Steenberg’s Lady R takes top Honours at Amorim Cap Classique Challenge
 

A classic Brut Cap Classique from Steenberg Vineyards in Constantia, one of South Africa’s leading producers of this wine style, took top honours at the 2025 Amorim Cap Classique Challenge winning the prize for Overall Winner. Steenberg Lady R Cap Classique 2019 was adjudged the best in class in the category for Brut Blends, before edging out the winners in the other sectors and taking the award for Overall Winner in the form of a sabrage sword.

This is the 24th consecutive year the Amorim Cap Classique Challenge was held, an event sponsored from the outset by the synonymous cork producer that has been crafting cork stoppers for the international wine industry for over 150 years. Some 152 Cap Classiques were entered for this year’s competition.

The entries were judged in the Cap Classique categories of Brut Blends, Blanc de Blancs, Rosé, Extended Aging (7yrs and older) and Nectar. A Blanc de Noir category was added this year for the first time.

Robertson producer Graham Beck won the Blanc de Blancs category with its Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs 2019, while the Kleine Zalze Brut Rosé (non-vintage) led the way in the Rosé offering.

In the Extended Ageing class, Stellenbosch’s Tokara Estate took top honours for its Tokara Blanc de Blanc Cap Classique 2017, while Krone’s Night Nectar Blanc de Blancs 2021 won the Trophy for Best Nectar.

No trophy was awarded in the class for Blanc de Noir, but the Graham Beck Pinot Meunier Cap Classique 2022 was awarded a Gold medal and adjudged best Blanc de Noir on show.

A total of six Double Gold medals were awarded to wines scored 96pts and above, while 30 wines won a Gold medal on achieving scores between 93pts and 95pts.

Heidi Duminy, Cape Wine Master and convener of the judging panel, saidthis year’s Amorim Cap Classique Challenge was for her and her judges a glorious exposure to the quality and diversity of Cap Classique wines.

“The category for Brut blends varied from wines with richness and assertive palate presence, to fresh, pure and invigorating Brut sparkling wines,” she says.

“Blanc de Blancs are always spectacular in their freshness and purity, with lees complexity creating a vivid, multi-layered diversity. The Extended Ageing category for wines seven years and oldertruly showed the magnificence our own Cap Classiques can show when allowed lengthy time in bottle on the lees during secondary fermentation. Patience is rewarded! As usual, the Rosé class showed us judges to expect the unexpected – various grape varieties being used, a range of colours and overall charm, diversity and excitement.”

The categories for Brut Blends and Blanc de Blancs both received 43 entries for this year’s Amorim Challenge, followed Rosé (37) Nectar (13) and Extended Ageing (12). The new Blanc de Noir category attracted four entries.

Joaquim Sá, MD of Cork South Africa who founded the Amorim Cap Classique Challenge in 2002, described the competition as more than just a contest but an annual celebration of a category that has blossomed since its inception in Stellenbosch by Simonsig in 1971. “Cap Classique is a living testament to South Africa’s viticultural landscape and its heritage, honouring both the country’s vinous legacy and the talented producers crafting this magical category of bottle fermented sparkling wines,” he said.

Sá pointed out that what elevates Cap Classique in the global landscape of sparkling wines is, arguably, its remarkable regional diversity. “Unlike many other sparkling styles confined to specific appellations, South African producers draw from a broad spectrum of terroirs - from Darling and Robertson to Elgin, Durbanville, and Paarl, among others. This diversity allows winemakers to craft nuanced, expressive wines that reflect the unique character of each vineyard’s microclimate and soil,” he said.

“The exploration of these different terroirs results in a dynamic palette of flavours, with each bottle telling a story of the Cape’s varied landscapes.

“Amorim’s unwavering commitment to this category is evident. As the flagship of South Africa’s sparkling wine sector, Cap Classique’s sustained success - underscored each year at this challenge - is increasingly captivating both domestic and international consumers. It stands as a vibrant reflection of South Africa’s winemaking ingenuity and the ever-evolving landscape of its sparkling wine excellence.”

