The Amorim Cap Classique Challenge awards five category trophies for Best Brut, Best Rosé, Best Blanc de Blanc, Best Extended Aging Class and Best Nectar wines and Simonsig won two classes this year taking Best Rosé for the Kaapse Vonkel Brut Rosé 2020 as well as Best Nectar for its Kaapse Vonkel Satin Nectar Rosé 2020.
This judging panel was convened by Heidi Duminy, Cape Wine Master. Assisting her were wine educator Cathy Marston, winemakers Morgan Steyn (De Grendel), Johan Fourie (Benguela Cove) and Nathan Valentine (Villiera) and wine service ambassador Spencer Fondaumiere. Tarryn Vincent from Reciprocal was an associate judge.
“It is an incredible honour to be awarded both category trophies for best Brut Rosé and Best Nectar. This is such a prestigious competition and a great way to benchmark ourselves against the best in the country. It is also the perfect opportunity to give recognition to the Simonsig team for their hard work” says Winemaker Charl Schoeman.
South Africa’s first Cap Classique ever made – the iconic Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel – was conceived at Simonsig in 1971 from the passion and perseverance of Malan Family patriarch, Frans Malan.
Since then, Simonsig and the Malans have proudly continued the pioneering tradition and developed Kaapse Vonkel to an international benchmark of quality and standard bearer for South African-made, bottle-fermented sparkling wine, better known as Cap Classique.
Frans’s winemaking son, Johan, initiated what would become the Cap Classique Producers Association in 1988. In 1999, Simonsig launched Cuvée Royale; in 2006, Brut Rosé took flight, a wine using Pinotage and Pinot Noir as its base; a decade later, Kaapse Vonkel Demi Sec was launched; and, in 2019, Kaapse Vonkel Satin Nectar Rosé was released.
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Issued by Manley Social
Feature image supplied by Manley Social
