Stellenbosch wine estate Kleine Zalze achieved new heights after being named Top Performing Winery of the Year by Platter’s South African wine guide, arguably the most comprehensive guide to South African wine and one of the most highly regarded in the world.
The guide, sponsored by Diner’s Club, bestowed the title on the winery, which saw no less than seven of its wines achieve the five-star apex rating whilst a further six wines received a four and a half star rating.
“Well done Kleine Zalze! In a year where we tasted fantastic wines from the 2017 and 2019 vintages, your stellar achievement of seven Five Star wines is remarkable. It is amazing to think that, only 25 years ago, Kleine Zalze was a neglected cellar and vineyard – and now you are on the forefront of brand South Africa! To the entire team, our congratulations on the well-deserved fruits of sustained, dedicated and creative work” said Platter’s guide publisher JP Rossouw.
The announcement follows just weeks after the experienced judges at the esteemed Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show named Kleine Zalze its Most Successful Producer Overall.
“To be named best producer in consecutive premium competitions by two of South Africa’s most influential and experienced wine-tasting panels is a wonderful acknowledgement for the team,” says Kleine Zalze owner and managing director Kobus Basson. “It may seem like our stars have finally aligned this year, but a lot of thought, investment and work brought us to this point in the Kleine Zalze journey. Next year will be 25 years since we acquired Kleine Zalze and embarked on this journey. Our aim was to build a sustainable wine business and to keep the focus on improving our wines across price points, styles and cultivars whilst ensuring that we stay relevant to the market”.
Three of the seven wines selected for five star-glory are from the Family Reserve Range, namely the Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, Chenin Blanc 2019 and Sauvignon Blanc 2019. They were joined by one wine from the Vineyard Selection Range, the Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2019.
Then, there is a trio of Kleine Zalze “Project Z” wines that received the five-star accolade. Project Z is an eclectic collection of exceptional and individual wines from Kleine Zalze. With Project Z, the team of winemakers at Kleine Zalze had free reign to interact with nature, to search for the ultimate expression from a vineyard and to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation in order to keep growing and evolving.
The “project” originated back in 2014 from discussion between owner, Kobus Basson, and the winemaking team at the time. From their discussions, the “project” grew and today the cornerstones of the Project Z wines are a selection of vineyards on extraordinary sites and an impressive collection of Italian amphorae that were steadily acquired since 2015. And of course, a dedicated, committed, and skilful team.
The development of the wines has been part of ongoing experimentation in the winery, initially to create blend components to evolve the style and to enhance the top wines from the estate. Their stand-alone excellence however, led to the decision to bottle small lots of the most exceptional wines. The wines offer a different perspective on what Kleine Zalze is capable of. The first wine was bottled in 2017 and this year sees the unveiling of the first of these small-volume and limited-edition wines.
Six Project Z wines have been released, all of which achieved 4½ stars and more at Platter’s this year. The five-star winners in this range are the Project Z Chenin Blanc 2018, Grenache 2017 and Syrah 2017.
“Platter’s is significant to us because it is certainly one of the most important tasting panels in the country, and one of the most comprehensive,” says Kleine Zalze cellar master Alastair Rimmer. “We are also excited that through consistent recognition locally and from the best international competitions, we help showcase, not only on our own terroir, but of what South African wine is truly capable of producing.”
Kleine Zalze’s head of winemaking RJ Botha adds: “It has been a wonderful year with the efforts of the entire team culminating in a series of top awards. We worked really hard to improve and refine our efforts from the farming and viticultural side where Henning Retief and Anel Botha work tirelessly to the cellar where the winemakers keep pushing the boundaries to deliver even better quality than what our consumers and supporters expect.” The significant number of accolades amassed in 2020 in the most recent months certainly is testament of the efforts of the entire team at Kleine Zalze.
Heralded at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show were amongst others the Kleine Zalze Vintage Brut Cap Classique 2013, which received the Trophy for the Best Sparkling Wine, and the Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Chenin Blanc 2018, which claimed the Harold Eedes Trophy for Best Chenin Blanc.
At the Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards, the winery received Platinum for the Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2019 – one of only 24 entries to receive Platinum – and Double Gold for the Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2019.
In addition, six Gold medals were awarded to the Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2019, Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Shiraz 2016, Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Shiraz 2017, Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Chardonnay 2020, and Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Chenin Blanc Bush Vines 2020.
UK Master of Wine Tim Atkin awarded eight Kleine Zalze wines with medals of excellence – wines that attained over 90 in the 100-point assessment.
At the esteemed Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in September – one of Europe’s benchmark competitions – the Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2019 was the top performing wine from South Africa, winning Grand Gold. The winery collected a further three gold medals.
Order Kleine Zalze wines online at https://shop.kleinezalze.co.za/.
Kleine Zalze is one of the most established wineries of the Cape and is situated off the R44 between Stellenbosch and Somerset West.
For more information visit www.kleinezalze.co.za or email quality@kleinezalze.co.za. The estate is also on Twitter @kleine_zalze and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kleinezalzeofficial)
For press assistance contact Lise Manley of Manley Social on 082 828 5168 or email to lise@publicity.co.za or Kleine Zalze Executive Manager: Marketing and Sales Carina Gous via email cgous@kleinezalze.co.za.
