| Sable View | Cape | |
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| SFW export label |
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| Tasting reports welcomed | ||
| Safeway | ||
| Own label for supermarket chain. Made by Simonsvlei. |
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| This oak aged pinotage, produced and bottled by Simonsvlei Winery, was delicious. It had some bottle age and showed a complexity and depth not normally found in a supermarket wine. A classic firm structure slighty dominated the fruit. (1996 tasted Feb 99) | ||
| Sainsbury | Coastal Region | |
| Own label brand of UK supermarket giant Sainsbury's, made by Bellingham Wines. In two consecutive years visitors to Bellinghams Winery were told they had no pinotage to taste, 'Sainsbury's had it all'. |
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| Cherries and banana, dry aftertaste, very drinkable pleasant wine | ||
| Sainsbury Reserve Selection | Stellenbosch | |
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Own label for supermarket chain. This
'reserve selection' costs 36.6% more than the
Bellingham bottled standard label, but what it is is
a mystery. The back label says "Pinotage is unique to South
Africa and Beyers Truter is one of the leading wine makers
dedicated to developing this exciting grape variety. The grapes are
picked from old bush vines which produces intensely rich grapes which
are vinified and matured in small french oak barrels.' Whilst one cannot argue with the first sentence, it does not actually say that Beyers had anything to do with this wine. The front label has the mysterious phrase 'Bottled by SBK R310, Lyndoch 7603, South Africa'. Is it co-incidence that A310 is the number of B. Truter (Beyerskloof)? More likely it refers to the town on Lyndoch on the highway R310. And perhaps the Welmoed Winery at that address. Maybe one of our South African readers can decode this puzzle? Well the mystery was solved by a visit to Beyerskloof winery where this bottle, and a bottle of Tesco's Pinotage were flanking the red leaf label of Beyerskloof. Yes, all three wines are the same. The two supermarket wines use artificial corks (UK supermarkets are very pro artificial corks; they find it unacceptable that so much wine is made faulty by bad corks). |
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| Dark purple in the glass with a rich fruity nose. Great fruit taste, with dark chocolate overtones, good finish - a lovely wine. More please. (1998 - tasted Oct 99) | ||
| Saints |
Hawkes Bay New Zealand | |
| Made by Montana |
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This is the first pinotage wine that I have drunk. I
found it to be a soft generous red with fresh plummy aromas and a
rich colour. It is a mouth-filling wine with ripe plum, liquorice and
smoky oak flavours. It has a very smooth finish. Quite delicious!
(Allan Campbell 12/98)
Saints Hawkes Bay Pinotage 1997: Made by Steve Voysey at the Gisborne winery. Hawkes Bay grapes from the Korokipo vineyard. Leaf plucking to increase the ripeness, cropped at approx 4 tonnes per acre. Some whole berry fermentation with a 5 day cold soak to extract the delicate components. 40% into half American and half French new oak, the rest older American for 6 months. Soft, aged wine typical of the older style at it's best with smoke and game flavours, and good fragrance. Higher acid, but well flavoured on the palate, good length. 17.5/20 (15/05/00 Raymond Chan at Regional Wines, NZ) | ||
| Sanctuary |
Marlborough New Zealand | |
| Label of Grove Mill. The Sanctuary wines are made with clear varietal expression in a lighter style than Grove Mill. The fundamental premise for their being is to be the quality governor preserving the Grove Mill style. Sanctuary wines are made from grapes grown for the Grove Mill label. However, the philosophy of the Grove Mill label determines that there must always be a Sanctuary |
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The 1998 was rated by Cuisine magazine as 4 stars. They said
"Ripe currants and cracked pepper are the major features
of this juicy, vibrant red. A blend of 20% Merlot add extra interest and
complexity. Crisp acidity and dusty tannins promote a drying finish".
