Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A rich and spicy pinotage that shows notes of cedar, spice box, cumin, vanilla and chocolate cherries. Full-bodied, plush and juicy, with chocolate-soaked tannins. Remains fresh and lively.
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Wine Spectator
A rich, medium- to full-bodied version, showing lush flavors of damson plum preserves and blackberry coulis, melted licorice, game and sweet smoke trimmed nicely by taut, sculpted tannins and lively acidity. Lingering, well-spiced finish. Drink now through 2030. 6,500 cases made, 1,750 cases imported.
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine has an oaky palate exhibiting raspberry, coffee and spices that are kept fresh by good acidity. It’s not overly complex, but it has depth and a lasting finish with hints of herbs.
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.