Jordan Wine Estate Awarded the Five Nations Trophy for Top Aromatic White Wine
September 2011
South Africa’s Jordan Wine Estate has received the Five Nations Wine Challenge Trophy for the highest scoring aromatic white wine at the 2011 Challenge making it the top wine in that class between New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Chile and Argentina. The 2009 Jordan Estate Riesling was rated the highest scoring wine for all the aromatic whites entered. This is the only wine show in the world where the wines come in exclusively by invitation from the five Judges, having already won Trophies in their country’s respective shows. With the addition of Argentina and Chile, the original Tri Nations competition between South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, became the Five Nations this year. The announcement coincides with the release of the 2010 Jordan Riesling, named ‘The Real McCoy’. Meaning ‘the real thing,’ this wine honours not only the noble Riesling grape but also all those who helped bring about the legislative name change for Riesling in South Africa.
Culmination of accolades:
“Following our recent success at the 2011 Decanter Wine Awards, (including a Gold Medal for the Nine Yards Chardonnay), as well as receiving the Riesling Trophy at the 2011 SA Trophy Wine Show, and then being awarded the Top SA Wine Estate Trophy at the recent SA Terroir Wine Awards as a result of four Jordan wines, including the 2009 Riesling doing well, have been great accolades,” commented owner and winemaker Kathy Jordan. “To win the Five Nations Trophy is the cherry on the top!
Unique terroir at Jordan Estate:
“They say that the best fertilizer for a vineyard is the owner or winemaker’s footprints. But property owners come and go and so do winemakers over time. What you have left is the terroir” commented Gary Jordan. “As a former geologist I am fully aware of how the mineralization and underlying geological structure can change dramatically from one vineyard to the next,” he explained. “What makes Jordan Estate so special is the geological fault zones where one finds not only minerals such as tin, but also brecciated quartzite which provides a completely different micro-climate to that of the surrounding vineyards” he added. “Elevation and exposure to cool conditions is made even more dramatic on our cool south-facing slopes which help to retain the natural acidity on our white wines” added Kathy Jordan.
The Jordan Riesling is harvested from a south-facing vineyard, situated on 600 million year old decomposed granite, one of the highest and coolest sites on Jordan Wine Estate and the highest Riesling vineyard in Stellenbosch. Intense lemon-lime flavours and a crisp fruitiness make it a superb partner with food, with the mineral-rich hints and subtle spiciness adding to its intrigue. The Jordan team strives to make terroir-driven wines that are immediately recognisable as being from the Estate, a synergy between soil and soul with provenance as important for their wines as it is to Chef George Jardine of the Jordan Restaurant and Chef Justin Saunders of High Timber, the Jordan’s London restaurant.
Riesling’s rise:
“Who would have imagined our rieslings would beat those from Australia’s renowned Clare and Eden Valleys?” posted Angela Lloyd on ‘Grape’, www.grape.co.za adding “South African wine producers have shown the other four nations in the Five Nations competition that we are a force to be reckoned with.
”From the 2010 vintage, South African winemakers were allowed to call Riesling just that … Riesling. “Riesling’s star has been rising since the formation a few years ago of Just Riesling, a group of riesling enthusiasts, both winemakers and drinkers; this result is the early fruits of their love of the grape and determination to show it can perform well in the Cape” posted Angela Lloyd. “Just Riesling (so named when riesling here had legally to bear the qualifier ‘Rhine’ or ‘Weisser’; the group, naturally, believes riesling should suffice and all the other ‘rieslings’ should be obliged to carry qualifiers!) has shown just how much benefit there is to be made from members of such interest groups working together” she added.
Receiving the Five Nations Trophy for the Top Aromatic White Wine coincides with the release of the 2010 Jordan Riesling, named ‘The Real McCoy’, Meaning ‘the real thing,’ this wine honours not only the noble Riesling grape but also all those who helped bring about the legislative name change in South Africa.
About Jordan Wine Estate:
Family-owned Jordan Wine Estate, situated in Stellenbosch, the heart of the Cape Winelands, has been transformed to become one of the leading estates in South Africa. Featuring a wine tasting centre, rolling lawns and a world-class restaurant, visitors can relax and enjoy fine Cape wines and local Cape fare surrounded by breathtaking views of the vineyards, Jordan Wine Estate boasts spectacular panoramic views of Table Mountain, False Bay and the Stellenbosch Mountains. Cool hillside vineyards planted to classic varieties, and a modern family-run winery have combined to produce distinctive wines displaying the ripe concentrated fruity accessibility of the New World, with the complex elegance of classic wine styles. Other recent awards include Restaurant Eat Out Top 10 and the Trophy for South Africa’s Top Wine Estate at the SA Terroir Wine Awards.
September 2011
Contact: Robyn Martin
Tel:+27 (0)21 881 3441