| Fair Valley | Paarl |
|---|---|
| A farmworkers empowerment project, their first offering was a quaffable Chenin Blanc, now Pinotage, from vines in Agter Paarl, has joined it - plus a classy new label. | |
| 2001 - Dark black colour, closed nose but welcoming sweet fruit on the palate, boisterous tannins needing bottle age to integrate them, long pleasnt aftertaste. Very Good (PFM 5/2002) | |
Fairview
| Paarl |
| As you drive on the road up the foothills of Paarl Mountain to Fairview the first sight to grab your attention is the 'goat tower' with its spiral ramp outside for the goats to walk on. The goat tower appears on the label of Fairview Wines, and in the cool tasting room goats cheese is also available for tasting. Fairviews top range of wines, labelled as The Reserve Range are only available here. Look in the dark back room for end of bin bargains. |
 
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Pinotage is from 40 year old bush vines giving an intense varietal
flavour.
2001 - Complex nose full of blackberries, roses and tobacco. Damson rich colour leads to flavours of cherry fruits, toffee, Belgian chocolate and an underlying tantalising tanginess. I think this wine would offer even more if kept for two or three more years. (PFM 06/03)
1998 Smooth and with an overlaying natural sweetness, as well as hints of raspberries and red currants, this well-made medium bodied Pinotage has just enough oak and tannins to add a touch of complexity. Drinking well now but will develop somewhat over the next two - three years. (Notes consistent with those of an earlier tasting) Score 86.(Daniel Rogov 7/99) | |
| Fairview The Amos | Coastal |
| . A single vineyard Pinotage made from unirrigated bush vines by this most innovative winery. |
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| 1998 - what a great wine. Sweet berry flavours, well rounded fruit, clean long taste. (tasted 11/01) | |
| Primo Fairview Estate | Paarl |
| A single vineyard wine from this most innovative winery. | |
| Primo 2001 - Cheesy nose, silky dark colour and warm mouthfeel. Very enjoyable, some dry tannins. | |
| Kopland Fairview Estate | Paarl |
| Pinotage made solely from grapes grown in Fairview Estate's Kopland vineyard. |
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| 1997 awaiting tasting - tasting reports welcomed | |
| False Bay Winery | Cape |
| 2002Tank sample. Dark red colour, complex, plums, shows great promise. I'd like to taste this when bottled. (PFM 05/2002) | |
| Fernkloof | Hermanus |
| tasting reports welcomed | |
| First River Winery | Stellenbosch |
| Label of Eesterrivier |
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2000 - Very dark sullen colour, slight esters, tobacco and alcohol , seems a bit stalky. Good (PFM 05/2002)
1996 - A good deep garnet colour with and a mouth filling fruity but firm flavour, with hints of dark cherry in the aftertaste. A most enjoyable dinner wine. (tasted June 98) | |
| Five Heirs | Coastal |
| A new winery from the Lanzerac team. They're building a 2.5 ton cellar for the 250 hectare vineyard planted in 1998 in Somerset West. The five heirs are the two parents and their three children. Jacob get his name on the Pinotage label | |
| 2000 - bright clear garnet red colour, warm cherry flavours, slight etery taste. Good (PFM 5/2002) | |
| Flagstone | Coastal |
| Made at the Waterfront complex in central Cape Town, Writers Block is the name given to their Pinotage |
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| 2000 - Several surprises here, finding a tall serious bottle with deep punt sealed with a plastic closure. Seeing the depth of the punt I was worried I was opening it too soon, but it was wonderfully approachable. A nose of crushed berries rises from the glass as if you are gently stewing red and black bramble fruits in an open pan. The taste is fruit first, tons of it, then underlying strands of dark chocolate and tobacco leaves pinned with gentle tannins. A soft approachable wine. I couldn't wait to top up my glass. I know many old time pinotage lovers won't like this, but it should gain rafts of new followers for this most entrancing variety. A new Pinotage star has joined the firmanent (PFM May 2002) | |
| Fleur du Cap | Cape |
| Brand of Bergkelder. Well known brand in UK, usually the only S African wines easily available during the apartheid years. Consistent quality, good value wines. |
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This wine was just about perfect. A bright red colour, looking younger
than its 8 years. A complex fruity bouquet with the vanilla taste of
oak on the nose. It could be mistaken for a Rhone
wine with its spicyness reminiscent of syrah. This wine seemed still young,
and although is wonderful drinking now it should keep for many a year.
(1991 tasted August 1998)
Fleur du Cap, Pinotage, Coastal Region, 1991: Full bodied and generous with tobacco, plum and black cherry aromas and flavors, spoiled somewhat because of a somewhat too gamy aftertaste Drink now. Score 83 (Daniel Rogov 07/99) |
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| Fort Simon | Stellenbosch |
| Out of the vineyards rises a mediaeval castle with corner turrets, a smaller castle is approached over a sparkling blue pool. This is the amazing Fort Simon. |
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| tasting reports welcomed | |
| Fort Ross | Sonoma County, California |
| Fort Ross Vineyard in Sonoma County was,in 1992, the first in California to bring pinotage bud-wood directly from South Africa through the FPMS quarantine program at University of California at Davis. They report "unlike pinotage in South Africa our grapes ripen two weeks after our pinot noir, due to the unique conditions of our vineyard which is located less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean at an elevation ranging from 1200 to 1700 feet above sea level." Production is limited to a couple of hundred cases. |
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| tasting reports welcomed | |
| Franschhoek Vineyards | Franschhoek |
| tasting reports welcomed | |
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20 April 2004
club@pinotage.org