Ultra Value Wine Challenge Results 2020

S.A.’s ‘best value’ competition launches a brilliant set of winning results with budget conscious wine lovers coming off best!

We are both proud and excited to announce the sixth set of Ultra Value Wine Challenge results. This unique competition identifies the very best wine buys that sell for under R130 per bottle. It is this commercial wine category that is the largest one in S.A. The aim is to put consumers first, giving them a trusted list of the high quality, well-priced wines currently available to buy. The Ultra Value Wine Challenge continues to command respect and attract tremendous support from quality producers and vineyards, who themselves have built a reputation for making really fine, value-driven wines.

Robin von Holdt reviews the 2020 Challenge:

General

‘Wine lovers on budgets are in for delicious drinking treats!  The list of fine wines identified below is tantalising, both in respect of quality as well as price. They were judged to offer gorgeous flavours with lovely fruit and mild tannins. Simply put, they are very moreish.  The other key fact is that they do not break the budget. Really good wines for real people to enjoy right now. It’s that simple.

Support from vineyards, producers and brands in this key market is strong. Enthusiasm for our main-stream and compelling price-category competition is really pleasing. Loyal wine drinkers are committed to maintain their lifestyles and habits. However, price is more key than ever. The tougher economic times and reality of the economy demand a pricing approach that is believable, sensitive and affordable. The Ultra Value Challenge is designed to support this wine loving community as well as the wineries who are committed to their quality price ratios. It does so in a practical manner, by identifying top value wines, according to a specific combination of bottle price and wine quality.

The ‘value’ wine sector remains hugely important. So, if the price is right then the focus in on great quality. Delicious value-for-money winning wines, see both wine lovers and wineries come together in a very happy co-existence, with both being winners!

Our thanks go to both our loyal as well as our new supporters.  Our congratulations go to all of the producers of winning wines, who put so much effort into making fine wines at great prices.  Well done!’

Quality

It is pleasing that judges were of the general view, that a higher quality of wines tasted was another step up from last year. Vineyards practices ensure that fruit quality is better than in prior years. Cellar work in the main is more sensitive with gentler pressing and extraction, while oak use is influenced by better selections and less overt us. The result is accessible, tasty, often interesting wines that please, either on their own or partnering meals. Judges found that their task to find top quality was easier than in prior years, although a larger percentage of wines did not meet the quality threshold.

Judging

‘A very credible team of expert judges took responsibility for assessing every wine. Wines were all tasted ‘blind’ and in similar flights. Judging panels were fair, looking for positives while maintaining the expected rigour. The pleasing set of results was, above all else, about having found the required excellent wine quality.

A considerably smaller portion of wines gained recognition and won an award. Very good wines were identified and their quality was superb. A number of wines however did not get through the initial quality hurdle, which was applied diligently and consistently by the judges. Thereafter, the algorithm that took price into account, in order to arrive at the value-adjusted final result, saw another layer of wines fall aside.

Victories are as valued and deserved as they always have been. Wineries can be justifiably proud. Awards were confirmed by the independent review of the stellar 2020 results.’

Ginette De Fleuriot

Bordeaux Blend Red comment: A very decent flight. Nice showing of dark fruit, solid core, structure and length on the best.

Chardonnay: Overall the wooded wines were the find of the day! Good concentration of fruit & most were wonderfully clean. Crisp, fresh finishes made for enjoyable, pure drinking wines. A great category! Bright & exciting!

Chenin Blanc: A number of delicious, praiseworthy, true to Chenin Blanc-styled wines with good fruit expression, acidity and poise.  Sugars and oak has been reduced. So no over-oaked, pudding wines, but please do bring in more fruit expression.

Off Dry & Semi Sweet:  Rosés performed best. They handled the residual sugar well, a touch of tannin well plus great colour. The sweet worked well.