The Merlot content is not mentioned on the front label, and NZ labels laws
only required 75% of the stated blend to be present. (Thanks to Sue Courtney)
Grove Mill 'Sanctuary' Pinotage 1998: Designed to be a light. Easy drinking red. Hot fermentation of Marlborough fruit followed by a short maturation on lees. Floral nose, fresh and lifted. Light weight, sharper and more acidic, but with obvious floral-cherry fruitiness. A touch more generosity would make a huge difference. 15.0/20 (15/05/00 Raymond Chan at Regional Wines, NZ) | ||
| Sandown Bay | Cape | |
| Made from Stellenbosch fruit using 'some staves'. | ||
| 2001 Ruby brick colour, complex middle palate, cherries, damsons, little chocolate, tannins apparent on aftertaste. | ||
SavanhaWinner Pinotage of 1997 | Western Cape | |
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A label of
of Berg & Brook Vineyards consortium
Berg & Brook hosted a tasting in the Cape on 10 June 98. Member Jane Mort reported "The Savanha Pinotage/Cabernet 1997 is a 70% Pinotage and 30% Cabernet blend. The Pinotage is sourced from Durbanville and Stellenbosch. It is fermented in open tanks for 10 - 14 days, before going into the stainless steel tanks. 25% of the Pinotage is oaked in American oak and 75% in French oak. The Cabernet is sourced from Durbaville and Paarl and it is oaked in French oak. The two cultivars are blended just before bottling. The nose is good - forthcoming with vanilla, banana, blackcurrent and a little acetone. This follows through to the palate with a lingering aftertaste. The fruit/tannin/acid is well balanced. Berg & Brook expect it to be good for the next 5 years. It is a nice drinking wine now. Berg & Brook make their wines to be drunk young. The demand at the moment is for wines which can be drunk and enjoyed young. It seems not many people will keep wine 5 or 10 years before drinking. It is a nice enjoyable wine. It is an unusual blend - I haven't had before. I think it will sell well." The '97 Pinotage was not available at this time. |
 
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| Sparkling bright wine; in the glass the colour is so intense is is almost black. Intense strong berry taste, Like shiraz but with a slight hint of boiled sweets. Deep, complex, dry with sweet plum overtones. Ideal with food, an excellent wine.(Vintage 1996) | ||
| Saxenburg | Stellenbosch | |
| Saxenburg have two pinotages, the standard Guinea Fowl label, and the prestige Private Collection |
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1999 -
My God! It's beautiful! It's wonderful!! 13.5% alc. Very dark, saturated garnet. Hauntingly beautiful, aristocratic Pinotage nose: Dried wild strawberries, earth, leather and a bit of woodsmoke. Stunning integration, both on the nose and on the palate. The wine exudes a sense of elegance and, interestingly, is not estery (a quality I enjoy, but one that's controversial for others). Elegant again on the palate, with a fine-grained, velvety/dusty texture, leathery/wild-strawberry flavours, and a firm yet friendly finish without bitterness (again, a quality that I enjoy but others don't). Kudos to winemaker Nico van der Merwe. I'm going to buy more of this lovely wine. (Paul Bulas in Canada, 12/03)
2000 - full bodied and rounded with piquant fruits acids and a lingering finish. (PFM 10/03) | ||
| Scali | Paarl | |
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Estate was bought on the proceeds of a diamond found in Kimberley. Descendents Willie and Tania de Waal grow grapes for the local Boland Co-operative (Willie's Grandfather was a founder member), but they keep back a few tons to hand craft wines. The two of them do everything so volume is limited to what they can manage. Currently they are making Syrah and Pinotage. The 1999 Pinotage vintage was the first they released commercially.
Willie says he wants to make "wine people will enjoy and be able to understand." |
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2001 - Not sure about this one, acids seesaw with fruit although underneath there seems to be a bordeaux-like wine trying to get out. Needs more time (PFM 02/2003)
1999 - Sweet smoky nose, bags of sweet fruit, refreshing summer pudding flavours and a medium aftertaste. Excellent(PFM 02/2003) | ||
| Schindler | Tulbagh | |
| Label of Lemburg Estate - see the entry on the L page. | ||
| Tasting reports welcomed | ||
| Sentinal | Stellenbosch | |
| Housed in a huge fake castle ringed by historic cannon, Sentinal winery dominates the R44 just north of Stellenbosch. Their 2003 Pinotage won both Pinotage Top 10 2004 and 2004 Fairbairn Pinotage Trophy | ||
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2003 - Deep purple red colour, smoky nose, mouthfillingly fruity, plums, smoke and spices, tobacco leaves on finish. Its so very drinkable its a real surprise to see its 15%abv.
