Calitzdorp retains the title of SA port champion but Boplaas and De Krans face growing number of serious challengers

WELL WOULD YOU look at that! While the trophy winner at this year’s CAPPA Port Challenge is again from Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo, three of the six gold medal-winning producers are not from the ‘Port Capital’ of South Africa! Besides the Cape champion and runner-up overall from Boplaas, a wine from De Krans and another from Peter Bayly (all of Calitzdorp), two of the top Vintage Ports hail from Stellenbosch – Delaire Graff and Muratie – while the best entry in the Ruby class is a youngster from Slanghoek in the Breedekloof, north of Rawsonville.

 
De Krans and Boplaas continue to lead the local category of sweet, fortified wines made from grape varieties and in styles pioneered by the cellars of Portugal’s Douro Valley and city of Porto. The Nel families have been specialising in making world-class Port long enough to have the Portuguese twitching – to the point of SA wine producers being forced to remove the word ‘port’ from their labels if they wish to sell into Europe.
 
Other top SA contenders in this niche sector of the market over the years have included KWV, Landskroon and Monis of Paarl, Bredell’s and Overgaauw of Stellenbosch, as well as Axe Hill of Calitzdorp. Muratie have since upped their game, and then came the transformation of Delaire after the estate was acquired by Laurence Graff OBE, British chairman of Graff Diamonds International. Could we be about to see a changing of the guard?
 

GOLD MEDAL WINNERS AT THE 2014 CAPE PORT CHALLENGE

 
Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve 2011 – Best Vintage, Overall Winner
Boplaas Cape Tawny Reserve NV – Best Tawny, Runner-Up Overall
De Krans Cape Vintage Reserve 2011
Delaire Graff Cape Vintage 2012
Muratie Ben Prins Cape Vintage 2010
Peter Bayly Cape Vintage 2004 – Best Museum Class Entry (10 years or older)
Slanghoek Cape Ruby 2013 – Best Ruby

For more information about the Challenge and full results of this year’s competition, click here. For all of the SA Ports that have been highly rated over the past 18 months, together with their prices, click here.


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