Winemaker Notes
While Pinotage shares many traits with Pinot Noir, there is an earthy brambleness that distinguishes it from its more famous cousin. This legendary South African varietal is a true rarity in California and this 2017 Pinotage is in itself a special wine. Displaying a deep ruby hued core, this wine has a slight haze, which speaks to its being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Slightly wound upon removing the cork, the wine slowly starts to express itself as it begins to breathe, through bold notes of plum, ripe blueberry, new leather, and cedar pencil shavings. The palate dazzles with a delicate tension of juicy black fruits with an array of spicy, savory characteristics. Firm, persistent tannin surrounds a core of baked dark berries, licorice, cocoa, and freshly ground coffee. This wine has incredible structure and a long-lasting finish that is sure to age gracefully well into the next decade.
The Pinotage pairs beautifully with exotic spices, rich Italian food, smoked and grilled meats, anything from a wood fired oven and for the adventurous - sweet berry desserts.
Blend: 100% Pinotage
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a rare find in California, and tastes like what it is: a cross between Pinot Noir and Syrah (or Hermitage), showing the cherries and tanginess of the former and the black-pepper and meaty notes of the latter. Substitute this wellbalanced and medium-bodied wine for a Cotes du Rhône.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Pinotage Estate Fort Ross Vineyard has a medium to deep ruby color and very pretty scents of garrigue, dust, peppercorn and amaro over a core of roasted cranberries and red cherries plus notes of cola and woodsmoke. Medium to full-bodied, it packs in the spiced, earthy fruits, with a chalky frame and great freshness, finishing long. Impressive! If you enjoy Pinot Noir or Grenache in a pleasantly rustic style, this may be for you.
South Africa’s signature grape, Pinotage is a distinctively earthy and rustic variety. In 1924 viticulturists crossed finicky Pinot Noir and productive, heat-tolerant Cinsault, and created a variety both darker and bolder than either of its parents! Today it is popular in South Africa both as a single varietal wine and in Cape blends. Somm Secret—The name “Pinotage” is a subtle portmanteau. The Pinot part is obvious, but the second half is a bit confusing. In the early 1900s, Cinsault was known in South Africa as “Hermitage”—hence Pinotage.
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.