Reserve 2001 - Deep garnet red colour, attractive upfront fruits, red plums and redcurrants, and an uplift of tangy fruit acids with by integrated tannins on finish. 14%alc Enjoyable. (2/2004 PFM) | ||
| Seriti | Cape | |
| Label of False Bay Winery | ||
| 2002Tank sample, light pinky red colour, medium taste with light esters. | ||
| Siedelberg Estate | Paarl | |
| There's a wonderful view from the tasting room and an enjoyable restaurant. The Rolands Reserve Pinotage is something special not to mention a Fairbairn Trophy winner. | ||
| 2001 - Very dark black and opaque. Full mouthfeel, mulberry sweetness with balanced tannins. Very Good 14% alc (PFM 10/02) | ||
| Signature Series | Cape | |
| Made especially for the South Africa Woolworths chain by Beaumont Winery, this has winemaker Niels Verburgs, and wine buyer Andrew Mullins signatures on the bottle. | ||
| 1999 - Wonderful serious Pinotage, deep colour, smooth rich flavour, dark stone fruit, long pleasant finish. Great stuff (PFM 02/2002) | ||
| Signal Hill | Simonsberg | |
| This is a single vineyard Pinotage from the Malwenn vineyard, vinified at Signal Hill by Jean-Vincent Ridon. |
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| Tasting reports welcomed | ||
| Simonsig Estate | Stellenbosch | |
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More than 45ha is planted with pinotage at this premier family
owned winery, both top rated wooded and unwooded Pinotage. The Redhill wooded range undergoes oak ageing. The Pinotage comes from 30+ year old vines planted on decomposed granite, and shales, the first giving body while shales contribute aromatics. . |
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2000 Redhill -
Purple ruby colour, warm inviting nose. Light redcurrant hightones, tannins on aftertaste. Needs time to integrate. (PFM 02/02> Redhill 1999 - A ripe style touching on jammy but good bright fruit, good balance on the palate which was not too full, nicely ripe tannins and length. Another of my picks from the tasting overall, and starting to reveal a bit of varietal complexity too. (Nick Alabaster 10/02) 1999 Redhill - Black colour with purple rim, sweet warming fruits with tannins coming to the fore on the aftertaste. Johan suggests the tannins need a couple more years to soften and let the fruits develop. (PFM 02/02> 1998 Redhill - Purple red, violets on the nose, warm approachable with red fruit flavours and balanced wood. This is perfect drinking now. Was aged 10 months in mostly American oak. (PFM 02/02> 1998 - Dark black red colour, soft raspberries, light, clean, some alcohol and esters apparent. (PFM 02/02> 1997 Redhill - Dark black red, restrained fruits of the forest flavours with integrated wood tones. Well balanced with a long lingering aftertaste. This will keep, but its perfect drinking now(PFM 02/02> 1996 - Dark colour, subdued nose. Silky plummy - fruit of the forest flavours. Restrained, elegant and classy. Wonderful dinner wine. Super. (11/99) 1995 - Closed faint berry nose, beautiful vibrant red colour. Good structure with integrated grippy tannins, plums and brambles, long aftertaste (PFM 02/02> 1984 - Fresh sweet nose, bright clear red colour with white/orange rim. Thinning, faded strawberry fruits. (PFM 02/02> 1970 - This Pinotage was Simonsig's very first red wine, made by Johan's father Frans who founded Simonsig Estate. An alcoholic jammy nose. Very soft, surprisingly fresh age with light raspberry fruits, but showing signs of age. Light wine with porty alcohol tones. (PFM 02/02> . |
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| Simonsvlei Estate | Paarl | |
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| Rich dark in glass, bags of full plummy flavours bursting over ones tongue. A wine to glug with great pleasure. (Genus label) | ||
| Sinai Hill | Helderberg | |
| Label of Bredell Wines | ||
| Tasting reports welcomed | ||
| Siren’s Cape | Cape | |
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Shippers label for the US.
Siren’s Cape pinotage is "harvested relatively early, which
results in a consistent, intensely concentrated, deep
ruby red wine with an outstanding aroma and highly present fruit." Siren's cape is one of agroup of SA varietals offered by this shipper and supported with an attractive web-site. As of April 2000 the Sirens Cape label seems dormant, being reserved for a new range of estate wines. |
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| Tasting reports welcomed | ||
| Slaley Estate | Simonsberg | |
| Slaley Estate's first Pinotage was the 1997 vintage released under the Broken Stone label. Their Pinotage vineyards are situated next to Kanonkop on the farm Slaley (45 year old bushvines) and on the Southwestern slopes of Simonsberg on the farm Ernita (4 year old trelissed vines).They don't buy any grapes in. |
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| Slaley Hunting Family 2002 Bright clear, lovely fruits of the forest flavours and spices, long finish (PFM 12/04) | ||
| Slanghoek | Worcester | |
| Until recently this co-operative sold its wines in bulk. | ||
| 2000 this has already spent a year in bottle, slight browning apparent on colour, medium fruity nose, warm sweet taste, plums cherries. Excellent (PFM 05/2002) | ||
| Soljans |
Auckland New Zealand | |
| Soljans 1996 pinotage gained a bronze medal at the Royal Easter Wine Show, and their 1997 won silver at the 1998 show and was awarded 5 stars the Cuisine Magazine tasting panel. Soljans are planting a new pinotage vineyard. |
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| Sue Courtney says the 1997 "is made from grapes grown in Kumeu. It
has a deep purple-red colour, plummy flavour and subtle oak character and
fully deserves its top rating"
Soljans Pinotage 1998: All Gisborne fruit, 4 months in two year old French oak. Light nose. Some lift (VA?), quite raspberryish. Some leaness through the palate and lacking generosity. Acidity and tannin come through. 14.5/20 (15/05/00 Raymond Chan at Regional Wines, NZ) 1998 - looks cloudy, farmyard smell, light bubblegum flavours (02/01 PFM) | ||
| Somerbosch | Stellenbosch | |
| 2000 - Made in the modern style, aged 9 months in oak. Pale red brown colour, muted nose, tasting of soft strawberries with spicyness of black pepper, integrated oaks. Very Good (PFM 5/2002 and 11/03) | ||
| Somerfield | Paarl | |
| Somerfield is a UK based supermarket. |
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A personality-packed wine, this cries out for a great red-meat roast.
