Bellingham's medal harvest
2008-06-26
HAVING successfully completed harvest 2008, Bellingham has been busy bringing in an entirely different kind of crop: gold, silver and bronze medals from five of the world’s top wine competitions. No stranger to local and international accolades, Bellingham vintages have been honoured in the Old Mutual Wine Trophy Awards, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Syrah du Monde 2008, the International Wine Challenge 2008 and the Decanter World Wine Awards. At the recent Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, held not in Europe’s capital city, but in the heart of Bordeaux, the Bellingham Maverick Syrah with a splash of Viognier 2005 and Bellingham Chardonnay won gold, while Bellingham Maverick Chenin Blanc 2007 won silver. Closer to home, Bellingham Sauvignon Blanc with a splash of Semillon 2007 won a silver medal in the Old Mutual Wine Trophy Awards. Earlier, Bellingham Maverick SMV 2005 won a silver medal at Syrah du Monde 2008, a competition that judges the world’s best Syrah and Shiraz wines. Held at the imposing Château d’Ampuis in France’s northern Rhône Valley, 384 wines from 23 countries were tasted and a total of 128 medals awarded. In keeping with her name and distinctive pale gold hues, Bellingham Fair Maiden 2007 won a gold medal at the International Wine Challenge 2008 (IWC), a marathon two-week event which is billed as the biggest blind-tasting on the planet. Some 400 judges tasted about 9 000 samples. The IWC judges also awarded silver to Bellingham Maverick SMV 2005, Bellingham Maverick Chenin Blanc 2007 and Bellingham Sauvignon Blanc with a dash of Semillon 2007. Silver was again the metal of choice for Bellingham at the ‘Decanter World Wine Awards’, considered one of the most prestigious and influential wine competitions of all. Bellingham The Maverick Viognier 2007, Bellingham The Maverick Syrah 2005, Bellingham Fair Maiden 2007 and Bellingham The Maverick Chenin Blanc 2007 took silver medals. “Winning a silver medal in the ‘Decanter World Wine Awards’ is the equivalent of winning a gold from other competitions,” said Decanter Awards chairman Steven Spurrier. A total of 9 219 wines were entered and only 12,4 per cent won silver medals this year. Reflecting on the prolific awards harvest, Bellingham winemaker Niël Groenewald said he and his team had been inspired. “There is something truly gratifying about this string of awards, coming as it did at the close of the successful Harvest 2008. “Somehow the backbreaking work and all the immense challenges of the harvest seem even more worthwhile when you see the appreciation shown earlier Bellingham vintages by the good and the great of the wine world,” said Niël. “This is inspiration to try even harder with our 2008 vintages.” He added he was especially thrilled that Bellingham The Maverick SMV 2005 won a silver Medal at Syrah du Monde 2008. “This is a highly-specialised competition that is keenly focused on one type of wine. With so few entries and rival vintages from some of the world’s most celebrated wine houses, this is an award we will certainly cherish, An award like this proves it pays to take risks with new ideas for wine,” he concluded.
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