Boplaas Family Vineyard’s Double Gold plus 6 Gold at Veritas 2014 
At the 24th annual Veritas wine awards, South Africa’s oldest and largest bottle wine show garnering 1767 entries this year, Boplaas Family Vineyards won an unprecedented six gold and a single double gold medal fortifying its position as a benchmark producer of fine fortified Muscats and Cape Vintage “Port”-style wines. What makes the achievement even more significant is that three consecutive vintages of the Boplaas Heritage Collection Muscadel and the Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve took the gold medals, while the only double gold medal awarded to a current release Cape fortifieds was son by the Boplaas Cape Tawny Vintner’s Reserve Bin 1880 Cape Tawny Non-Vintage (N/V).
Each of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Boplaas Heritage Muscadels crafted from select low yielding gnarled old vine Muscat de Frontignan vines and vinified according to traditional methods inlagar as per the custom of the very first Nel’s who crafted wine at Boplaas back in the 1880’s, managed to scoop gold medals. These Heritage Muscats are crafted in small batches of 3300 bottles and are a fitting showcase of one of the Cape’s forgotten workhorse varietals and are destined to provide enjoyment over the decades to come with careful cellaring.
The crafting of fine Cape Vintage styled “Ports” from Portuguese varieties is synonymous with the Nel’s of Boplaas and these fine wines once again garnered success with a double gold and three gold medals. The solitary Veritas double for current release fortifieds went the way of the Boplaas Cape Tawny Vintner’s Reserve Bin 1880 Cape Tawny Non-Vintage – a blend of the finest Cape Tawny barrel matured from 12 to 15 years crafted from Tinta Barocca prior to bottling a limited number of bottles.
Crafted from a trio of old vine low yielding Portuguese varieties and intended for decades of bottle maturation the Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve 2010, 2011 & 2012 are worthy gold Veritas winners. This trio of Boplaas accounted for the most by a single producer in the class and three of the seven gold medals awarded to Port-styled wines. The Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve 2010 also walked away with a Michelangelo Wine Award Gran d’Or (double gold) a few weeks ago and the Reserve 2011 was also judged as the best South African Port at CAPPA Port & Wine Challenge 2014.
International Wine & Spirit Awards 2014
Boplass has the Midas touch with trio of Grand d’Or at Michelangelo
A pursuit of becoming a complete all rounder of note, might not only apply to cricket, but also to the small family owned and operated Boplaas Family Vineyards located in the sleepy Klein Karoo hamlet of Calitzdorp. Their indomitable all-rounder status was rewarded at the 18th MIWA ceremony this past Friday, at the Lord Charles hotel in Somerset West, with a total of three Gran d’Or (double gold) medals, two gold medals and a one silver medal. The trio of double gold’s went to the Boplaas Family Reserve Bobbejaanberg Sauvignon Blanc 2014, theBoplaas Cape Vintage Reserve Port 2010 & the Boplaas Heritage Muscadel 2011. With over 1700 entries only Boplaas Family Vineyards, Kleine Zalze and Diemersdal managed to clinch an unprecedented three Gran d’Ors each.
Boplaas also managed to clinch a further two Gold medals for the Boplaas Portuguese Connection 2013 exclusively bottled for Woolworths – a blend of Tinta Barocca, Touriga Nacional & Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve Port 2011 – which earlier this year won the CAPPA Trophy 2014 for best Cape “Port”. The maiden vintage of the Boplaas Straw Wine 2013, crafted from ultra raisined Viognier, was awarded a valiant silver medal.
Located at over 650m in elevation amongst fynbos and in the shadow of the craggy peaks of the Outeniqua in the Upper-Langkloof, the Bobbejaanberg Sauvignon Blanc was hand harvested the 31st March & minimal intervention in the cellar ensured the optimum expression of this site was captured. “This is viticulture at the edge of the Cape, a glimpse at the inherent potential of these marginal sites and a fine example of cool climate Sauvignon,” notes cellar master Carel Nel. A mere 888 of 6 bottle cases of this second ever vintage were crafted; due once again the marauding troop of baboons, after whom the wine is named, did a little “crop reduction and extensive sampling”.
