Zandvliet Kalkveld Shiraz wins Wine Challenge Platinum for consecutive vintages

Zandvliet Wine Estate’s status as a premier producer of Shiraz wines has been re-affirmed with two consecutive vintages of its Kalkveld range winning Platinum medals at the 2024 National Wine Challenge and inclusion in the list of the year’s Top 100 South African Wines.

The excelling wines were the 2020 and 2021 vintages of Zandvliet Kalkveld Shiraz. Adding to the lustre of the achievement, the successful wines were assessed in the competition’s most hotly contested category of red wines, which accounted for half of total entries this year.

“Kalkveld Shiraz is a very special range thanks to a unique terroir,” says winemaker Jacques Cilliers. “Having two consecutive vintages win the highest ratings in the NWC/Top 100 competition underlines this fact.”

In fact, the soils, aspects and climate are the very reason Zandvliet has become synonymous with the Rhône Valley variety in South Africa and abroad. Having recognised the suitability of the region for growing outstanding wine several decades ago, Zandvliet became one of the very first wineries in the country to bottle Shiraz as a single cultivar.

Zandvliet winemaker Jacques Cilliers

The single vineyard that produces the wines lies on the southern slope of a hill that dominates the heart of the estate. “For a winemaker, this is a magical location that comprises an Enon Formation – a complex conglomerate of limestone, pebbles and clay,” says Jacques. “It is brushed daily by the south easterly breeze that cools the vineyard, slowing and extending the deep flavour development in the grapes.

“The unique terroir gives the wine its singular mineral footprint and its name. Kalkveld translates to ‘field of chalk’,” he adds.

It will come as no surprise that every year, harvest and winemaking at Zandvliet follows protocols specifically geared to preserve the fragile aromas and flavours from the fruit in the vineyard. Once vinified, the wine is typically matured in large barrels of French oak for 24 months prior to bottling and release.

The Kalkveld Shiraz wines are characterised by notes plums, prunes and violets, hints of spice and a long, velvet finish. They are instantly recognisable as products of Zandvliet excellence.

Among the accolades the Zandvliet Kalkveld range has received are four stars in the Platter’s South African wine guide; Double Gold at the Veritas Awards; Gold at the Michelangelo International Wine & Spirit Awards; and, Top 10 red wine at the Trophy Wine Awards.

The 2020 and 2021 Kalkveld Shiraz sell for R1 800/case of six and will be delivered free of charge, to your door, when ordered directly from the online shop at www.vanloveren.co.za/online-store/.

Zandvliet Wine Estate is located near the village of Ashton, off the R60.

For more information, contact zandvliet@vanloveren.co.za or visit www.zandvliet.co.za. Find and share your memories of the estate with ZandvlietWine on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and, as ZandvlietWines, on Pinterest.

Issued by: ON THE MARQUE PR & COMMUNICATIONS
Pictures: SUPPLIED

© 2024 Herman Lintvelt - WineTourismZA