Doolhof Wine Estate near Wellington has won yet another accolade. This time its Signatures of Doolhof Petit Verdot 2008 has been awarded the National Certificate for the Top Petit Verdot at the recently held 2010 SA Terroir Wine Awards.

For the first time, a trophy was presented to the top wine area in South Africa, based on a specific winegrowing terrain that produced most of the wines that went to the final round for a SA Terroir National Certificate, as well as the number of wines that received a National Certificate. The Wellington ward was the first winner of the Novare Trophy for SA Terroir Top Wine Area, with Doolhof as a national winner several times, contributing strongly.

This is the fourth time that Doolhof has been awarded national winner status at these awards. Last year, the Signatures of Doolhof Malbec 2007 received this award and in 2008, the Signatures of Doolhof Pinotage 2006, while the Pinotage 2005 received it in 2007.

In addition in 2009, the Signatures of Doolhof Sauvignon Blanc received two District Awards.

The SA Terroir Awards is a tough competition! This was the fifth awards ceremony since its inception in 2006 and Doolhof has been among the top four winning producers in the past five years with four national awards.

Dennis Kerrison of Doolhof Wine Estate is delighted that the estate and its location in the winegrowing area of Wellington have been recognised at this national competition.

“I am particularly pleased that the Doolhof Petit Verdot, which will soon be released, has won such an award. It is very encouraging for us and our consumers and proves our dedication to offering the best quality wines.”

Decanter Gold – Forged from fire and rain

The fact that Doolhof Signatures Malbec 2008 recently won a Gold Medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards in London, which are generally regarded as the Oscars of the Wine World, is in itself an achievement, but considering it is the second consecutive year that consecutive vintages of this wine won gold makes it so much more of an achievement.

However, what make the 2008 vintage even more remarkable is the extraordinary circumstances under which the grapes were grown and the 2008 vintage harvested.

Blocks 12 and 13 on Doolhof, are planted to Malbec and are situated on a west facing slope, some 500 m below the historic Bainskloof road. The vineyard is in hostile area – it is the highest vineyard on Doolhof, against the steepest slope, exposed to the ravages of the South Easter and in the rockiest, meanest soil on the Estate. It is also most preferred by the troop of baboons that roam the slopes below Sneeuberg.

On the afternoon of Friday 8 February 2008 the wine making team visited the vineyard to decide if the grapes are ready to “pars” (harvest). The unanimous decision was that it was ready to “pars” on that following Monday.

As the team stood in the vineyard they saw a fire coming down the mountain from Bainskloof burning on the neighbouring farm. The fire was started earlier that afternoon by a motor accident on the Bainskloof road. By nigh fall the fire reached Doolhof and the veld on two sides of the Malbec was burning. The fire raged the whole of that night and was eventually put out late on Saturday afternoon. The workers of Doolhof, neighbours from adjacent farms and the fire brigade of Drakenstein municipality stood watch and protected the vineyards of Doolhof that night.

Needless to say after the fire the grapes were covered in soot and dust and it was thought that the crop was lost, or at least that the wine would be spoilt by smoke taint. But, as is quite often the case in the Boland , rain follows a strong South Easter, which is exactly what happened… by Sunday afternoon it was raining and the soot on the grapes were washed away.

On Monday the grapes looked terrible and the chemical analysis of the grapes was not promising – the acids dropped out and the pH to high, making it very difficult for winemaking. After much agonising it was decided to let the grapes hang and to see if nature can remedy the situation. Eventually the grapes were harvested two weeks later, when the grapes restored the natural acid balance and the pH improved. During these two weeks a permanent baboon guard was stationed at the vineyards because the baboons were hungry and looking for food, as their natural food source in the veld was destroyed by the fire.

After a gentle winemaking process with soft pump overs the wine was matured for 14 months in a selection of new and second fill French oak before it was bottled in November 2009.

Doolhof Malbec 2008 is a testimony to the axiom of “out of adversity cometh strength”.

Over the past year, Doolhof’s wines continued to notch up gold medals.

Doolhof Wine Estate’s newest release – and its flagship red blend – The Minotaur 2007, won a double gold medal at Veritas, South Africa’s national wine awards in October. The news was announced just days after it was released to the Press and general public. The Minotaur also won a gold medal at this year’s Michelangelo Wine Awards in September.

The 2007 Signatures of Doolhof Malbec varietal wine won four golds, two of which were double golds, in just four months!

Doolhof’s 2007 Pinotage won a double gold medal at the Michelangelo Awards, while the 2009 Signatures of Doolhof Sauvignon Blanc won silver at this competition.