Award history.
When we released our first wines in 2000, it was decided to enter all local competitions. Whilst we thought our wines were exceptional, we wanted to see what the judges thought. Competitions entered were the SA Young Wine Show, Veritas, Michelangelo, Wine Magazine, Winemakers Choice and the Fairbairn Trophy Wine Show.
Our first release was the 2000 Sauvignon Blanc. This wine received a Double Gold at Veritas, and a Gold at Michelangelo. This same wine in 2007 at the Wine Magazine tasting of white wines older than 5 years received 4.5 stars, showing the ageing potential of the wines at Rijk’s.
Our second wine released was the 2000 Pinotage. Awards received were a Double Gold at Veritas, a Double Gold at Michelangelo, and the Pinotage Champion of the Year at Wine Magazine.
The awards just kept coming for all our wines.
Wine competition philosophy.
Elegance, finesse, complexity and concentration of fruit, together with aging potential are what we strive for in our wines at Rijk’s. In 2005 we changed our competition policy. There were far to many wine competitions. Few local wines did not have some or other sticker on the bottle with an award.
As more than 50% of our wines were exported, it was decided to only enter competitions that had local and international judges. This includes the Michelangelo International Wine Awards, the Fairbairn Trophy Show, Wine Magazine, and South African Airways and the Platter Wine Guide. Interestingly, the Michelangelo International Awards Competition is where we have been consistently successful winning “The Best Wine of the Competition” 3 times in 9 years. They only have international judges selected from 14 different wine making countries. This is important to us as we need to understand the international palate.
List of some of our Doble Gold and Gold Awards – no silver or bronze listed.
| Wine Magazine | Absa Pinotage Top 10 |
| pinotage 2000 champion of the year | 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 |
| super chenin club status for only 3 cellars | Swiss Air International |
| pinotage 2000 – 4.5 stars | chardonnay 2005 – first class |
| pinotage 2002 – 4 stars | pinotage 2005 first class |
| shiraz 2001, 2002, 2004 – 4 stars | KLM Airlines |
| chardonnay 2002 and 2003 – 4 stars | chenin blanc 2000 first class |
| cabernet sauvignon 2002 – 4 stars | chenin blanc 2002 first class |
| chenin blanc 2003 – 4 stars | Air France |
| semillon 2004 – 4 stars | chardonnay 2000 first class |
| fascination 2006 – 4.5 stars | South African Airways |
| chenin blanc 2002 tasted in 2007 – 4.5 stars | shiraz 2003 first class |
| sauvignon 2000 tasted in 2008 – 4.5 stars | bravado 2002 first class |
| chenin blanc 2006 – 4 stars | fascination 2007, 2008 first class |
| Michelangelo International | chenin blanc 2007 first class |
| sauvignon blanc 2000 – gold | sauvignon blanc 2007 – first class |
| sauvignon blanc 2001 – double gold | Emirates Airlines |
| pinotage 2000 – double gold | shiraz 2004 first class |
| also the trophy for best wine of competition | semillon 2003 and 2004 first class |
| shiraz 2000 – gold | Le Rendevous du Chenin |
| cabernet sauvignon 2002 – gold | top 50 chenin blanc’s of the world |
| chenin blanc 2002 – double gold | Platter Wine Guide 2011 |
| chardonnay 2003 double gold | cabernet sauvignon 2002 – 5 stars |
| also the trophy for best wine of competition | cabernet sauv 2005 – 4.5 stars |
| pinotage 2003 – double gold | shiraz 2002 – 4.5 stars |
| bravado 2002 – double gold | shiraz 2003 – 4.5 stars |
| shiraz 2003 – gold | shiraz 2004 – 4.5 stars |
| cabernet sauvignon 2003 – gold | shiraz 2005 – 5 stars |
| pinotage 2004 – gold | pinotage touch of oak 2009 |
| shiraz 2004 – double gold | 4 stars |
| above wine scored 99.6/100 and won trophy | pinotage 2006 – 4 stars |
| for the best wine of the competition | pinotage reserve 2006 – 4.5 stars |
| cabernet sauvignon 2004 – double gold | bravado 2003 – 4 stars |
| pinotage 2005 – gold | chenin touch of oak 2009 4.5 stars |
| pinotage reserve 2006 – double gold | chenin 2008 – 4 stars |
| International Wine & Spirits, London | chenin reserve 2007 – 4 stars |
| pinotage reserve 2006 – best pinotage in the world | chardonnay reserve 2007 4.5 stars |
| pinotage reserve 2007 – best pinotage in the world | fascination 2008 4 stars |
| Hong Kong International Wine Competition | Wine of the Month Club 2011 |
| pinotage reserve 2006 – best south african red wine | best pinotage of the year trophy |
| Michelangelo International 2011 | SAWI Wine Index |
| pinotage 2007 – double gold | pinotage – 100 points |
| pinotage reserve 2007 – double gold | shiraz – 96+ points |
| estate the master 2007 – gold | chardonnay – 96+ points |
| estate syrah 2007 – gold | Top 100 wines of South Africa |
| shiraz 2006 – gold | chenin blanc, pinotage, shiraz |