A Pinotage study, comparing six examples of this South African speciality
Pinotage is such an interesting grape variety. You can read all about its origins, its struggles and its triumphs in this article I wrote for the Wines of South Africa newsletter earlier this year. It was crossed in the 1920s, almost lost, then rediscovered, and the first varietal examples were in the 1950s. It’s challenging to vinify, tending to shoot off in fermentation, stress yeasts, and then create reduction issues that can make the wines difficult to understand, and sometimes a bit bitter. In the past winemakers have used ripeness and new oak to make it more loveable, but its real talent is in fresher, lighter reds. Here are six I tried together.
Bruce Jack Off The Charts Pinotage 2023 Western Cape, South Africa
13.5% alcohol. Juicy and sweetly fruited with a sour cherry, slightly bitter edge to the palate. This is juicy and expressive, made in a lighter style. The bitterness and freshness work well together to help this become quite gastronomic. The fruit is offset by what tastes like just a kiss of spicy, woody oak character, although this is in the background. Tending to sweet and sour. 89/100 (UK retail £15.99, The Wine Republic, The Fine Wine Co)
Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Pinotage 2023 Coastal Region, South Africa
14.5% alcohol. This is ripe and fruit-driven with some cherry and raspberry notes, and then some tannic grip and a slight bitter twist, as well as some sour cherry and a hint of balsamic character. There’s nice generous red fruit here, showing brightness, and then the finish is slightly firm with the bitter and sour notes clamping down. Gastronomic. 90/100 (£14.64 Flagship Wines, Fareham Wine Cellar, D’Arcy Wines)
Simonsig Redhill Pinotage 2021 Stellenbosch, South Africa
14% alcohol. Simonsig’s first red wine, released in 1970, was a Pinotage. This has a ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit nose with some chocolatey notes and a touch of spicy oak. There’s also a hint of creaminess. The palate is vivid with some good structure under the sweet black fruits, as well as good acidity and a brisk, slightly bitter, tarry finish. This is a substantial wine showing good intensity, focus and freshness. It finishes bright and firm, and slightly bitter. But there’s a lot going for it. 92/100 (£26 Best Biltong, Lekker Wines, Capreo)
Warwick The Black Lady Pinotage 2023 Stellenbosch, South Africa
14% alcohol. This comes from bush vines on the Simonsberg. Fast, short extraction, and then it finishes fermentation off the skins. 23% new oak. Ripe, dense and quite dark with sweet black cherries and some blackcurrants, with notes of tar and spice. This is nicely balanced: it’s ripe and full, but not chunky or overdone. There’s a whisper of elegance to the sweet fruit and then just a twist of bitterness on the finish that lets you know it’s Pinotage. But this is really good. 93/100 (£30, UK agent Fells)
Rijk’s Touch Pinotage 2020 Tulbagh, South Africa
14.5% alcohol. There’s some ripeness and density here with sweet blackberry and cherry fruit with some chocolatey, spicy depth. It’s a rich, expansive version of Pinotage, with ripe, sweet fruit shrouding the slightly bitter notes. Enjoyable and expansive, with lovely density to the fruit, made in a ripe, accessible style – but it still has enough structure to make it food friendly and capable of a bit of ageing. At five year’s old it’s mellowing a bit, too. 92/100 (£20 Private Cellar)
Olifantsberg Pinotage 2021 Breedekloof, South Africa
12.5% alcohol. Vineyards at 250-450 m, whole berry ferments then aged in foudres and barrels. This is bright and focused with a wet stone edge to the juicy cherry and raspberry fruit with a touch of cranberry and a slight bitter hint. Nice presence with good acidity. This is juicy with a lot of treble in the mix, and among the most elegant of the Pinotage’s I’ve tried. But still very Pinotage on the finish. 93/100 (£20.99 Corking Wines, The Fine Wine Co)
