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Decanter World Wine Awards 2014

Gold StickerWe are proud to announce that we achieved three excellent awards from the 2014 Decanter World Wine Awards. Having decided to enter our Syrah 2012 and our two Chardonnays (oaked 2011 and un-oaked 2012) we were absolutely delighted with getting a GOLD award for our 2012 Syrah and BRONZE for the two Chardonnays. To put this into context it is like winning a medal in the Olympic Games, well in wine terms. As our vines are still very young (the syrah and chardonnay vines were 4.5 years old when the grapes were picked) we are really ‘over the moon’ with the way our vineyard and wines are developing. Testimony for this goes to Riana van der Merwe, our young winemaker, and Peter Davison, our vineyard manager. It is the hard work and dedication of the two of them that has enabled us to achieve this is such a short space of time.

 

SEVEN SPRINGS SYRAH 2012 and OVER THE MOUNTAIN SYRAH 2012 – DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS GOLD http://www.decanter.com/dwwa/wine/713/Seven+Springs-Syrah-2012 The Decanter description for this wine reads:-

“Has opened up nicely to show lovely ripe blueberry fruits with some violets and spice. Lovely fleshy style but with substance, black fruits, fine grained tannins and very well balanced. Has surprising length. I think could develop a lot further still.”
Decanter gold Syrah 2012 001
medal-gold
Two syrahs
SEVEN SPRINGS CHARDONNAY 2011 AND OVER THE MOUNTAIN CHARDONNAY 2011
The Decanter description of this wine reads:-
“A rounded, smooth style with a good tropical fruit character. Toffee notes and a touch of burnt match, but with good elegance and a medium finish.”
Decanter bronze Chardonnay 2011 001
medal-bronze
Chardonnays in a bowl
SEVEN SPRINGS UNOAKED CHARDONNAY 2012 and OVER THE MOUNTAIN UNOAKED CHARDONNAY 2012
The Decanter description of this wine reads:-
“Leaner style drive of mineral, struck match and crisp apple acidity. Concentrated but understated with lovely ripe citrus, tangerine and lemon zest. Fresh and lively.”
Decanter bronze Unoaked Chardonnay 2012 001
medal-bronze
uoc, shell, protea, glass

What we’ve been up to.

We have been very busy here at Seven Springs and it doesn’t look like the sudden winter here in the Overberg is going to slow us down.  If you thought it was still Autumn, well guess again. The leaves might be golden, but the mountain tops are getting their first dusting of powdery white snow.

Benson in the Autumn Syrah vineyards

Benson in the Autumn Syrah vineyards

Recently we had a promotion at a local Italian restaurant, Fabio’s Ristorante, with great success. As part of celebrating the success of the promotion, but also to thank the team at Fabio’s we had a lovely tasting on the farm, even though it was windy.

Annie, Fabio, Wietske and Johan

Annie, Fabio, Wietske and Johan

What a great team and great support from the local community in Hermanus. They are the only authenic Italian restaurant in Hermanus and should be on your list of places to dine, have a look on http://www.fabios.co.za/. Who knows, maybe you can enjoy a glass of Seven Springs when you are there!

We have also been very busy marketing our wines in the Overberg with Swellendam the newest area you can find our wines. Schoone Oordt, a five star guesthouse serving our Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc and Pinot noir to their patrons. With a great team of people involved in the guesthouse, Swellendam and Schoone Oordt ( http://www.schooneoordt.co.za) is a real gem and worth spending the night if you ever feel like being treated like instant family.  Our wines are also for sale at De Keldermeister in town and on your way to Swellendam you can stop in Riviersonderend and buy our wines at The Wine Rack.

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This week we had our annual Tradeshow with distrubutor Siris Vintners – Siris About Wine. This year the show went underground with the event taking place in the basement of the Upper East Side Hotel, creating an intimate tasting environment where it felt like you were in a barrel cave. Trade and wineries could connect and talk about all things wine. All-in-all a very enjoyable event and successful to boot. We also got to show off the fact that our 2012 Unoaked Chardonnay and 2011 Oaked Chardonnay both won a Bronze Medal at the 2014 Decanter World Wine Awards.

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Siris Tradeshow 2014

Harvest report to follow soon. It was a tough 2014 vintage and I think I’m still recovering like most viticulurists and winemakers in South Africa. Also be on the look out for upcoming news on the building of our own winery and tasting room on the farm. 2014 is a big year for us and it is all thanks to our local and global support, so thank you to you all.

Cheers

Winemaker Riana