This year’s Decanter World Wine Awards judged some 17,000 wines – the largest competition of its kind in the world, every bottle tasted blind, no labels, no names to lean on. Five South African Chardonnays were awarded Gold. One of them was grown on a single north-facing slope in a remote corner of the Overberg. The same farm did it last year, too.
The slope sits 285 metres above sea level, 6 kilometres from the cool maritime climate of Walker Bay, where a Fynbos rose called Orothamnus Zeyheri grows – rare to the point of vanishing, found here and almost nowhere else. The vineyards produce just two wines under the guidance of winemaker P.J. Geyer: a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir.
The Thamnus Chardonnay 2023 scored 95 points; the 2022, a year ago, 96. Both Gold – consecutive vintages. A score of 95 or higher put the wine in the top two percent of the field.
The judges’ note read: “A delightful clarity of apple, lemon and white linen freshness allied with creamy, honeyed texture. Delectable oyster shell minerals and saline notes admirably finish things off.”
“To be recognised by the Decanter World Wine Awards for the second year in a row is testament to the consistent dedication and passion of the whole Thamnus team. I can’t wait for everyone to experience this wine and the place it comes from,” says P.J.
The fruit came from a single February picking, brought in the day before the late rains. Half was whole-bunch pressed, then nine months in barrel, 29 percent of it new.
A single Gold can be the result of a kind season. Two in a row, from the same slope, says more about the place than about any one year.
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