NEW ON the radar. Out of the blue, as it were… The Rangaka family's M'hudi wine business on their farm in Stellenbosch was founded nearly 20 years ago, but it's somewhat off the beaten track in the north-western reaches of the district – along the Old Paarl Road in the Koelenhof area – and never before have they achieved an accolade of such high calibre. There were five wines scored 97+ at the Global Chenin Blanc Masters in London and three of them are South African – including the Mhudi Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2021.
Of the other top laureates, Stellenrust is never a surprise inclusion among the judges' favourites when it comes to Chenin. On this occasion they did it with one of the Top 10 in the SA Wine Classification spanning the past decade, and it was only a week before that the Helderberg cellar won no fewer than four of the Top 10 awards at the Chenin Blanc Challenge.
The panels at the 27 Global Wine Masters competitions run by The Drinks Business magazine (UK) mainly comprise judges qualified as Masters of Wine or Master Sommeliers. On the team of assessors for the Global Chenin Blanc Masters were MWs Patrick Schmitt, Patricia Stefanowicz, Neil Sommerfelt and Jonathan Pedley. Being the inaugural edition of the competition, there were 47 entries from eight countries, although 33 were from South Africa and just 3 from France… The top-rated South African wines are listed below, and for the full results click here.
MASTER AWARD
Mhudi Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2021
R239pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch
Nederburg Heritage Heroes Anchorman Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2021
R190pb ex-cellar, Paarl
Stellenrust Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2022
R250pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch
GOLD MEDAL
Alvi's Drift Albertus Viljoen Chenin Blanc 2021
R280pb ex-cellar, Worcester
Bruce Jack Boer Maak ’n Plan Chenin Blanc 2022
R270pb ex-cellar, Napier
Durbanville Hills Collectors Reserve Chenin Blanc 2022
R135pb ex-cellar, Durbanville
Endura Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc 2021
R250pb from the Perdeberg cellar, Paarl
Ken Forrester Sparklehorse Chenin Blanc Brut 2020 (MCC)
R225pb ex-cellar, Helderberg-Stellenbosch
Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Chenin Blanc 2022
R270pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch
Kleine Zalze Project Z Chenin Blanc 2021
R460pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch
Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2022
R148pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch
Perdeberg Dry Land Old Vine Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2022
R160pb ex-cellar, Paarl
Spier 21 Gables Chenin Blanc 2021
R290pb ex-cellar, Vlottenburg-Stellenbosch
Spier Good Natured Organic Chenin Blanc 2022
R109pb ex-cellar, Vlottenburg-Stellenbosch
Spier Seaward Chenin Blanc 2022
R135pb ex-cellar, Vlottenburg-Stellenbosch
Warwick Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2021
R450pb ex-cellar, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch
