Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.

Main Office

630 3rd Ave
15th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Phone (212) 818-0770
Fax (212) 953-2366

Adminstration

50 Avon Meadow Lane
Avon, CT 06001
Phone (860) 409-9119
Fax (860) 409-9272

E-Mail

info@dreyfusashby.com

Nederburg
Paarl

HARVEST REPORT 2003 VINTAGE

Introduction

Due to favourable weather conditions (first time in more than four years!) the 2003 crop was the largest ever received by Nederburg. Minor problems were experienced as a result of diseases, which resulted in the overall quality of the wines as excellent.

Weather conditions

The season leading up to the 2003 crop was more favourable than in previous years. The bunch setting period in November 2001 was favourable with hot and sunny conditions. This had a huge impact on the large crop. This was followed by a reasonably cold and wet winter with almost no delayed budding problems. Chardonnay, which is very susceptible to delayed budding, had its best crop in years.

September to November was fairly cool but, in contrast to the heavy rains and resulting disease problems of the previous year, the rainfall was average and the vineyards mostly healthy with few crop losses during the delicate flower-to-setting period. Gale force winds caused minimal damage on a few isolated farms in Stellenbosch and Paarl.

The ripening period of grapes (January and February) was cooler and drier than long-term. Apart a few hot days, no heat waves were recorded. This cool weather with many "optimal photosynthesis hours" (below 30 °C) impacted positively on berry size, as well as sugar, colour and flavour development and was conducive to overall wine quality. In some of the dryland areas such as Malmesbury, Darling and Philadelphia, some blocks suffered from a bit of water stress, but this was alleviated by the cool ripening period leading up to harvest and the quality from most of the farms was still excellent, especially the red wine grapes.

Apart from good rains in March, the after harvest period was exceptionally dry and vineyards in the dryland areas suffered somewhat from water stress.

Pests and Diseases

Due to excellent weather conditions and good spraying programs after the downy mildew and botrytis losses of 2002, very few problems were experienced with fungi diseases.

Mealy bug still poses a problem as well as the invasion of new pests such as kalanders and snails, which are difficult to keep under control. Despite these problems the grapes were healthy and there was no real negative impact on either crop or quality.

2003 Harvest

The 2003 harvest commenced a few days earlier than in 2002. It was a good quality season with the wines producing excellent fruit and colour. Shiraz did exceptionally well which resulted in the wines from the West Coast areas standing out. The hot days of late February had resulted in minimal negative impact on wines as most of the earlier varieties were already harvested as was most of the Sauvignon blanc. The rain in March led to a late harvest of varieties such as Cabernet with a lower sugar than normal being measured.

The 2003 season for Nederburg was a good quality year with enough healthy grapes, harvested at optimum ripeness which will produce premium wines.

Recent Awards

INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRIT COMPETITION 2002


Silver:
2001 Nederburg Auction Reserve Chardonnay
1994 Nederburg Auction Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Bronze:
1999 Nederburg Auction Reserve Edelkeur
1999 Nederburg Malbec Reserve
2001 Nederburg Sauvignon Blanc Reserve

INTERNATIONAL WINE CHALLENGE 2003

Seal of approval:
2001 Nederburg Edelrood
Bronze:
1998 Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon
2000 Nederburg Chardonnay
2002 Nederburg Sauvignon Blanc

INTERNATIONAL WINE & FOOD SOCIETY AWARDS 2003 – HONG KONG


Best value :
2001 Nederburg Noble Late Harvest
2002 Nederburg Chardonnay

Silver:
2001 Nederburg Noble Late Harvest
2002 Nederburg Chardonnay
Bronze:
2000 Nederburg Reserve Chardonnay (older category)

THE INTERNATIONAL WINE & SPIRIT COMPETITION 2003

Silver:
Nederburg Reserve Chenin Blanc 2002
Nederburg Auction Sauvignon Blanc Private Bin D234
Nederburg Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2002
Nederburg Auction Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon Private Bin D252
Bronze:
Nederburg Auction Chardonnay Private Bin D270 2001
Nederburg Auction Shiraz Private Bin R121 2000

SA NATIONAL WINE SHOW – VERITAS AWARDS 2003

Double Gold:
Nederburg Private Bin D234 Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Nederburg Malbec Private Bin 2001
Nederburg Petit Verdot Private Bin 2001
Gold:
Nederburg Private Bin D215 Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Silver:
Nederburg Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon Private Bin D252 2003
Nederburg Chardonnay Private Bin 2002
Nederburg Chenin Blanc Reserve 2002
Nederburg Rhine Riesling (O/D) 2003
Nederburg Edelkeur Private Bin 2001
Nederburg Eminence Private Bin 2002
Nederburg Cabernet Franc Private Bin 2001
Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon Private Bin R163 2001
Nederburg Pinotage Private Bin R172 2001
Nederburg Shiraz 2001
Nederburg Shiraz Private Bin 2001
Nederburg Shiraz Private Bin R121 2001
Bronze:
Nederburg Chardonnay Private Bin D270 2002
Nederburg Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Nederburg Sémillon Private Bin D266 2003
Nederburg Viognier Private Bin 2003
Nederburg NLH 2002
Nederburg Sémillon Auction Reserve NLH 2001
Nederburg Sémillon NLH Private Bin 2002
Nederburg Rosé 2003
Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Private Bin R109 2001
Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz Private Bin R103 2001
Nederburg Cabernet Sauvignon Private Bin R163 2000
Nederburg Merlot Private Bin R181 2001

SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL WINE COMPETITION 2004

FINALIST
NEDERBURG PRIVATE BIN CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2001
HIGHLY COMMENDED
NEDERBURG RHINE RIESLING 2003

ESTONIAN WINE CHALLENGE 2003 AND ESTONIAN SPIRIT CHALLENGE 2003

Gold:
Nederburg Edelrood
Bronze:
Nederburg Sauvignon Blanc

VINANDINO 2003

Gold:
2001 Nederburg Private Bin Shiraz
Silver:
2001 Nederburg Private Bin Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Nederburg Noble Late Harvest

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