This year’s Trophy, Double Gold and Gold Winners

 

Blanc de Blancs
 

Class Name	Producer Name	Vintage	Description	Medal	Trophy
Blanc de Blancs	Windfall Wine Farm	2017	Mendola Brut CC	Double Gold
Blanc de Blancs	Pieter Ferreira Wines	2019	Pieter Ferreira Blanc de Blancs CC	Double Gold
Blanc de Blancs	Graham Beck	2019	Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs CC	Double Gold	Trophy Blanc de Blancs
Blanc de Blancs	Warshay Investments (Pty) Ltd t/a KWV	2019	Laborie Blanc de Blancs CC	Gold
Blanc de Blancs	Tanzanite Wines	2001	Tanzanite Blanc de Blanc	Gold
Blanc de Blancs	Bon Courage Estate	2013	Bon Courage Jacques Bruére Blanc de Blancs CC	Gold
Blanc de Blancs	Chamonix Wine Estate	2022	Chamonix Blanc de Blancs CC	Gold
Blanc de Blancs	Darling Cellars	2023	Darling Cellars Blanc de Blanc Brut CC	Gold
Blanc de Blancs	Clos Cabrière	2020	Pierre Jourdan Blanc de Blanc CC	Gold
Blanc de Blancs	Paul René	2021	Paul Renè Chardonnay Brut CC	Gold

Blanc de Noir
 

Class Name	Producer Name	Vintage	Description	Medal	Trophy
Blanc de Noir	Graham Beck	2022	Graham Beck Pinot Meunier CC	Gold

Brut Blends
 

Class Name	Producer Name	Vintage	Description	Medal	Trophy
Brut Blends	Steenberg Vineyards	2019	Steenberg Lady R CC	Double Gold	Trophy  Brut Blends
Brut Blends	Domaine Des Dieux	2021	Domaine des Dieux Claudia Brut CC	Double Gold
Brut Blends	Simonsig Family Vineyards	2021	Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel Brut CC	Gold
Brut Blends	Silverthorn Wines	2019	Silverthorn Jewel Box	Gold
Brut Blends	Villiera Wines	2019	Villiera Monro Brut CC	Gold
Brut Blends	Le Grand Domaine	2022	Grand Vin de Stellenbosch Brut CC	Gold
Brut Blends	Quoin Rock Wines	2019	Quoin Rock Black Series CC	Gold
Brut Blends	Nitida Wine Cellars	2023	Nitida The Matriarch CC	Gold
Brut Blends	Graham Beck	2023	Graham Beck Brut CC	Gold
Brut Blends	Colmant Cap Classique & Champagne	NV	Colmant Brut Reserve CC	Gold
Brut Blends	Heineken Beverages SA (Pty) Ltd	NV	Nederburg Brut CC	Gold

Extended Ageing
 

Class Name	Producer Name	Vintage	Description	Medal	Trophy
Extended Ageing	Lourensford	2015	Lourensford Cuvée 117 CC	Gold
Extended Ageing	Anthonij Rupert Wyne	2016	L'Ormarins Private Cuvée CC	Gold
Extended Ageing	Tokara	2017	Tokara Blanc de Blanc CC	Gold	Trophy Winner: Ext Ageing
Extended Ageing	Newstead Wine Estate	2018	Newstead Brut Blanc de Blanc MCC	Gold

Nectar
 

Class Name	Producer Name	Vintage	Description	Medal	Trophy
Nectar	Twee Jonge Gezellen	2021	Krone Night Nectar Blanc de Blancs CC	Gold	Trophy Winner: Nectar

Rosé
 

Class Name	Producer Name	Vintage	Description	Medal	Trophy
Rosé	Kleine Zalze Wines	NV	Kleine Zalze Brut Rosé CC	Double Gold	Trophy Winner: Rosé
Rosé	Windfall Wine Farm	2017	Mendola Rosé CC	Gold
Rosé	Graham Beck	2019	Graham Beck Pinot Noir Rosé CC	Gold
Rosé	Simonsig Family Vineyards	2023	Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel Brut Rosé CC	Gold
Rosé	Boschendal	2020	Boschendal Mountain Rose Pinot Noir Rosé CC	Gold
Rosé	Quoin Rock Wines	2020	Quoin Rock Black Series Rosé CC	Gold
Rosé	Louisvale Wines	NV	Louisvale Rosé CC	Gold
Rosé	Anthonij Rupert Wyne	NV	L'Ormarins Brut Classique Rosé CC	Gold
Rosé	Paul René	2022	Paul René Pinot Noir/Chardonnay Brut Rosé CC	Gold