in the UK, the Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa published an article by columnist Hilary Biller about the panel-tasting results that had one wondering… Why did ST / Biller only mention the name of one of the two SA gold medallists among the Top 12; why trumpet the achievement of Durbanville Hills with their 2018 Tangram, a blend of Sauvignon and Semillon, but not that of Elgin Vintners with their 2021 Sauvignon Blanc?

At more or less the same time, another SA newspaper also published the stuff of mystery, i.e. when Suzaan Potgieter of Die Burger reported on the 2021 Michelangelo International Wine & Spirit Awards without mentioning the winner of the Grand Prix trophy for the top-scoring wine in the competition, Benguela Cove Catalina Semillon 2019… then reflected on the Veritas Awards highlights without touching on the highest-scoring wine on that occasion, De Grendel’s 2019 Elim Shiraz… And what did they punt in the main item on the page devoted to wine ‘news’? Badsberg of Rawsonville, whose 2021 blend of Chardonnay and Colombar was judged best wine overall at the SA Young Wine Show – a competition that has little to no relevance to the consumer, and a wine that isn’t available for purchase!

Back to the Sauvignon Blanc Masters… Eventually The Drinks Business did divulge the names of the judges who hadn’t been mentioned in their report: Patrick Schmitt MW, Patricia Stefanowicz MW, Beverly Blanning MW, Adam Porter MW, Keith Isaac MW, Elliot Arwin and Rupert Wollheim MW. Six Masters of Wine! Around 200 wines on the tasting bench. The two top-scoring Master award laureates: Nautilus 2021 and Marisco Vineyards’ Craft Series Pride and Glory 2017, both from Marlborough, New Zealand. Then came 17 gold medallists, with Elgin Vinters 2021 and Durbanville Hills Tangram 2018 among them. Then the silver and bronze medal winners including SA wines from Accolade/Flagstone, De Grendel, Durbanville Hills, Elgin Vintners, Klein Constantia, Kleine Zalze and Nederburg. Full results here.