Statistics

Performing well within recognised international standards and highlighting further the prestige of winning an award, under 50% of entered wines gained an award this year. A great line up of wines yielded a great set of results. Rigorous judging saw less than 8% of wines gained Double Gold Medal awards. 20% of wines gained Gold Medal awards. Silver Medal awards were again hugely successful although strictly judged, with just over 22% qualifying as winners. Awards were very difficult to achieve. They were well-deserved and hard-earned in each and every case.

Double Gold awards went to just 23 wines. 12 red wines, 10 white wines and 1 rosé wine cracked the nod. Scores achieved were all 90+/100 with the highest score this year achieving 99/100 points. Cabernet lead the way with 4 awards. Bordeaux blends gained 3 awards. Then Shiraz and Pinotage gained 2 awards each. For white wine, Chenin Blanc gained 5 awards. Sauvignon Blanc gained 3 awards. Chardonnay and Colombard gained 1 award each. Finally a single rosé also gained a Double Gold award.

Gold Awards went to only 64 wines. DG gongs went to 22 red wines, 31 white wines and 6 sweet wines. Rosé also gained 6 wins. The wines all achieved a score between 85 and 90/100. Pinotage led the charge with a total of 7 wins followed by Shiraz with 4 awards. Cabernet, Merlot and Other red blends each gained 3 awards. Bordeaux and Cape blends achieved 1 award each. For white wine, Sauvignon led with 11 awards followed by Chenin with 9 awards and Chardonnay with 5 awards. Other blends gained 4 awards while Colombard’s and Viognier gained a single award each.

Silver Awards went to 73 wines. 27 went to red wine. 25 went to white wines. 8 went to MCC/bubbly and sweet/semi sweet won 7 awards, while 6 went to rosé wines.

Overall, in the competitions awards, red wines gained 61 awards while white wines gained 66 awards. The semi/sweet/fortified category of wines won 13 awards. Rosé won 13 awards and bubbly won 8 awards.

Vintages

Wines from vintages 2017 to 2020 were entered in this year’s competition.  The majority of entered wines were from 2020 (136).  2019 had 108 wines.  2018 had 22 wines while 2017 had only 8 wines.  Non-Vintage wines accounted for 46 wines.

With regards to results by vintage for Double Gold winners:  2020 cracked the winning number of 9 top awards.  This was followed by 2019 with 8 wins.  2018 earned 3 wins.  While 2017 earned a solitary award.  Non vintages gained 2 awards.

Overall awards by vintage:  2020 was awarded 72 times.  2019 was awarded 52 times.  2018 won 10 times.  2017 gained 4 awards.  Non vintages gained 22 awards.

Spencer Fondaumiere

Pinotage comment: A large improvement from last year.  Aromas much more appealing and cleaner. Wines better made and aimed at a specific style.  Either bright fruit and lighter in style or specifically aimed at more wood and the choc pino style. Overall the category was well received and nice wines tasted.

Merlot comment: The flight was generally dominated by oak. We got a spread of scores but were not charmed by many. Too few examples of the soft, gummy-berry juice on the cheaper end, nor enough sophistication of the top end.

Cabernet Sauvignon comment: Stylistic on-point cab character across the board. Many were good to really enjoyable with solid core and plush dark fruit, enough balance and some younger wines too, offering  good potential.  

Gareth Robertson

MCC & Sparkling comment:   Not a totally inspiring category.  A few nice examples of people using sugar to their advantage and making the bubbles really appealing. Some good use of colour as well. In general MCC’s still offered better value and quality.

Other Red Blends:  A mixed bag. The Rhone blends showed well.

Shiraz: The wines that did well were well balanced, with great fruit and enjoyable drink. The lighter wines, with bright fruit and less oak intervention did extremely well. A number of wines were over ripe or over wooded.  Pity, for a variety that has such potential in SA.

Other White Blends:  Enjoyable class of wines, a fine group with good fruit expression, less reduction, nice fruit / acid balance and expressive.  A consistent flight, most pleasing.  

