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SEPTEMBER 06, 2022

Tim Atkin MW Awards 10 Medals of Excellence to Spier Wines in the 2022 South Africa Special Report

Stellenbosch, 6 September 2022: The results for the eagerly anticipated annual Tim Atkin South Africa Special Report are in, with Spier proudly bringing home Medals of Excellence for ten wines, each achieving a rating of 90 or above.

“I am extremely impressed with the quality of what I tasted in 2022, especially from the 2017 and 2021 vintages. I am more convinced than ever that 2017 deserves its place among the best-ever Cape harvests,” said Tim Atkin MW in his just-launched report.

Spier’s top-rated medal winners are from the flagship Frans K. Smit range, with the Red Blend 2017, White Blend 2018 and Special Release Cabernet Franc 2015 all receiving 94 points, while the Special Release Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 scored 93 points. Frans Smit was Spier’s Cellar Master for 27 formative years, with this namesake range representing the highest echelon of Spier’s winemaking craft. While historically, the Frans K. Smit range has consisted solely of a white and red blend, three limited-edition single varietal wines were released to complement the range this year - only 800 bottles of each, both exclusive to the farm and online.

Alongside these Bordeaux-style red wines are three wines from the heritage-inspired 21 Gables range and two Creative Block wines. Both the 21 Gables Chenin Blanc 2020 and Pinotage 2018 received 92, once again reinforcing the valuable investment into South Africa’s preeminent staple varieties. As the most awarded range of blends, each Creative Block is made with 2,3 or 5 varieties and is a testament to the notion that the whole is often much more than the sum of its parts.