The Boplaas Heritage moniker is reserved for the very best Muscats crafted from exceptional sites, utilizing traditional vinification methods and bottled in limited quantities to celebrate the Nel’s wine making heritage going back to the 1800’s. The Boplaas Heritage Muscadel 2011originates from an old block of Muscat d’Frontignan in the Breedekloof and this complex, concentrated and full-bodied Muscat will offer drinking pleasure over the next few decades. Apart from the MIWA Gran d’Or, the Heritage 2011 also took home a Terroir Award this year.
An innovative blend of Tinta Barocca, Touriga Nacional and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Boplaas Portuguese Connection 2013 offers Woolworrth’s consumers a taste of Portugal’s premier grape varieties with the comforting familiarity of Cabernet. This buxom red wine took home gold and is the ideal partner for grilled red meats, traditional Portuguese fare or whenever the need arises for a good bottle of red.
The full Boplaas range of MIWA award winning wines are available for tasting and purchase from our cellar door in Calitzdorp, as well our tasting room in Little Brak along the Garden route; while the Boplaas Portuguese Collection is exclusively available from selected Woolworth’s stores nationwide.
Boplaas Best SA Port Producer at Classic Wine Top Six Cape “Ports” with fabulous five & a five star too
Boplaas Family Vineyards, the benchmark Cape “Port” producer from the sleepy Klein Karoo hamlet of Calitzdorp, has once again proven its dominance of the category with an unprecedented five wines in Classic Wine’s TOP SIX, while also managing a perfect 5 Star rating for the Boplaas Vintners Reserve Cape Tawny N/V.
“From the temporary, class is permanent,” is an oft heard quote in the context of sport, but it is quite an apt one when it comes to the crafting of fine Cape fortifieds. Crafting an exceptional fortified requires astute knowledge and skill along each step of the way from harvest, fortification, extended barrel maturation and the final blending creating a wine which quite easily can mature decades in bottle. Boplaas Family Vineyards continued its recent run of good form and showed its true class by producing an unprecedented five of the Classic Wine’s TOP SIX Cape “Ports”, as well as scooping the only 5 Star rating for the Boplaas Vintners Reserve Cape Tawny Non-Vintage (V/N). The Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve Port 2011garnered 4½ Stars, while 4 Stars were awarded to the Boplaas Cape Vintage 2012, Boplaas “The Chocolate” Cape Vintage 2012 and the Boplaas CWG Cape Vintage Auction Reserve 2009- while only one other wine managing a similar score.
A true testament to the patience and craftsmanship, the Boplaas Vintners Reserve Cape Tawny N/V is a blend of only the finest Cape Tawny crafted from Tinta Barocca and Touriga Nacional, matured in old 500l Port Pipes for twelve to fourteen years prior to blending. This lusciously complex fortified with its amber colour, heady aromatics and nutty flavour profile offers those lucky enough to broach a bottle or two the opportunity to taste a rare fine example of Boplaas Cape Tawny. Best served chilled, this wine is best accompanied by roast duck, port dishes, mildly spiced Cape Malay cuisine or a fine selection of aged cheeses, charcuterie, preserved green figs or dark chocolate. This luminary wine cleaned up the competition circuit in 2013 receiving double gold at the Veritas awards, Grand d’Or at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards and top honours with the trophy at the CAPPA Challenge – an utter bargain from the cellar door at R 150 per half bottle.
Although viewed as a luxury, untold value is to be had by consumers in this category, a point proven by both the 4 Star scoring Boplaas Cape Vintage 2012 and Boplaas “The Chocolate” Cape Vintage 2012, with the former selling from the cellar door for R75 per bottle and the latter an amazing R55 per half bottle. Crafted from trio of Portuguese varieties according to traditional techniques, the Boplaas Cape Vintage 2012 will offer exceptional drinking pleasure over the coming decades – if well cellared. Ripe black plum, sweet spice, firm tannins and an unmistakable hints of coco nib and dark chocolate – that is what old vine Tinta Barocca consistently delivers, thus the Boplaas “The Chocolate” Cape Vintage was borne – an utterly enjoyable Boplaas fortified.
Originating from a ungrafted Tinta Barocca vines, old vine Touriga Nacional, Souzão and Touriga Franca – the Boplaas CWG Cape Auction Reserve 2009 was crafted & blended solely for the CWG Auctions. Carel Nel is a 25 year guild member and still the only member from the Southern Cape.
