Among the extensive suite of South African wine competitions, the various Top 10 accolades, based on grape variety, have become institutions on the wine calendar for producers, interested parties in the trade and media, as well as among the members of the public following the wine industry. Absa Pinotage Top 10, FNB Sauvignon BlancSA Top 10 and Standard Bank Top 10 Chenin Blanc are focused competitions, aimed at telling the world which South African wines made from the respective grape are deserved of being recognised as the 10 best the country has to offer.
I like this format. It is clear and direct, without followers of, say, Chenin Blanc wines having to wade through a long list of competition results deciphering layers of Double Gold, Gold, Silver or Bronze medals. The message from the Top 10s are: of all the wines entered, these have been adjudged to be the 10 best wines from this or that grape variety.
Although, it is not always.
With the Absa Pinotage and FNB Sauvignon BlancSA competitions, no producer can have more than one of its wines entered eligible for a Top 10 spot. As was the case this year in the Pinotage competition, one winery can have two or more wines adjudged worthy of a place among the Top 20 finalists. But cometh the hour, and the Top 10 is announced, only a single wine from one producer may make it on the list of trophy winners.
The Chenin Blanc Association does it different, having decided to simply put the best wines on its list of Top 10 achievers, regardless of them being different wine styles and different vintages originating from the same producer.
From a marketing perspective, limiting the Top 10 winners to 10 wines each made by a single different producer – as is the case with the Pinotage and Sauvignon Blanc shows – might seem appropriate. Having the name of one producer appearing two or three times in the attention-grabbing list of 10 wines can seem repetitive as well as limiting the competition’s promotional cache. Punting 10 different producers under one banner appears more inclusive and varied, granted.
However, calling the competition a “Top 10” is a misnomer if the 10 best wines entered and tasted blind by the judging panel are not all in contention for a seat on the winners’ podium. It should be a producer’s democratic right to expect every wine he or she entered into the Top 10 competition to stand a chance of garnering a top spot. And it is the right of those following these shows to expect the very best entries to be found on the Top 10 list. For what value lies in a Top 10 list if, say, a wine scoring 95pts has to be kicked-off the winners rostrum to make way for a wine of 93pts, just because the aforementioned is made by a producer who already has one in the final tally?
It all becomes a little shady when one takes into account the fact that the competition organisers are happy to take three or four entry fees from a single producer, but said winery’s chance of winning is limited to only one wine.
If you call it a 10, make it a perfect one.
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