Evan Alexander

Cape Blends comment: Overall more than expected. A variety of styles, thanks to the blending components giving more complexity. Sound palate weight & length. Cabernet component in blend gives structure and framework to make it an enjoyable style.

Other White Cultivars comment: The Colombards were unpretentious and expressive so we reward them (as they deserve).  The Pinot Gris true to character, good  if not great. The Viogniers very pleasant examples which were expressive  enough – not oily or alcoholic and true to the variety.

Sauvignon Blanc comment: In general, good, clean, not over the top fruit aromas. Majority of the flight was 2020 and the best wines coming from 2019, with fantastic aromas and generous mid-palate. This shows that there is some benefit to bottle ageing SB. In general some great wines tasted at exceptional value!

Ultra Value Challenge Celebrates three new Special Awards

Vineyard Consistency Awards

The consistent achievement of high-quality wines as measured by benchmark accolades, is a characteristic that underpins, globally, all great vineyards. As a consequence of this qualitative fact, one proven only with time, this Challenge now also assesses and awards only those top ranking vineyards that have proved to be consistently at the fore throughout the 6 years of this value-wine competitions history. At this stage and over the full six year period, there are now five vineyards in leading positions with between 41 and 67 winning wines. This stellar performance is a remarkable endorsement of each winners vineyards, their cellar teams, as well as their wine making skills and abilities.

We are pleased to congratulate the following winners:

1. Nicholson Smith Agencies – First placeWine of the Year Award; both a red and a white wine
2. Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar – Second place
3. Accolade Wines SA – Third place
4. Robertson Winery – Fourth place
5. Koelenhof Wynkelder – Fifth place

We have decided to add this category to our special awards. It feels appropriate that, with our track record and experience, we should now also identify during the judging process, and promote, those two individual wines that stand apart from every other value wine. One white wine and one red wine only, those two wines that each achieve the single highest judged score in their generic colour band during the competition.

Red Wine of the year: We are pleased to congratulate –
Nicholson Smith Agencies Pandora’s Box The Persian Connection Shiraz NV

White Wine of the year: We are pleased to congratulate –
Accolade Wines SA Kumala Reserve Chenin Blanc 2019

The additional level of recognition and endorsement that these unique achievements bring to vineyards, as well as to their wine making teams, is of tangible brand and commercial value and benefit. Each one of these awards offers a further enhancement of credibility and reputation, providing positive local market impact together with an enhanced global awareness and brand footprint. It also provides for differentiation of and recognition for their brands uniqueness and USP’s.

The top 10 highest-scoring wines

Accolade Wines SA Kumala Reserve Chenin Blanc 2019 99/100
Perdeberg Cellar Perdeberg Classic Sauvignon Blanc 2020 98/100
McGregor Winery McGregor Chenin Blanc 2020 97/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Pandora’s Box The Persian Connection Shiraz NV 95/100
McGregor Winery McGregor Colombard 2020 95/100
Accolade Wines SA Flagstone Free Run Sauvignon Blanc 2019 94/100
Accolade Wines SA Flagstone Treaty Tree Red Reserve 2018 94/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Pandora’s Box Lock 1855 Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon NV 94/100
Koelenhof Wynkelder Koelenhof Pinotage 2019 94/100
New Cape Wines Hoeks Rivier Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 94/100

Result summaries:

Double Gold Medals 23
Gold Medal Winners 64
Silver Medal Winners 73

Top multiple winning vineyards include:

Nicholson Smith – 19 wins
Accolade Wines SA – 15 wins
Perdeberg Wines – 13 wins
UniWines – 12 wins
Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar – 10 wins
Koelenhof Wynkelder – 9 wins
Robertson Winery – 9 wins
Boland Cellar – 6 wins
Bon Courage Wine Estate – 6 wins
Cape Wine Company – 6 wins
Opstal Wines – 6 wins
Allée Bleue Wine Estate – 5 wins
Middelvlei Wines – 5 wins

Some industry comments from awarded vineyards follow:

Nicholson Smith Agencies
Jason Neal, Owner: “What a fantastic surprise!! 21 medals in total, best red wine on show and overall best producer, we are truly humbled. As times have become tougher, the wine industry has had to adapt. They have done so by producing better quality wines at more reasonable prices which has made it harder and harder to compete. With consumers more and more cash strapped the value element in every purchase has become key critical and winning these awards has helped to galvanise our approach.”

