There is research – admittedly conducted in the United States where many wine shows are largely amateur affairs – which pretty much suggests that an equally (in)credible result could be obtained by allocating numbers to all the entries and using a roulette wheel to pick out the winners.
The Toughest Wine Competition in the World
When it comes to the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show, the pundits take another view. It has been running since 2002 and in that time it has “discovered” more of the country's top wineries – before they became famous – than any other competition. It has also produced the most coherent and consistent results, a function of the quality of its judges and of its operating methodology. Two of the three members of every judging panel is a properly trained and highly experienced local palate, while the third is a major international expert. Over the years the show has attracted the likes of Jancis Robinson, Oz Clarke, Michel Bettane, James Halliday, and Veronique Drouhin. Discussion between panellists is mandatory, so the final result can never be arbitrary, the outcome of an arithmetical rather than an organoleptic process. The best wine in a class is not necessarily awarded a gold medal, while only gold medallists are eligible for trophy judging. As Jancis Robinson observed, it may be the toughest wine competition in the world.
The Panels
Sometimes – not always - the results achieve an almost magical quality. The panels deliberate for several days, sifting their way through around 1000 wines, seeking the very best, but also alert to changing styles, different aesthetic statements. Only once this process has been completed is it possible to see whether there has been any coherence to their efforts. Given that no two panels are the same, and most of the members of the judging panels from previous years are no longer at the tasting benches, it is fair to ask what possible chance there might be for past laureates ever to appear again on the winners' podium – unless, that is, that the panelists are skilled judges and are able to discern and reward the criteria the show sets out to identify and commend.
2018
When there is a reasonable overlap – a few of the best known producers of a particular style or class back in the winners' enclosure within a year or two of a previous appearance – there's a sense that this isn't a matter of chance. And then there are years – like 2018 – when the judges of the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show simply exceed all expectations, with 90% of the trophy winners gold medallists from the past five years, and several on the podium for two years in a row with the next vintage of a 2017 trophy or gold medal winner.