An excellent choice with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, this is
also the perfect foil for a steak and mushroom pie in puff pastry,
home-made burgers or a peppered steak with its tongue-tingling spice. Colour: Deep and intense inky maroon. Aroma: Hefty scents of blueberries, mulberries and cedar. Taste: Packed with the characteristics of this grape - bags of peppery spice and full-bodied well balanced fruit. Aftertaste: After a sip of this wine there is a definite burn of pepper and long satisfying meatiness. This review of Somerfield supermarket's own label 1997 Pinotage is by Jill Cox and appears on the Somerfield web-site. |
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| Sonop Winery | Paarl | |
| Produces pinotage under a number of labels for different export markets. Labels include African Legend, Athlone, Cape Levant, Cape Soleil, Cilmor, Devon Hill, Diemersdal, Kerfontein, Pinotages | ||
| Southern Right | Hermanus | |
| Owned by Anthony Hamilton Russell, a passionate proponent of Pinotage. In 2004 he released a premium priced wine under the label Ashbourne which doesn't name a variety and gained huge plaudits, surprising many when they later discovered it is Pinotage. |
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2002
Bright red colour, mix of red and black fruit flavours, full flavour in mouth, short on finish. An uncomplicated wine that won't disappoint but is unmemorable. No noticeable tannins so a wine for drinking now rather than keeping (Keiran Molloy 12/04)
Following tasted February 2004 at the winery 8/04 by PFM
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| Spencer Hill Estate | Nelson New Zealand | |
| Wine maker Phil Jones is an American. He has always been a fan of the great Pinotage's from South Africa and one of his goals was to make his own Pinotage. Phil felt it would grow well in the Moutere district of Nelson, where he lives. He planted an acre of pinotage vines on a hilltop as an experiment. He says the results are quite satisfying and is sure the grapes will gain more character as the vines get older. | ||
| Spencer Hill 'Evans Vineyard' Pinotage 1999: Following the success of pinot noir, pinotage was planted in the Upper Moutere home site. Hand plunged, native yeast ferment and eight months in older French oak. Only 120cases made. A lighter weighted wine with simple, fresh berried flavours, lowish extract, soft and rounded, and an easy gentle finish. An attractive little wine. 16.0+/20 (15/05/00 Raymond Chan at Regional Wines NZ) | ||
| Spice Route | Malmesbury | |
| New winery in Malemsbury owned by Charles Back of Fairview, John Platter wine writer, Gyles Web of Thelema, and Jabulani Ntshangase, SAs first black owner of a commercial winery - and the winemaker who is featured in Londons Vinopolis |
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| Tasting reports welcomed | ||
| Spier | Cape | |
| 2000 - Cherries, berries and soft tannins in this warm approachable wine. 12.5% alc (PFM 10/02) | ||
| Springbok | Cape | |
| Export label of KWV for USA and SFW in Netherlands | ||
| Tasting reports welcomed | ||
| Spruitdrift Co-operative | Oliphantsrivier | |
| Tasting reports welcomed | ||
| Stapleford Vineyards | Zimbabwe | |
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Pinotage was first released in 1996 from this winery which
commenced wine making in 1966. Now producing
5 million litres from vineyards in Bulawayo,
Gweru and Odzi, 180 hectares in extent.
Large winery in Gweru and main
organisation just North of Harare. Buy in
40% of grapes and wine from private
producers. 70% of vines recently replanted
with noble varieties.
