Reported in South Africa The Good News is the fantastic news that Laborie Alambic Brandy has been voted “Best Brandy in the World” at the 2010 International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC).

Alambic brandy still

The IWSC is generally regarded as an international benchmark test of technical excellence and stylistic quality of the world’s finest wines and spirits. Tasting is blind and conducted by panels of experts with world-class knowledge of the particular category and style they’re called upon to judge.

This is the fourth consecutive year that a South African brand has come out tops in this competition. South African brandies overall put in a remarkable performance at this year’s IWSC. All of the 31 products entered achieved either a gold (12) or a silver (19) medal. The only other country to win gold, with just one brandy deemed worthy of gold, was Spain. Among the 12 South African gold medallists, six were voted best in their class and of the 19 silver medallists, three were tops in their category.

Asked to describe his reaction to the news, KWV brandy master distiller Kobus Gelderblom, had this to say:

Shocked, but absolutely delighted. Shocked, because we were expecting our other traditionally top-performing brandies such as the KWV 15 Year Old or the KWV 20 Year Old, both of which have been gold medalists at leading competitions this year and previously voted ‘Best Brandy in the World’, to get the nod. But delighted because it’s an estate brandy made in extremely limited quantities from grapes grown on Laborie, our Paarl wine estate.

Gelderblom was also pleased with the result because it vindicates his passion for and belief in pinotage as a variety from which to distill fine brandy. This particular Laborie Alambic, a five-year-old pure potstill, is an unusual blend of mainly chardonnay with a touch of pinotage matured in old red wine oak barrels.

The chardonnay gives structure, the pinotage adds wonderful peach and apricot aromas and flavours, and the whole was touched up with a bit of 10-year-old brandy to add complexity to the final blend.

Besides the Laborie Alambic, the other South African brandies to win gold (and be voted best in their class) were Flight of the Fish Eagle, Oude Meester Souverein 18 Year Old, Oude Meester VSOB, Van Ryn’s 12 Year Old Distillers Reserve, Van Ryn’s 15 Year Old Fine Cask Reserve, Oude Molen Solera Grand Reserve and Uitkyk Grand Reserve 10 Year Old Estate Brandy.

The other gold medallists included the KWV 15 Year Old, KWV Imoya VSOP, Oude Meester Reserve 12 Year Old and Klipdrift Export.