Wine maestro Günter Brözel was awarded the Tim Atkin Legend Award during the launch of the Tim Atkin MW report on South African wines for 2024 and tasting of 95+ point wines on Monday 2 September.
Brözel, a resident of Somerset West, was the cellarmaster at Nederburg Wine Estate from 1956 to 1989. The 90-year-old wine maverick is widely known for his exceptionally high standards.
After his decades-long stint at Nederberg he joined Neethlingshof for 10 years, where he was also instrumental in the successful reconstruction of the Neethlingshof Estate and Stellenzicht wineries. He then “semi-retired” and today is still a legend who stays in touch with industry matters.
Brözel was born in Germany and was a graduate of the State Teaching and Research Institute for Viticulture and Fruit Growing in Weinsberg (Württemberg). His first choice was to study music, but he followed in his father’s footsteps and qualified as a cooper before studying wine.
However, his love for music stayed and he could play the piano and church organ like a maestro through the years. He was also a member of the famous German Choir in Paarl.
In 1956, the then owner of the Nederburg Winery in Paarl, Johann Georg Graue, hired Brözel as technical director after the death of his son in a plane crash in 1955. After Graue’s death in 1959, Brözel took over the business and established the world-class reputation of the winery over 33 years before handing the reins to Newald Marais.
During his time at the Paarl estate he played a leading role in building its reputation as the most-awarded winery in South Africa and he became an icon in South African winemaking.
Getting around on a 250cc BSA motorcycle, Brözel checked on everyone and everything to ensure his exacting demands were met. He was a pioneer in all aspects, introducing many important improvements to vineyard management and winemaking techniques, later adopted by others.
In 1985 he became the first winemaker in SA to earn the Robert Mondavi International Winemaker of the Year Trophy at the International Wine and Spirit Competition. He was a great pioneer and created the first South African noble late-harvest wine, Edelkeur, in 1969, which was launched at the first Nederburg Auction in 1975 and was sold exclusively at the auction.
The renowned Edelkeur wine made from botrytised Chenin Blanc was intended to rival the famous Sauterne, Tokaij and Trockenbeerenauslese wines, and has earned Nederburg considerable international kudos over the years. He also brought about a change in the law, which was amended to recognise this new category of wine.
Brözel was also one of the initiators of the Nederburg Wine Auction where Edelkeur was sold.
He won the Diners Club Award twice (1983 and 1985), was awarded the KWV Vintage Commemorative Scroll in 1986 and was one of the first recipients of the Living Legends Scroll of the SA Wine Industry at the Veritas Wine Awards Gala dinner in 2009.
The 1982 vintage of Nederburg Auction Cabernet Sauvignon – in magnums – was served at the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela in 1994. The late former President was also very fond of Nederburg Edelkeur and was presented with a case of this golden nectar every year on his birthday.
As guest speaker at the Nederburg Auction in 1992, the famous Robert Mondavi hailed the 1974 Nederburg Auction Cabernet Sauvignon – rated by many as one of the best Cabernets from SA in the previous century – as one of his best 10 red wines he had ever tasted in his career.
Decanter has called the 1974 wine legendary, and recounts that when iconic US winemaker Robert Mondavi had tasted it in 1992 he exclaimed: “Rapture! Still fresh and juicy with lovely structure . . . Long and lingering finish. Magnificent!”
Last year, wine writer Emile Joubert paid tribute to Brözel in an article when Nederburg Baronne was 50 years old: “And 50 years later, the Baronne legend lives on. I just hope the South African wine industry is doing enough to ensure that the legacy of our great wine pioneers, such as Maestro Brözel, also remain intact and are given the respect and the place in history they deserve.”