These top Boplaas Cape fortifieds – except the CWG Auction wine – are available from the Boplaas cellar door in Calitzdorp and Boplaas tasting room in Klein Brak along the Garden Route, as well as discerning fine wine retailers nationally.
Boplaas dealt a Royal flush at the CAPPA Challenge 2014, with five wines in the TOP 10
The Cape Port Producers’ Association (CAPPA) Challenge 2014, for the third year garnered entries not only for Cape “Ports”, but also for Portuguese varietal and blended table wines – containing a minimun 40% Portuguese varietal(s) – from across the Cape winelands. The independently audited, blind tasting conducted by a panel of Cape Wine Masters and chaired by Dave Hughes sniffed, swirled & sipped their way through all the entrants, with the TOP 10wines announced at an awards ceremony held on the 3rd June at Muratie in Stellenbosch. This year’s top TOP 10 wine was the Boplaas Tinta Barocca 2013, followed closely by the Boplaas Family Reserve Touriga Nacional 2012 – both these wines were awarded one of only three gold medals garnered. The Woolworth’s Boplaas Portuguese Connection 2012, Boplaas Tinta Chocolat 2013 & Boplaas Touriga Nacional 2013 also clinched spots in this year’s Top 10, making it a Royal flush for Boplaas.
All the winning wines, as all Boplaas’s red wines, were crafted from hand-harvested fruit; fermented in traditional open top cement fermenters – lagars as they’re called in Portugal – with manual pigeage to coax colour & flavour from the grapes; after which the wines were judicially oaked prior to bottling with a light filtration.
The Boplaas Tinta Barocca 2013 originates from Boplaas’s low-yield vines ranging in age from 5 to 25 years dotted around Calitzdorp and matured in older French oak; while the Boplaas Tinta Chocolat 2013 originates from older vines imparting more intense black berry, cocoa and plum flavours, while a combination of new and 3rd fill barrels are used to mature wines in. Both these wines highlight Tinta Barocca’s smooth, fruit forward attributes and make ideal accompaniments to rustic farm fare, a simple Saturday afternoon braai or simply savoured on their own. An even more impressive fact is that the top scoring Boplaas Tinta Barocca 2013 is available from the cellar door for under R 60 per bottle offering wine lovers a pocket pleasing champion.
The latest vintage of the ever popular Woolworth’s Boplaas Portuguese Connection 2012 – a blend of Tinta Barocca, Touriga Nacional and Cabernet Sauvignon – cracked the nod and slotted it into the CAPPA Top 10. This buxomly fruited, yet savoury and complex wine is available from selected Woolworth’s stores nationwide and is an ideal companion for the chilly winter nights which lay ahead.
These award winning fine Portuguese varietal wines offer the consumers a taste of the exotic and foreign without leaving the country’s borders and are available from our cellar door in Calitzdorp, as well our tasting room in Little Brak along the Garden route, discerning retailers nationwide and of course select Woolworth’s stores nationwide.
A double at Top 100 SA Wines 2014 for Boplaas
The fourth iteration of the Top 100 SA Wines with tasting panel – including Master of Wine, world renowned independent judges and expert winemakers – attracted 491 entries and for the second time Boplaas managed to secure two spots in the top one hundred wines, with the maiden release of the Boplaas Gamka Touriga Nacional / Shiraz 2012 and the benchmark Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve Port 2011.
Named in honour of the Gamka River which carves its way from the Great Karoo to the Klein Karoo and which has supplied water for the family’s farming operations since the first Nel’s of Boplaas settled in the quaint Klein Karoo hamlet of Calitzdorp in the mid 1800’s, the maiden release of Gamka is multi-regional blend of Touriga Nacional and Shiraz. Select low-yield Touriga Nacional sites were identified in Stellenbosch and Wellington, as well as an exceptional plot of bush vine Stellenbosch Shiraz to complement the Calitzdorp Touriga Nacional. All fruit was hand harvested in the early morning hours, traditionally vinified in open top cement fermenters (lagars) and matured in large format French oak prior to blending and bottling. A mere 3400 bottles were crafted of this plush, exotic, complex and age worthy red wine.
The Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve Port 2011 is available at R 200 p/b and the Gamka 2012 at R 175 p/b from the Boplaas cellar doors. To experience these fine Cape wines and our range of table wines, fortifieds and fine brandies visit our cellar door in Calitzdorp, as well as our tasting room along the Garden Route near Little Brak River.