Paarl names its top Shiraz
2005-10-27
THE king of Paarl Shirazes was produced by Coleraine Wines in this year’s Santam Paarl Shiraz Challenge.
The winery’s Culraithin Syrah 2002 beat 36 contenders from the Paarl region to the throne.
Glen Carlou’s 2003 Glen Carlou Syrah and Boland Cellar’s Boland Shiraz No1 Reserve 2002 took second and third place respectively.
Clive Kerr - owner and winemaker of Coleraine Wines - is the first to receive a new floating trophy for his winning wine.
He describes his Culraithin Syrah 2002 as a spicy, mouth-coating wine armed with sumptuous density of fruit. It displays loads of blackberry and black raspberry flavours that linger in its ripe tannin-laden, lengthy finish.
Christine Rudman, chairman of the judging panel, said the winning wines were elegant and wonderfully balanced.
“Judges experienced diverse styles and this was reflected by the top three Shirazes. Each had its own style. It was also exciting to see that Paarl winemakers are showing more creativity and that they are trying new things,” she commented.
Boschkloof winemaker and Shiraz proponent Jacques Borman, agreed with Rudman’s sentiments.
“There was a lot of experimenting, especially with Rhône-style wines. The skill and creativity of the Paarl winemakers - even more than the influence of Paarl’s terroir - was especially prevalent.”
Judges were of one mind that the entries were of a high quality and characterised by good tannin management and purity of fruit.
It was the first time that the Paarl Shiraz Challenge - in its ninth year - was sponsored by a heavyweight and leader in the short term insurance industry like Santam.
Wessel van der Merwe, Santam’s regional manager in the Western
Cape, says the agreement will be to the benefit of both parties and will give Santam an advantage over its competitors.
“The company has not been that visible in the industry for a while now, but we believe that this sponsorship will provide the platform to market our new Vinoplex product.
“On top of this, the vine industry has a strong association with tourism and we would like to strengthen these ties as well,” said van der Merwe.
The judging panel consisted of Cape Wine Master and former Wine Academy principal, Christine Rudman; Jacques Borman (Boschkloof); Marc Friederich (Marc’s Mediterranean Cuisine & Garden); Mike Louw (Wine of the Month Club and Veritas judge); Tinnie Momberg (Middelvlei); Caroline Rillema (Caroline’s Fine Wines) and Carl Schultz (Hartenberg).
Intensive viticultural research has revealed Paarl’s terroir to be superbly suited to the production of world-class Shiraz. With an average summer temperature of 28°C the area’s climate is often compared to that of the Rhône Valley in Southern France.
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