CAPE BRANDIES SHINE AT INTERNATIONAL CONCOURS MONDIAL DE BRUXELLES COMPETITION
Brandies from South Africa continue to prove themselves as quite simply and unequivocally among the world’s best, by walking away with two gold and six silver medals at the annual international Concours Mondial de Bruxelles wine and spirit competition held in Palermo, Sicily at the end of April.
Gold went to the KWV 15 Year Old (from South Africa’s largest, world-renowned distillery in Worcester in the Breede River Valley) and the Joseph Barry Traditional Cape Pot Still (from Southern Cape Vineyards, comprising the small wineries of Barrydale and Ladismith in the Klein Karoo).
It’s the second consecutive Concours Mondial de Bruxelles gold medal for the KWV 15 Year. And both these producers have previously had products judged ‘Best Worldwide Brandy’ at the annual International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) in London: the Joseph Barry Cape Pot Still 10 Year Old in 2009 and the KWV 15 Year Old in 2007.
Concours Mondial de Bruxelles silver medals were awarded to the KWV 10 Year Old and KWV 20 Year Old, as well as the Van Ryn’s 15 Year Old Fine Cask Reserve, Van Ryn’s 20 Year Old Collectors Reserve, Collison’s White Gold and Oude Meester Demant, all made by Distell at their showcase Van Ryn Brandy Cellar in Stellenbosch and their Worcester distillery.
Overall, the 2010 results better those of 2009, with eight Cape brandies winning medals compared with last year’s six, a gratifying upward trajectory reflecting, not only consistency but improvement in the spread of top-quality brandies produced by the country’s skilled winemakers and distillers.
South African brandy lovers had the rare pleasure of learning more about these and the Cape’s other premium pot still, vintage and blended brandies at the recent Standard Bank Fine Brandy Festival at the Sandton Sun in Johannesburg in May. A highlight of this third annual three-day event, this year themed as ‘South African Brandy: the World’s Finest’ was the ‘Walk of Fame’, a showcase of the no fewer than 12 Cape brandies to have won the IWSC trophy as ‘Best Worldwide Brandy’ since judging in this category started just over 20 years ago.
As South African Brandy Foundation spokesperson Ielanda Koen pointed out at the time: ‘It is of special significance that we dedicated the third festival to South African brandy’s world status in a year in which the world’s attention is fixed on our country with the 2010 Soccer World Cup. And rightly so, as brandy, marked by its distinctive South African character borne of our specific soils, sunny climate and purity production laws, is one of our country’s truly national products and most treasured drinks.’
Says former distiller and one of South Africa’s veteran international wine and spirits judges Dave Hughes, a panel chair at this year’s three-day Concours Mondial de Bruxelles tasting: ‘To achieve gold – and silver – here, your product has to be pretty exceptional. And you’ll see a fair correlation with IWSC results, which says something for the uniformity and high level of judging throughout and further underpins our brandies’ consistently outstanding achievements on the world stage.’ Hughes is currently in London judging at the 2010 IWSC.
The Concours Mondial de Bruxelles has become acknowledged as one of the world’s most credible and prestigious wine and spirits quality evaluations. Introduced in 1994, it was first held in Brugge, Belgium. As participation by the world’s leading wine and spirits producing regions grew, its international reach and relevance was affirmed in 2006 when the decision was taken to host each year’s tastings in a different European wine centre, starting with Lisbon, Portugal. Maastricht, Bordeaux, Valencia and Palermo followed. The 2011 showcase will be held in Luxembourg.
The world’s leading wine and distilled spirits brands from more than 40 countries are now submitted. They are tasted blind according to a standard set of evaluation criteria in line with the strict style and quality assessment guidelines sanctioned by the Office International de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV), the widely recognised Paris-based international wine and spirits industry body tasked with the scientific, technological, commercial, legal and social co-ordination of the world’s wine production.
| Concours Mondial de Bruxelles Results 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit | Award | Producer | |
| Collison’s White Gold | Médaille d’Argent | Distell Ltd | |
| Joseph Barry Traditional Cape Pot Still | Médaille d’Or | Southern Cape Vineyards | |
| KWV 10 Year Old | Médaille d’Argent | KWV Ltd | |
| KWV 15 Year Old | Médaille d’Or | KWV Ltd | |
| KWV 20 Year Old Potstill Brandy | Médaille d’Argent | KWV Ltd | |
| Oude Meester Demant | Médaille d’Argent | Distell Ltd | |
| Van Ryn’s 15 Year Old Fine Cask Reserve | Médaille d’Argent | Distell Ltd | |
| Van Ryn’s 20 Year Old Collectors Reserve | Médaille d’Argent | Distell Ltd | |
| Concours Mondial de Bruxelles Results 2009 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit | Award | Producer | |
| Klipdrift Gold | Médaille d’Argent | Distell Ltd | |
| KWV 15 Year Old | Médaille d’Or | KWV Ltd | |
| Nederburg Solera Potstill Brandy | Médaille d’Argent | Distell Ltd | |
| Oude Meester Demant | Médaille d’Or | Distell Ltd | |
| Van Ryn’s 10 Year Old Vintage Brandy | Médaille d’Argent | Distell Ltd | |
| Van Ryn’s 12 Year Old Distillers Reserve | Médaille d’Or | Distell Ltd | |
| Van Ryn’s 15 Year Old Cask Reserve | Médaille d’Argent | Distell Ltd | |