Accolade Wines SA
Gerhard Swart, Head Winemaker: “The Winemakers of Accolade Wines are very proud to have received so many awards over a broad range of wines. This is a great result and shows the great care and attention we give to all our wines. We are also extremely happy with the Double Gold and Best White Wine of the show for the Kumala Reserve Chenin Blanc. It is also a great testimony of the quality of our wines and the attention to detail from the team in being awarded 3rd place for Vineyard Consistency.”

Perdeberg
Albertus Louw, Cellarmaster: “We are very pleased to have been rewarded with a total of 13 awards in this year’s challenge and grateful for the Ultra Value Wines Challenge where quality is celebrated. It was no surprise that all of our wines entered performed so well as it is a well-known fact that dry land influenced vineyards produce wines of excellence. Well done to the Perdeberg team!”

Uniwines
Pieter van Wyk & Nicolaas Du Toit, Winemakers: “We are humbled and very appreciative of the accolades our wines have won in the 2020 Ultra Value Wine Challenge. At Goudini Wines we honour the heritage of our winery and its producers by consistently delivering quality wines from various grape varietals grown in the heart of the Breedekloof Wine Valley.”

Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar
Dr Alvi Van der Merwe, Winemaker & Co Owner: “Our thanks to the organisers of the Ultra Value Challenge for an excellent and consistent event. We are honoured to win 11 awards this year. These awards pay tribute to the hard work , passion and dedication of our vineyard and winemaking teams.

To be recognised for consistency is particularly special to us! We continually strive to improve our quality and deliver true value to our wonderfully supportive and loyal consumers- thank you all for your support”

Koelenhof Wynkelder
Nicholas Husselman, Winemaker: “We at Koelenhof are immensely proud of this achievement at the Ultra Value Wine Challenge 2020. We experiment with different winemaking products in the market each year and also different techiniques. We can see a continued improvement in quality on our wines with the awards being received. Winning a Double Gold Medal for our Koelenhof Pinotage and 8 Silver Medals is a big honour.”

Robertson Winery
“At Robertson Winery we pride ourselves on consistently delivering quality underpinned by great value, the reality is everyone wants to take home a winner.” Andre Engelbrecht CEO Robertson Winery. “We are immensely proud of all the awards we have received” says head of Marketing and sales at Robertson Winery Ankia Niemann. Achieving these accolades across different wine styles is testament to the quality grapes grown by our 31 producers and the dedication of our teams, she adds.”

Boland Cellars
Bernard Smuts, Cellar Master: “I am delighted and humbled with the Boland Cellar’s team consistent performance over the whole range and cultivar spectrum receiving six awards at the Ultra Value Challenge 2020 including two silver medals and four gold medals.

The Paarl region is unique in its myriad of different terroir and climatic zones, producing some of the finest expressions of the varietals grown here. Through collaboration with different growers across this region, Boland Cellar brings together grapes from a variety of different climatic zones, from the vineyard to table, each glass of wine is cultivated and bottled in collaboration with our farmers, our winemakers, our marketing, sales and support teams; while we maintain our commitment to our environment with turnkey solar energy solutions, best farming practices and support of sustainability initiatives in conservation of our biodiversity and environmental sustainability. The spirit of collaboration at Boland Cellar is the key to our success and a big thank you to the Ultra Value team for being part of this.”

Bon Courage
Jacques Bruwer, Cellarmaster: “We have an amazing team working together to produce excellent wines for our consumers – winning 6 awards at this competition proofs that our efforts are paying dividends. We are humbled and thankful to be recognised for our efforts.”

