For the second consecutive year, a wooded Cabernet Sauvignon has been awarded the prestigious General Smuts Trophy as South Africa’s Champion Young Wine of 2024. This year’s winner, from Diemersdal Estate in Durbanville, also claimed the title of Best Wooded Cabernet Sauvignon at the SA Young Wine Show.
Diemersdal Estate has a history of success with the General Smuts Trophy, previously winning with a Sauvignon Blanc in 2013 and a wooded Shiraz in 2022. The trophy, established in 1952, recognizes exceptional young wines.
Perdeberg Wines made headlines by winning the Pietman Hugo Trophy for the most points across its top five entries. This marks the first time Perdeberg has won this accolade. The winery also secured four National Trophies, outshining all others with multiple awards. The winning wines included Perdeberg Chenin Blanc (wooded), Perdeberg Viognier (wooded), Perdeberg Natural Sweet White Wine, and Perdeberg Malbec (wooded).
The SA Young Wine Show, presented annually by the SA National Wine Show Association (SANWSA) in collaboration with Agri-Expo, saw an increase in entries this year. The competition, now 192 years old, is the oldest wine show in the world. This year’s show, held on August 23 at Elsenburg Agricultural College, featured 48 Class Winner wines and 133 Gold Medal winners.
Despite challenging climatic conditions during the growing and harvesting periods, the quality of the 2024 wines was rated highly by judges. The 1,387 entries were evaluated by 88 specialists over five days at Nederburg in Paarl. The judging panels, consisting of five members each, included a sixth learner-taster for training purposes.
A special bottle sticker introduced in 2013 now identifies the General Smuts Trophy winner, helping to highlight the top young wine in the marketplace.
The wine regions of Paarl and Breedekloof/Worcester each won five National Trophies, followed by Klein Karoo with three, Stellenbosch with two, and Robertson and Cederberg with one each.
Christo Pienaar, Chairperson of the SA Young Wine Show, praised the high quality of this year’s wines despite numerous challenges. He noted that winners came from diverse production areas and winery types, reflecting the broad excellence in South African winemaking.
