AFTER assessing 46 wines for Winemag’s 2024 Prescient Pinotage Report, panel chair Christian Eedes remarked on the appealing “new wave” entries led by the 2023 vintages of Black Elephant Vintners’ Rumble in the Jungle and illimis, compared to the “more traditional” examples that impressed with “depth of fruit and all-round power” such as Flagstone’s 2021 Writer’s Block, a 95-pointer at
Read moreBEYERSKLOOF. Stellenbosch. Just outside the town on the R304 to the N1. Home to some of South Africa’s most highly rated Pinotages and Cape Blends over the past 10 years, as well as the Red Leaf Bistro. The Pinotage Burger goes for R155, the Pinotage Pizza for R165, perhaps accompanied by the Pinotage Reserve or the Traildust Cape Blend at
Read more‘BORN’ in South Africa and, at its best, one of the country’s delightful ambassadors. These are the expressions of Pinotage that really wowed the top panels around the world in 2023 to date, and highlighted in red are those that qualify for the SA Wine Classification showcasing good track records over the past 10 years. Alvi’s Drift Verreaux Pinotage
Read moreTHE 2023 Absa Top 10 Pinotage and Perold Cape Blend awards have been reported on already, but for many wine lovers it’s not enough to know what the winning wines were. “Comparing favourites is one thing, but tell us where they come from? What do they taste like? Exactly who made them?” Questions answered: BEESLAAR PINOTAGE 2019 WO Stellenbosch. 25-year-old
Read moreTHE PINOTAGE Association’s competition for ‘pink’ wines made from South Africa’s Pinot Noir Cinsault cross was introduced fairly recently, yet already many Pinotage producers are trying their hand at it, if not perfecting the craft. Wine lovers might well wonder when certain champions of the variety including Kanonkop of Stellenbosch and Rijk’s of Tulbagh will enter the fray, so to
Read moreHOW MUCH longer will it take for the concept of a ‘Cape Blend’ to gain traction, one wonders. Some are really good, yet more than a decade after South Africa’s inaugural Perold competition for Pinotage-led combos there were only 30 entries in the 2023 edition – less than the number entered back in 2011 – and just 17 with track
Read moreIT SELDOM happens that a winemaker has a hand in two Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition laureates in the same year, but what do you know… In 2023 there were two of them: Abrie Beeslaar, cellarmaster behind the winning 2017 vintage from Kanonkop Estate in Stellenbosch and also coming top with the 2019 vintage under his own label, as well
Read moreTHEY CAN’T say with absolute certainty whether it was made in 1791 or 1890, but “due to the colour and aromas” it’s believed to be the former. The unlabelled, handblown bottle is small, half a standard 750ml measure of ‘Constantia Sweet’, acquired by Stellenbosch Farmers’ Winery (now Heineken Beverages) at a London auction in 1974. Recently resealed by Amorim Cork
Read moreTHREE of the Top 10 in Winemag’s 2023 Prescient Pinotage Report from the same cellar, including one of the panel’s three absolute favourites and the best priced of the Top 10… You won’t see that again anytime soon! Congrat’s to the team at Windmeul Cellar in Paarl – especially for what they achieved with the 2021 vintage of their ‘standard’
Read moreWHO KNOWS what happened! With just days to go before the first Pinotage Festival of 2023 came news that the Stellenbosch event scheduled for 13 May had been cancelled. No doubt many wine lovers were looking forward to seeing who would be strutting their stuff and, for just R150pp, getting to compare the different styles. One wonders how many of
Read moreJUST R100 to taste SEVEN current releases at one of THE leading wine estates in South Africa. In fact, there’s no charge to sample these wines if you’re buying a bottle to take home, with a second-label red going for just R135pb, the 2023 rosé less than R100. The top wines from this cellar sell for over R500pb, with the
Read moreBACK IN 2012, the 2010 vintage of The Bernard Series Bush Vine Pinotage in DGB’s Bellingham portfolio earned a trophy at the Decanter World Wine Awards, UK. In 2014, the 2013 vintage was a winner in the Pinotage Association’s Top 10 Competition, Cape winelands. Not long into 2023, the 2019 vintage earned grand gold and was judged best South African
Read moreGO BELLINGHAM! After panel-tastings of over 7500 wines by 242 wine experts from 46 countries over six days in the town of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany, the 32nd edition of the Mundus Vini international wine awards culminated in the presentation of 70 grand gold medals, one of them going to a red from the Cape winelands. The 2019 Bush
Read moreTHE SWARTLAND Survivor Pinotage had impressed for quite a while before the appointment of Pierre Wahl as cellarmaster in January 2022. So much to look forward to in due course with ‘The Pope of Pinotage’ now in charge. After four years at the Friedman family’s Môreson cellar in Franschhoek, followed by 20 years at Neville Dorrington’s Rijk’s wine estate in
Read moreWELL HOW about that! Following the announcement of the “pinnacle” awards in Platter’s 2023 South African Wine Guide and still in advance of the 744-page printed version becoming available, the publishers have divulged the scores of the 8000-plus wines reviewed in this, the 43rd edition of the book retailing at R399. Whereas at first we were told the names of
Read moreGO PULPIT ROCK! At just R90pb, the Brink Family Vineyards 2019 from the Pulpit Rock winery in Riebeek West is one of the standouts among the 2022 Absa Top 10 Pinotage Award winners. Windmeul of Paarl is the closest contender in terms of ‘best bang for your buck’ – R150pb for their 2019 Reserve but a track record impressive enough
Read moreON THE FARM Dekkersvlei in Klein Drakenstein, Paarl, Mellasat is off the beaten track. At these vineyards, proprietor Stephen Richardson, cellarmaster Gizelle Coetzee and their team like to do things somewhat differently. In fact this one’s never been done before… There’s nothing else quite like it. Not the first Cap Classique sparkling wine made using Pinotage to some degree, but
Read moreOF THE FIVE Worcester wineries that qualify for the South African Cellar Classification, one has made a success of a flagship range associated with places outside the district. The most established of Overhex proprietor Gerhard van der Wath’s Survivor wines, the Pinotage and Chenin Blanc, are made using Swartland grapes harvested over 100km away, as is the Syrah. The Survivor
Read moreSJOE! The Trophy Wine Show got it so right when they honoured the 2019 Thokozani Cabernet Franc as Discovery of the Show in 2022. Best value gold medallist in South Africa’s premier wine competition, open to wines of all categories, this beauty from the Diemersfontein cellar in Wellington was also top of its class at the National Wine Challenge (SA)
Read moreTHE “SECOND EVER” panel-tasting of Pinotage by Decanter in the UK was described by judge Greg Sherwood MW as “a huge success”, with the results published in the Feb 2022 issue of the magazine. It had been over 20 years since the publishers last reviewed this class of red wines in such a focused manner and the jury praised
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