Idiom Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot-Cabernet Franc blend wins Trophy for the Best South African Red Bordeaux at the 2010 Decanter World Wine Awards.
The Idiom Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot-Cabernet Franc 2006 received a prestigious international accolade when it was awarded the South African Red Bordeaux Varietal Trophy for the over £10 category at the 2010 Decanter World Wine Awards held in London.
“We are very proud of this achievement. Our vineyards in the Helderberg are still young but are showing great promise. This is only the third release of the Bordeaux-style blend,” says Alberto Bottega, proprietor of Da Capo Vineyards in the Helderberg, which is one of the southernmost Wine of Origin Stellenbosch properties. “When I started this project in the late nineties, I initially set out the vineyards with the aim of trying to make a great Bordeaux blend as I considered that to be the epitome of winemaking. This award, in some ways, is a fulfilment of that dream.”
To date, each release of the Idiom Bordeaux Blend has managed to receive a number of significant awards. “The maiden 2004 blend,” recalls Bottega, while trying to describe the character of the wine that was awarded Double Gold in 2006 and then selected shortly thereafter by SAA’s panel for their First and Business Class Onboard listing, “was initially quite reserved and austere as it was Cabernet Sauvignon dominated. It took more than a year in bottle for the fruit to open up. Now it is super soft with deliciously deep, dark berry notes. “
The subsequent 2005 vintage won no less than 4 gold medals locally and abroad, and was one of only two South African reds to be awarded Gold at the 2009 UK Sommelier Wine Awards, a competition that is getting increased attention from the London restaurant trade. “We were also thrilled to receive the Trophy for Best South African Bordeaux Blend of 2008 at South Africa’s Wine-Of-The-Month (WOTM) Club annual awards. Many of the top estates enter this competition as good scores mean potentially large orders, which is often more than you can say about other competitions. ”
“The current release 2006 vintage received a special mention at the 2009 WOTM Club Awards as it finished a very close second to the winning wine, so we were happy with the consistency of the performance despite a change in the percentage of the components from the previous year”, adds Roberto Bottega, Alberto’s son, who is spending more of his time abroad launching Idiom in the export market.
“The Decanter Trophy winning 2006, a blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc is perhaps a bit fresher and better balanced than the previous vintages. I think the higher Cabernet Franc percentage is doing the trick”, he adds. “The fruit is more accessible and there is good acidity that makes the blend lively and keeps the tannins in the background.”
The 2006 vintage is also the first Idiom wine to receive 4 ½ stars from Platter. The chairman of the local South African WINE magazine tasting panel even picked it as his best Bordeaux of their annual 1999 review, scoring it 18/20 and commenting that the percentages of 43, 31 and 25 declared on the label add up to 99, not 100.
“We’ve left the missing 1% up to the taster’s imagination,”jokes the younger Bottega. “At the end of the day, we’re talking about a blend that is greater than the sum of its parts. It is both elegant and complex, with multiple layers of flavour and a long lingering finish.”, continues Bottega, “In fact, the broadness of the flavour comes from the fact we have blended four clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, five clones of Merlot and two clones of Cabernet Franc, all grown on our vineyards in the Helderberg.”
The 2006 vintage is truly turning out to be a great year for Idiom’s three blends. The Cape Blend 2006, with almost 40% Pinotage, is also highly accoladed, after receiving Double Gold and Gold at Michelangelo and Veritas, two of South Africa’s top competitions, a Diamond award at the Investec Winemaker’s Choice Awards as well as the top and only 4 star rating from SA’s WINE Magazine’s Cape Blend category review. The Rhone-style Shiraz Mourvedre Viognier 2006, on the other hand, has been available in SAA’s lounges and onboard, and has helped elevate Idiom’s profile as a serious player in the South African market.
Wine lovers will get a sneak preview of the beautiful Da Capo terroir when Idiom opens up its vineyards to the public for the first time over the Stellenbosch Wine Festival this July. The Festival, which will coincide with the last FIFA World Cup Quarter-Final and the first Semi-Final taking place in Cape Town, will run from 1-5 July. The Bottega Family will be offering visiting football fans blending sessions with a football theme in addition to the chance to experience the Idiom Collection of wines.
A brand new tasting facility for Idiom wines is being planned and should be ready for completion by the end of 2010.
To celebrate the Decanter Award, Idiom will be making a limited number of vertical three- and six packs available featuring the 2004, 2005 and Decanter Trophy winning 2006 Bordeaux-style blends. The three bottle giftpack is priced at R450 while the six bottle pack featuring two bottles of each blend is R900.
For more information about the wines and the festival, visit www.idiom.co.za or www.bottegafamilywine.co.za
N O T E S :
The Idiom Bordeaux-style Blend (Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot-Cabernet Franc) 2006 is available at selected specialist retailers and is available at cellar door prices on www.bottegafamilywine.co.za.
For general orders and trade enquiries, contact Jeanne Clarke at Da Capo Direct on +27 (0)21 852 3590 or email Roberto Bottega on wine@idiom.co.za
