Kershaw GPS blend impresses again: 97 at IWSC, 95 in Winemag
JUNE 2022: Richard Kershaw’s GPS Series Cape South Coast Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2020 is celebrated as one of the most highly rated wines at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London. Two months later: the same beauty from the Master of Wine’s cellar in Elgin is the critics’ favourite in Winemag’s annual Prescient Sauvignon Blanc Report.
The only other wine among the 122 SA Sauvignon Blancs, Semillons and blends of the two varieties also scored 95/100 by the Winemag panel: the 2020 vintage of Wade Bales Constantia Sauvignon Blanc Semillon. The judges: Christian Eedes (chair), Ndaba Dube (President Hotel’s F&B manager) and Spencer Fondaumiere (SA Sommelier Association chair).
According to Winemag’s rating system, scores of 93 to 95/100 are awarded for ‘outstanding’ examples, better than ‘excellent’. None of the wines submitted for their 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Report were considered ‘extraordinary’ or ‘profound’ (96 points or higher). However, two excerpts from Eedes’ key findings could suggest that the panel might have been a tad harsh:
“Sauvignon Blanc has become ubiquitous on account of how readily it makes aromatic, crisp but ultimately unchallenging wines intended to have mass appeal and yes, these are probably not worth consideration by highly involved wine enthusiasts but to dismiss the variety out of hand is short-sighted…”
“Sauvignon Blanc, when sited correctly and then treated with both care and imagination in the cellar, is producing wines that are just as intense and complex as the best examples of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc…”
