Results from the 2024 Nationals – Cabernet Sauvignon
Announcing the Results from the 2024 National Wine Awards of Canada
The 2024 Nationals took place in Niagara Falls from June 21st to 25th. Category results end this week, with the announcement of the Platinum winners tomorrow, the Best Performing Small Winery and Top 10 Small Wineries on Thursday, and Winery of the Year and Top 25 Wineries in Canada on Friday. We hope that you will stay tuned to follow the results!
We’ve asked a few of our judges to summarize their impressions of each category. Today we are pleased to present the Cabernet Sauvignon winners.
Category Overview by Judge Geoffrey Moss, MW
This is my third year recapping the Cabernet Sauvignon category at the National Wine Awards. Over that time, the number of gold medals has dropped from 13 in 2022 to 10 in 2023 to just seven this year. Two years ago, I argued, “It’s the category that shows the most potential.” The potential is still there – from the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys to Niagara – if not fully realized.
It’s a smaller category than you’d intuitively expect. Cabernet Sauvignon may be the most widely planted grape in the world, but that’s not true closer to home. It is the third most planted red variety in British Columbia with 973 acres, or 7.7% of total plantings (as of 2022). The total acreage may have increased over the last ten years but, as a percentage of total plantings, it’s stayed surprisingly steady around 7 percent.
In Ontario, only 2,572 tonnes of Cabernet Sauvignon were processed from the 2023 vintage, representing 5.9% of total vinifera production. There’s been a consistent downward trend, as a percentage of tonnage, over the last five years.
That translated to just 3.3% of entries at the 2024 awards. Of course, a significant amount of Cabernet Sauvignon makes its way into red blends. There’s the noble inspiration of Bordeaux (and Australia, as we saw this year), or the reality of mitigating vintage variation when the late-ripening variety doesn’t make it to the finish line.
As a single varietal, it clearly can hold its own. This is exemplified by the sole platinum medal this year, Peller Estates’ 2020 Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon. Again, the quality of the 2020 vintage in Ontario for Bordeaux varieties is clear, with gold medals for the Colio 2020 Small Lot Series Cabernet Sauvignon (Niagara Lakeshore) and Sprucewood Shores 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Hawk’s Flight Reserve (Lake Erie North Shore).
British Columbia took home the remaining five gold medals. From Nk’mip Cellars Qwam Qwmt Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Okanagan Valley in Osoyoos to Kismet Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Okanagan Valley in Oliver to Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon Howe Vineyard 2020, Okanagan Valley on the Naramata Bench, Cabernet Sauvignon performs well throughout the South Okanagan.
Corcelettes Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 shows the same is true for the Similkameen Valley. And then you had Chaberton Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Okanagan Valley, showing that you can find value-priced Canadian Cabernet Sauvignon amid medal winners that averaged $50.29 in price.
NWAC 2024 Sponsors:
