Winemaker Notes
Vibrant aromas of blueberries, ripe plums, black cherries, cinnamon and vanilla on the nose. The palate is sultry and luxurious, with densely packed flavours of berry compote, wild bramble, plum tart and spicy Christmas cake. Ripe tannins are beautifully intertwined between the layers of fruit, adding a dense and broad texture to the wine. The subtle spicy tones and plush black cherry flavours on the lingering finish completes a very elegant and age-worthy wine.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A perfumed nose of blackcurrants, blackberries, dark cherries, bark, dried violets, orange peel and cigar box. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and bright acidity. Fleshy and vibrant. Excellent texture.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Pinotage has an oak-driven nose with spiced plum compote, black cherries, a floral essence and a kiss of volatility. Medium to full-bodied, the wine is generous on the palate and offers a sweet frame of oak with vanilla and spiced cherries before offering juicy yet rustic tannins across the mid-palate. The Pinotage concludes with a long, spicy and savory finish that needs at least one more year in bottle.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of cherry, baking spices and hints of herbs form the bouquet. Thanks to a smart use of oak, vanilla and tobacco blend nicely with berries. It’s a fresh, well-structured wine that finishes with notes of smoke.
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Wine Spectator
A racy red, with light, crisp tannins and enticing tar and vanilla notes paired with sweet black raspberry and boysenberry fruit flavors. Medium-bodied, with an herbal overtone that lingers on the finish.
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.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.