We try not to get ahead of ourselves at Hasher, but this one’s worth a small fuss.
At this year’s International Wine & Spirit Competition judging in South Africa — the fifth time IWSC has held its Global Judging on home soil — our Cyriel Cabernet Franc 2023 and Ernest Pinot Noir 2024 were both awarded gold. The Cyriel scored 97 points, joint-highest of any wine in the entire competition, with the judges noting its “enchanting bouquet of wild berries and fresh red fruit,” balanced by soft tannins and an elegant, structured finish. The Ernest came in at 95.
Context matters here. More than 530 medals were awarded to South African wines this year, but fewer than 30 of those were gold. Our Marimist Chardonnay 2024 and Batrachella Pinotage 2023 rounded out the results with silver medals each, and our Nauticus 2025 picked up bronze.
There’s a nice detail behind the Ernest’s result. Natasha, our winemaker, joined us in 2023 — which means 2024 was the first vintage she followed from bud to bottle, start to finish. Seeing that wine score so highly feels like proof we weren’t wrong to trust her instincts.
We’ll raise a glass to that. And to the judges, the valley, and everyone who’s poured a glass of Hasher along the way.
Full results are available on the IWSC website.