Cape Wine Company
Erlank Erasmus, Founder and winemaker: “We are very excited about our results; every wine we entered received an award, including 3 gold awards. We pride ourselves in over-delivering on quality and our results are there to prove it. It is an honour to receive recognition for Juno as a rich, diverse and fruit-forward range of wines that has inspired winemaking as the core ingredient of every bottle.”

Allee Bleue
Van Zyl du Toit, Winemaker: “We are not only super chuffed with our showing at the 2020 Ultra Value Wine Challenge because we won 4 Gold Medals, we are also super excited to share these wines with our customers. As we are all still struggling to cope with the curve ball that is 2020 , we are aware that the buying public are shopping around for affordable excellence. With this is being at the heart of the Ultra Value Wine Challenge, it is a win-win for everybody…..Enjoy these wines from Allée Bleue.”

Middlevlei
Tinnie Momberg, Winemaker: “Winning 5 awards this year is truly an honour for Middelvlei and I believe it goes to showcase the knowledge, love and dedication my family has put into this farm over the past 100 years. I am proud to represent the Momberg Family and Middelvlei in our winemaking journey.”

De Krans
Christoff de Wet, Winemaker: “We are very pleased with the great results for De Krans at the Ultra Value Challenge 2020/21! These results are proof of the big effort that our whole team has put into improving the quality of our entire varietal range over the past few years, culminating in 2 Gold and a Silver award for De Krans this year.”

Ken Forrester Wines
Ken Forrester, Owner: “Marvellous to be included (again) in the Ultra Value awards list! The Petit range is crafted for everyday drinking, wines to be opened and enjoyed lightheartedly after a day at work or with a friend.

We strive for texture and balance in all our wines, so that even a simple wine can have a beautiful nose, satisfying mouthfeel and a lingering aftertaste that demands a second sip. We hope you enjoy (and share) this too, cheers!”

Leeuwenkuil
“The Leeuwenkuil Shiraz is sourced from family owned vineyards situated the renowned Swartland, which make it easy to maintain exceptional quality and consistency.“

Roodezandt RF management – McGregor Winery
Abè Rossouw, CEO: “At the end of September 2020, Roodezandt and McGregor Cellar became one entity under the new name of Roodezandt (Edms) Bpk RF. The company is led by CEO Abe Rossouw and a dedicated winemaking team. The selection of high quality grapes by the viticulturist and a cooler, dryer growing season led up to the success at this year’s Ultra Wine Challenge completion.”

Leopards Leap Family Vineyards
Hein Koegelenberg, CEO: “Leopard’s Leap is all about adding quality to everyday life and therefore we really treasure recognition by the Ultra Value Wine Challenge. We never compromise on quality, but we love being accessible. With our whites, rosé and reds performing so well, we are delighted that our selection offers both choice and value.”

New Cape Wines
Christiaan Groenewald, Winemaker / Owner: “It is always an honor to receive such recognition for our wines and a great gift after many years of hard work. As a winemaker, each year is unique – you are creating something, but you aren’t really in full control of the result. That is what makes this industry so interesting.”

Rhebokskloof Wines
Rolanie Lotz, Head Winemaker: “At Rhebokskloof we always strive to over deliver on quality. These awards serve as a confirmation that we are succeeding in our goals and we are very proud and grateful.”

Silkbush The Mountain Vineyards
Anton Roos, Managing Director: “The age old saying of “Quality Wine starts in the Vineyards” very much still ring true today, but more important than that is choosing where to plant those grapes in the first place. I believe that a vineyard cannot be manipulated into being something it is not. Harmony, balance and patience are keystones in our approach towards farming. We only help the vines in finding its harmony with its surroundings, balancing yield and growth, sunlight and shade, to produce its best quality. And then the most important – patience before picking. Waiting for that sweet spot to arrive. Our consistent quality and repetitive accolades prove Silkbush is on the right track.”

