Chamonix Estate secured one of only 33 Gold medal ratings at this year’s Trophy Wine Show with its Premier White Reserve 2022, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon made from grapes grown on this farm set on the mountain slopes above Franschhoek. Now in its 23rd year, the Trophy Wine Show is recognized as one of South Africa’s leading wine competitions, which this year saw 645 entries judged by a panel of local and international experts under the auspices of Trophy Show founder Michael Fridjhon. Gold medal ratings are awarded to wines scoring 95 points and over out of 100.
Stefan van Rooyen, CEO of Chamonix, says the Gold medal accolade from the Trophy Wine Show is especially rewarding in terms of the high standards set by this competition’s panel. “Annually the Trophy Wine Show only recognizes some 5% of entries with ratings of 95 points and above, and to this year see Chamonix enter this hallowed sector of top-achievers is an immense honour,” says Van Rooyen.
“The Gold rating also underscores the diversity of wines we are able to make from Chamonix’s mountain terroir. Over the years we have built a reputation for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and red Bordeaux-style wine. To see Chamonix’s white blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon among the top achievers at this year’s Trophy Wine Show once again shows how fortunate Cape winemakers are to have access to a broad canvas of grape varieties, each flourishing within the region’s geographical boundaries.”
Chamonix Premier White Reserve 2022 has a 64% Sauvignon Blanc component, with the balance being Sémillon. Both varieties are sourced from vineyards set on the Chamonix Estate at 400m above sea level on rocky soils of decomposed granite lying on deep clay beds.
Neil Bruwer, Chamonix’s winemaker, says the vineyards’ altitude provides for cool growing and ripening seasons, with constant breezes from the northwest in winter and southeast in summer. Ample sunlight radiation on these slopes ensures the grapes’ freshness is complemented by complexity in the fruit profiles.
“I believe that whole-bunch pressing enhances these elements, providing the purity of juice with the correct chemical stability to begin the process of making a classic white Bordeaux-style wine,” says Bruwer. “The quality and structure of both the Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon fruit warrant fermentation and aging in oak, and this is done in Austrian and French barrels over a 12-month maturation period, with 30% of the wood used being new.”
The two varietal components are fermented and matured separately, with the final blending done prior to bottling. Bruwer says the cool, mild conditions that characterized the 2022 season played a profound role in the exceptional quality of Chamonix’s Premier White Reserve wine from that year. “2022 will be remembered for lower yields due to the cool and extended growing season, the mild conditions continuing through the harvest,” says Bruwer. “The lighter crop saw fruit of immense concentration and intensity of flavors, compounding varietal character of the Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, which allowed for the making of this formidable wine which will grow in complexity over the next five to ten years.”
