Judging the Fine Wine Awards

Malu Lambert

Chairperson and Convener of Judges

Award-winning wine writer Malu Lambert won the title of the Mont Blanc Emerging Wine Writer of the Year at the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards 2019. She also won the Veritas Young Wine Writer in 2015. Most recently she co-authored Klein Constantia: The Home of Vin de Constance, which was the winner of the ‘Discovering and Presenting Wines’ category of the 2023 OIV - International Organisation of Vine and Wine Awards.

Malu writes for numerous South African titles, and was the wine editor of Food & Home for five years. Internationally, she has also written for Jancis Robinson, Decanter, The Buyer, Falstaff, Club Oenologique, Drinks International, Thirteen Barrels, The Japanese Times, and more.

She is also a taster on the Platter's Guide. Malu is a regular on South Africa's judging panels, including the venerated Wine-of-the-Month Club. She judges internationally too, most recently for the Decanter World Wine Awards and Concours Mondial du Sauvignon.

Cathy van Zyl - Fine Wine Awards
Malu Lambert - Fine Wine Awards
Janine van Zyl - Fine Wine Awards

Panel Members: Wayve Kolevsohn, Tarryn Vincent, Lauren Segers, Cathy van Zyl MW, Janine van Zyl, Jono le Feuvre, Maryna Calow, Irina Botha, Clive Torr, Claude Felbert, Christine Rudman, Colin Collard, Penelope Setti, Cathy Marston, Samarie Smith, Rene Groenewald CWM, Joseph Dhafana, Heidi Duminy and Catherine Marshall.

Judging Process

All wines will be blind tasted by an independent panel of judges, as selected by the Convener of Judges, Malu Lambert.

The international 100-point system is used.

Medals/Stickers will be awarded as follows:

  • Trophy Award: Top-scoring wine in class

  • Gold: 95+ points

  • Silver: 90 to 94.99 points

  • Bronze: 85 to 89.99 points

Wines will be judged in accordance with the variety or type (class) to which it belongs and in which it has been entered.

The international 100-point system is used.

All wines will be tasted blind. The judging process is audited by independent auditors, Moore South Africa.

Below are the categories that will be tasted:

  • Bordeaux Red Blends

  • Cabernet Franc

  • Cabernet Sauvignon

  • Cap Classique

  • Chardonnay

  • Chenin Blanc

  • Champagne

  • Dry White Blends

  • Merlot

  • Non-Bordeaux Red Blends

  • Pinotage

  • Rose

  • Sauvignon Blanc

  • Shiraz

  • Sweet / Semi Sweet / Off Dry

  • Unusual Red Varietals

  • Unusual White Varietals

  • Port

All wines will be tasted blind. The judging process is audited by independent auditors, Moore South Africa.