Stettyn Family Vineyards
“Our Winery represents the honesty of the Stettyn appellation. This terroir driven wine together with the passion driven winemaking team shapes this easy drinking, affordable wine with attitude. It gives us great joy to share this with our fellow wine consumer.”

The list of winning wines by award, in the order of their final scores, follow:

Double Gold Medal Winners

Accolade Wines SA Kumala Reserve Chenin Blanc 2019 99/100
Perdeberg Cellar Perdeberg Classic Sauvignon Blanc 2020 98/100
McGregor Winery McGregor Chenin Blanc 2020 97/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Pandora’s Box The Persian Connection Shiraz NV 95/100
McGregor Winery McGregor Colombard 2020 95/100
Accolade Wines SA Flagstone Free Run Sauvignon Blanc 2019 94/100
Accolade Wines SA Flagstone Treaty Tree Red Reserve 2018 94/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Pandora’s Box Lock 1855 Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon NV 94/100
Koelenhof Wynkelder Koelenhof Pinotage 2019 94/100
New Cape Wines Hoeks Rivier Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 94/100
Bon Courage Wine Estate Bon Courage Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 93/100
Robertson Winery Chapel Red 2020 92/100
Accolade Wines SA Flagstone Poetry Sauvignon Blanc 2020 92/100
Bon Courage Wine Estate Bon Courage Lady of the House Pinotage Rosé 2020 92/100
Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar Alvi’s Drift Chenin Blanc 2020 92/100
Perdeberg Cellar Perdeberg Classic Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 92/100
Accolade Wines SA Flagstone Dragon Tree Cape Blend 2018 91/100
Accolade Wines SA Kumala Reserve Shiraz 2019 91/100
Leopard’s Leap Wines Leopard’s Leap Chenin Blanc 2020 91/100
Accolade Wines SA Flagstone Poetry Chardonnay 2019 91/100
Perdeberg Cellar Perdeberg Classic Pinotage 2019 91/100
Robertson Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 91/100
Opstal Wines Fairbridge Chenin Blanc 2020 91/100

