Diemersdal Estate, situated in Durbanville, has achieved an impressive milestone in the 2023 Platter’s South African Wine Guide, garnering two prestigious five-star ratings for wines crafted from their signature grape variety, Sauvignon Blanc. Owner-winemaker Thys Louw believes this accomplishment signals the dawn of a new era of critical acclaim for Cape Sauvignon Blanc.
The two Diemersdal five-star Platter’s wines, Wild Horseshoe 2021 and The Journal 2021, both fall in line with the prevailing trend of wooded Sauvignon Blancs. When combined with the revelation that eleven Sauvignon Blancs achieved five-star ratings in the 2023 guide, compared to merely two wines achieving this distinction in 2019, it becomes evident that local Sauvignon Blanc is gradually evolving into a variety capable of embodying the complexity and depth for which Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc are more renowned in the South African context.
The commercial triumph of largely unoaked Sauvignon Blanc as South Africa’s leading white varietal wine over the past two decades has led to the dominance of its identity as a crisp, fresh, and easily quaffable wine. Consumers have come to associate this accessibility with Sauvignon Blanc, and winemakers have catered to this preference by producing an appealing unwooded and straightforward style, driven by consumer demand.
Louw emphasizes that Cape Sauvignon Blanc producers are increasingly recognizing the variety’s potential to create some of the world’s finest white wines, following the examples set by renowned regions like Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in France, as well as in countries such as Austria, Italy, the United States, and notably, New Zealand.
A growing number of local Sauvignon Blanc producers are embracing techniques such as skin fermentation, lees contact, and various wood maturation processes. The successes of these endeavors are being acknowledged, as highlighted by the majority of the 11 five-star Sauvignon Blancs in the latest Platter’s Guide being wines that have undergone wood aging. Louw believes that this patient and craftsmanship-oriented approach to winemaking reveals a whole new array of nuances, distinct from those found in unoaked Sauvignon Blanc. This meticulous technique brings forth characteristics like palate weight, minerality, and captivating tertiary elements, ushering in a more refined style.
Diemersdal’s Wild Horseshoe Sauvignon Blanc is crafted through skin fermentation and aging in older barrels, while The Journal matures in a blend of new and seasoned French oak, in a manner reminiscent of Sancerre. These wines stand in stark contrast to Diemersdal’s renowned unwooded Sauvignon Blanc offerings like Eight Rows, Winter Ferment, and the Diemersdal Estate Reserve, which have historically garnered much of the critical acclaim associated with Diemersdal Sauvignon Blanc.
Louw’s outlook is optimistic, projecting a new era for South African Sauvignon Blanc. He believes that the variety’s success among consumers and its accumulation of critical acclaim over the past two decades provide a solid foundation for future developments. The diverse terroirs across the Cape have the potential to yield a wide spectrum of quality Sauvignon Blanc fruit, thereby garnering substantial international recognition, not just from critics but also from the market. He points out that when New Zealand experienced a poor crop in 2021, international buyers turned to South African Sauvignon Blanc to fulfill their orders.
Looking ahead, Louw envisions a chapter marked by heightened emphasis on stylistic complexity, demonstrating that Sauvignon Blanc can produce some of the world’s most exquisite white wines. He anticipates that South Africa will contribute its distinctive renditions to this narrative, underpinned by geographical expression.
“Geographical expression lays a thrilling foundation for the elevation of South Africa’s Sauvignon Blanc offerings to the next level,” Louw predicts. “With increased collaboration among producers and a shared commitment to crafting sophisticated, intricate, and stylistically adventurous Sauvignon Blancs, I foresee that the country’s future offerings of this well-established and globally renowned variety will diverge significantly from the current landscape, showcasing remarkable diversity.”
