Benguela Cove Wins Gold Medal and Seven Medals of Excellence in Tim Atkin's 2023 South Africa Special Report

Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate, located in the scenic Walker Bay wine region, has received over 90 points for all seven entries in wine critic and writer Tim Atkin's 2023 South Africa Special Report. The Hermanus wine farm earned the equivalent of a Gold Medal for its 2021 Catalina Semillon, scoring 95 points.

In his eleventh annual report, Atkin sampled 2,205 wines from 419 wineries, noting the continued progress of South African wines. The 2021 vintages impressed with their energy and vivacity, especially for white wines, while 2020 and 2022 had some smart wines for those who timed picking correctly, he said.

Benguela Cove's multiple honours highlight the estate's commitment to showcasing the Walker Bay terroir. Under winemaker Johann Fourie, Benguela Cove produces 350,000 bottles across various wine styles, including the Gold Medal Catalina and the Lighthouse Collections, Estate and Vinography ranges.

Fourie emphasises site-specific wines that display the estate's diverse slopes, soils and wind exposure. Benguela Cove's stunning lagoon location on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean also imbues its grapes with a distinctive cool climate character. The winery uses only estate-grown grapes, processed in a state-of-the-art facility blending tradition and technology.

Last year, Atkin named Benguela Cove the Best Cellar Door Experience 2022 for its combination of superb wines and natural beauty. Owned by the Streeter family since 2013, the estate rests on a lagoon separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a narrow sandbar, creating the ideal microclimate.

Atkin awarded the following scores in his 2023 report:

2021 Benguela Cove Catalina Semillon (95 points) 

2022 Benguela Cove Vinography Sauvignon Blanc (94 points) 

2022 Benguela Cove Sauvignon Blanc Walker Bay (93 points)  

2021 Benguela Cove Syrah (93 points) 

2022 Benguela Cove Vinography Chardonnay (93 points) 

2021 Benguela Cove Collage (92 points) 

2019 Benguela Cove Joie de Vivre MCC (92 points)

Benguela Cove's multiple honours validate its terroir-focused approach and cool climate location, says Johann Fourie: “We invite wine lovers to experience these award-winning wines in the estate’s stunning oceanside setting”.

For further information: www.benguelacove.co.za  

Tim Atkin’s 2023 South Africa Special Report Tasting Notes:

2021 Benguela Cove Catalina Semillon, 95 points 

Catalina is often the best white in the Benguela Cove range, made with 50% new barrel fermented and a smaller stainless steel component. Focused, herbal and intensely perfumed, it has cream, citrus zest and lanolin flavours, subtle patisserie spices and a tangy, lingering finish.

2022 Benguela Cove Vinography Sauvignon Blanc, 94 points 

Vinography is Johann Fourie's successful attempt to make a barrel-fermented, lees-aged Sauvignon Blanc that would compare with a good Pessac-Léognan. Passion fruit and grapefruit flavours are complemented by baking spice top notes and an alluring sea breeze top note.

2022 Benguela Cove Sauvignon Blanc Walker Bay, 93 points 

Benguela Cove's cool climate, ocean-influenced site is ideally suited to Sauvignon Blanc, blended here with 14% Semillon. Toasty, perfumed and zesty, it's a cuvée with well-handled 25% new oak, lemongrass, cream soda and pink grapefruit flavours and salty finish.

2021 Benguela Cove Syrah, 93 points 

A wine that is improving with every passing vintage, thanks to earlier picking and a lighter hand with the new oak. Spicy, meaty and herbal, it combines aromas of sage, tarragon and white pepper with a sappy, tangy plum, tapenade and stony palate.

2022 Benguela Cove Vinography Chardonnay, 93 points 

Early picked and eschewing any malolactic fermentation, this is an appealingly perfumed Chardonnay that carries its 100% new oak lightly. Spicy and floral, it has wet stone and jasmine aromas and a palate of citrus peel, cinnamon and orange zest supported by focused Acidity.

2021 Benguela Cove Collage, 92 points 

Collage is Johann Fourie's Bordeaux style blend, featuring Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Malbec, 19% Petit Verdot and 17% Merlot. Firm, serious, grippy and made to age for a while longer in the bottle, it has 45% toasty coffee bean new oak, blackcurrant leaf and Damson flavours and the freshness and acidity that reflect its site.

2019 Benguela Cove Joie de Vivre MCC, 92 points 

Maybe it's auto-suggestion, given where its vineyards are located, but there's often a salty, maritime note to the Benguela Cove whites, including this sparkling cuvée of Chardonnay and 46% Pinot Noir. Toasty, focused and chiselled, it's a wine that seems drier than its 7.9 grams of dosage. Brioche, citrus and pistachio flavours dovetail on the palate. 

Ends

Editors notes

Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate, Hermanus, is a vineyard and wine tourism destination located in the Walker Bay region of South Africa. The Benguela Collection wine and hospitality group is owned by the Streeter family. The Benguela Collection includes Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens and Mannings Golf & Wine Estate in the UK.

It was founded by Penny Streeter OBE in 2013 when she acquired and developed the 543-acre Hermanus wine farm and residential estate at Benguela Cove, located on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean at the start of the Hermanus Wine Route.

The cellar-door wine hospitality experience includes luxury oceanside villa accommodation with every modern facility, including en suite bedrooms and a private swimming pool. There is also the ‘Moody Lagoon’ Hermanus restaurant, a seafood and oyster bar and a popular wine-tasting pontoon tour with beautiful views across the tranquil lagoon, protected by a sandbar from the Atlantic Ocean.

Guests can book cheese and chocolate pairings, winemaking experiences, and enjoy a programme of major art exhibitions, music and other year-round events, as well as children’s entertainment.

Cultivars are Sauvignon Blanc 45%, Shiraz 25% and others, to create some of the best South African wines.

Vineyard - Acquired in 2013; 170 acres; First vines planted in 2004; 350,000 bottles produced per year.