Gold Medal Winners

Saxenburg Guinea Fowl Red 2017 90/100
Bon Courage Wine Estate Bon Courage Andre’s Fame Colombard 2020 90/100
De Krans De Krans Pinotage Rosé 2020 90/100
Perdeberg Cellar Perdeberg Soft Smooth Rosé 2020 90/100
Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar Alvi’s Drift Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 90/100
Boland Cellar Cappupino Ccinotage 2020 90/100
De Wetshof Estate Limestone Hill Chardonnay 2020 90/100
Leeuwenkuil Family Vineyards Leeuwenkuil Shiraz 2018 90/100
McGregor Winery McGregor Pinotage 2019 90/100
Bon Courage Wine Estate Blend Cabernet Sauvignon / Shiraz 2019 89/100
De Krans Basket Press Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 89/100
Perdeberg Cellar Perdeberg Classic Chenin Blanc 2020 89/100
Stettyn Cellar Stettyn Stone White 2020 89/100
uniWInes Vineyards PTY (LTD) Goudini Unwooded Chardonnay 2020 89/100
Accolade Wines SA Flagstone Tributary Chenin Blanc 2019 89/100
Accolade Wines SA Flagstone Two Roads Chardonnay 2018 89/100
Boland Cellar Classic Selection Merlot 2019 89/100
Opstal Wines Fairbridge Sauvignon Blanc 2020 89/100
Rhebokskloof |Flatrock Red 2018 89/100
Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar Alvi’s Drift Viognier 2020 89/100
Cape Wine Company Juno Sauvignon Blanc 2020 89/100
Robertson Winery Chenin Blanc 2020 89/100
Accolade Wines SA Kumala Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2019 88/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Bella Vino Sassy Sweet Red NV 88/00
Nicholson Smith Agencies Pandora’s Box La Dolce Vita Moscato NV 88/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Pandora’s Box The Professor’s Pinotage NV 88/100
Accolade Wines SA Flagstone Poetry Pinotage 2019 87/100
Allée Bleue Wine Estate Allée Bleue Chenin Blanc 2019 87/00
Allée Bleue Wine Estate Blue Owl Chardonnay 2019 87/100
Leopard’s Leap Wines Leopard’s Leap Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2020 87100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Bella Vino Perky PinkNV 87/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Bella Vino Seductively Sweet NV 87/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Pandora’s Box The Italian Job NV 87/100
uniWInes Vineyards Goudini Chenin Blanc 2020 87/100
uniWInes Vineyards Goudini Sauvignon Blanc 2020 87/100
Allée Bleue Wine Estate Allée Bleue Shiraz Rosé 2020 87/100
Boland Cellar Cellar Selection Chenin Blanc/Sauvignon Blanc 2020 87/100
Stettyn Cellar Stettyn Family Vineyards Merlot 2019 87/100
uniWines Vineyards Goudini Merlot 2019 87/100
Zorgvliet Wines Silver Myn Sauvignon Blanc 2020 87/100
Accolade Wines SA Kumala Reserve Pinotage 2019 86/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Pandora’s Box The Gooseberry Sauvignon Blanc NV 86/100
Rhebokskloof Chenin Blanc 2019 86/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Bob’s Your Uncle The Fat Cat Chenin Blanc NV 86/100
Ken Forrester Wines Petit Sauvignon Blanc 2020 86/100
Opstal Wines The Wild Woman Sauvignon Blanc 2020 86/100
Saxenburg Guinea Fowl White 2019 86/100
Ken Forrester Wines Petit Pinotage 2019 86/100
Nicholson Smith Agencies Pandora’s Box Honeysuckle Sweet Red NV 86/100
Robertson Winery Shiraz 2019 86/100
Robertson Winery Chapel White 2020 86/100
uniWines Vineyards Meander Shiraz 2019 86/100
Opstal Wines Felcourt Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 85/100
Silkbush Mountain Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2020 85/100
New Cape Wines Eagle’s Cliff Shiraz Rosé 2020 85/100
Opstal Wines Sixpence Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2020 85/100
Robertson Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2020 85/100
Allée Bleue Wine Estate Allée Bleue Sauvignon Blanc 2020 85/100
Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar Alvi’s Drift Pinotage Rosé 2020 85/100
Cape Wine Company Juno Shiraz 2019 85/100
Cape Wine Company Juno Shiraz Mourvedre Viognier 2019 85/100
Perdeberg Cellar Perdeberg Classic Fairtrade Pinotage 2019 85/100
Alvi’s Drift Private Cellar Alvi’s Drift Chardonnay 2020 85/100
Boland Cellar Classic Selection Chenin Blanc 2020 85/100

Statement from the headline sponsor, MCC Africa

Rian Moore – President:

MCC is the world’s best premium wine label printer.

Multi-Color Corporation (MCC) is proud to be involved with the Ultra Value Wine Challenge 2020. Our association with this prestigious competition since inception, now a total of six years,  underscores our commitment to the South African wine industry which we serve so closely.  Globally, MCC is the largest and most awarded premium wine label printer,  with operations spanning 86 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in 22 countries.

We work successfully with our customers during good times, as well as during difficult times.  This year has been supremely challenging on so many fronts for the industry, for vineyards and also for people, the staff and families involved in making and selling wine. We are long term commercial partners, focusing on  the present and on the future, because we  care about helping you to sell more wines, and win.

MCC has the technology, value, service, and print solutions to ensure that your label is a true reflection of your brand – whether you are a small boutique producer or a global brand-owner.  We have a deep understanding of labels. MCC can advise on how your label can heighten shelf presence, add perceived value and extend the lifespan of your product. With MCC and your imagination, we can help make your next label a classic – and your product a winner!

Source: wine.co.za