Below is a recent newsletter from our partners in Singapore – Vinum Fine Wines
- Gold Medal – Decanter World Wine Awards
- 97/100 & International Judges’ Trophy for the entry with the highest scores from the international judges – Trophy Wine Awards (South Africa’s premier wine show)
- 5 stars in Platter’s South African Wine Guide (the local fine wine bible)
- 95/100 from Vinum’s own Matthew Hemming, MW
This impressive roster of scores and awards amply demonstrates South Africa’s credentials as a fine wine powerhouse. Time was when wine students were taught that South Africa straddled the old world / new world divide, achieving new world ripeness with European styling. Today there is no need to flatter Cape wines with such back-handed compliment comparisons: the nation’s wines compete and hold their own on the international stage. Over breakfast before a tasting in Burgundy last year, Neal Martin told me that South African Chardonnay and Pinot had become his go-to when seeking to impress and confound people who regularly pour him prestigious Cote d’Or wines.
In terms of Chardonnay, in the past if you wanted a top flight bottle without broaching a high end Meursault of Puligny then Saint Aubin, Pouilly Fuisse or Chablis used to provide options. These are no longer viable budget alternatives, with good Saint Aubin now accelerating past the Puligny price points of old. In this case, South Africa has the answer with pristine, mineral and scented examples. Priced out of smart Rhone Syrah? South Africa has savoury, complex and characterful wines to scratch that itch. Want to explore some of fine wines most distinctive, complex and textural dry white blends? Get yourself to the old vine Chenin and Rhone blends from the Cape.
It was Oldenburg’s 2021 Chardonnay that first convinced me that Vinum should offer these wines in Singapore. Taut, racy and humming with energy it stopped me in my tracks and over-delivered on every expectation I had of my tasting with owner Adrian Vanderspuy. At $50 I’m not going to tell you that you’ll stop buying Meursault, but it will stand proud next to most Bourgogne Blancs I can think of yet it costs considerably less. I bet we could all think of some village Pulignys that would be red faced on the table next to a $50 bottle that packs such a punch!
“It was a great vintage for whites”
– Nic Van Aarde / Oldenburg Vineyards winemaker
We are coming to the end of our first shipment from Oldenburg and looking to clear some cellar space for the new vintage. A case of this superlative Chardonnay will flatter any cellar and it certainly has the potential to lift your mid-week wine game at a very accessible price.
Today we are highlighting the Chardonnay but if you’d like to explore the rest of the range please get in touch. Alternatively, call your account manager and ask about our upcoming dinner hosted by Oldenburg owners Adrian and Vanessa.
Very best,
Matthew Hemming MW
View the original newsletter here.