P.O. Box 2346 Harare. Tel: (9-263-4) 308351 Fax: 303083. |
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| 1996 - Dense brick red colour, strange unpleasant farmyard smell. Fruit seems to be separating out in the glass giving a two tone fruit-thin acid flavour (Feb 01 -PFM) | ||
| Stars of Africa Ashanti and Moyo | Cape | |
| The MOYO wine is made by a "very famous vintner who hails from three generations of winemakers from Europe. At this point in time he wishes to remain anonymous until he has established the entire operation to his exacting standards. Not uncommon behavior for a true artist! This wine, although not labeled as such yet, is in fact an Estate Wine." |
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| tasting reports welcomed | ||
| Stellenvale | Cape | |
| Tasting reports welcomed | ||
| Stellenzicht | Stellenbosch | |
| Golden Triangle is premium label but look out also for Hill & Dale a good value second label. |
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Golden Triangle 2000 -
Deep red colour with purple hue. Obvious and yet soft tannins which are well balanced with the fruit, this is a wine which is drinking well now (perhaps better with food) but a long and exceptional future ahead of it. A long, full mouthful of plums and black fruit flavours (Keiran Molloy 12/04)
1998 - Dark red colour, soft raspberry nose. Fruity soft wine, but with enough acidity to match food. Excellent, very enjoyable (PFM 7/99) |
| Steltzner |
Stags Leap Napa Valley California | |
| Steltzner has an annual 450 cases production from a vineyard dating back to 1970. | ||
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1998 - half bottles only. Rich full bodied with dry backbone, back taste of dark chocolate.
1999 - Very very dark colour, almost black. Sweet cherry berry nose. Cinnamon, good balance of acid and fruits, with a fruity uplift at the end. (PFM 11/2003) | ||
| Stonewall | Stellenbosch | |
| 2000 - Beautiful dark black, dusty estery nose, but soft and warm with tobacco tones. Enjoyable taste. 14% alc (PFM 10/02) | ||
| Stony Brook | Coastal Region | |
| Stony Brook won a Double Veritas for their first Pinotage, 2000 but were not happy with their second, the 2001 which wasn't released, and will be their last attempt at the variety. "Never again" they told me | ||
| 2001 - Reddy black colour, dry front, spicy mid length. Not brilliant, but perfectly drinkable. Only available at the winery - see above (PFM 02/2003) | ||
| Sumaridge | Walker Bay | |
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2002 - Very dark purple, subdued nose, soft berry and cherry flavours, some tannins on mid palate, but with hot alcoholic finish. 15%alc.
2001 - barrel matured, was very dark with coffee tones, full bodied and complex with some berry fruits and 15% alcohol. (PFM 10/2003) | ||
| Sutter Ridge |
Amador County California | |
| At 25 acres the Bree family has the largest Pinotage vineyards in the USA at Sutter Creek. They first planted pinotage in 1990 and say "our climate seems to be ideal for thecultivation of Pinotage. The fruit ripens uniformly and early. The color and flavor are excellent, and the vine growth/crop load are well balanced. All in all, we think that we have an ideal location for the cultivation of the variety." However they find that "selling the wine is not difficult if the consumer has ever heard of the variety but very few buyers know what it is." |
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| John Bree tells us "our wine is fresh raspberries in the glass. It is rather heavy bodied and has wonderful color. I get a smoky character from it. The nose is
distinctive and full of fruit. The back mouth is not too tannic and
does not require long aging."
Those of us who frequent The Wine Lovers Discussion Group (www.wine-lovers-page.com) tend to meet in real life every now and again. Simon Jones from Canada was in London, and he, Nick Alabaster from London, Laurie Ericsson (Canadian living in England studying the WSET Diploma course) and Peter May (Pinotage Club) met in a London BYO restaurant. Last time I went to one of these off-lines I brought a 95 Kanonkop (by reputation, SA's best Pinotage) which received criticism. So I covered the label. We started with a blind tasting of a Sancerre, then a red Burgundy, then the blind tasted Sutter Ridge Amador County Pinotage 1996. Simon said at once, "its Pinot Noir", then paused, "no there's something else; is it from southern France? Its raspberry, gamey; is it Petite Syrah?" Nick, who is not a Pinotage fan, and who disliked the Kanonkop said "its a real winner". We all loved it. As someone noted at the end, of all the wines we had, it was the only one whose bottle was empty. Comments were "silky texture, mouthfilling, demands food - there's good tannin, exceptional impression of fruit, ripe, jammy, a real winner." After it was revealed what it was someone said appreciatively, referring to the sometimes muddy or leathery taste of SA wines "they've taken the South Africa out of Pinotage and put California in". | ||
| TARGET="_blank">Swartland Winery | Swartland | |
| This huge winery - the largest under one roof - dominates approach to Malmesbury. It is a reliable source of quality wines fairly priced and the premium Indalo range is worth looking for. The distinctive bird label was introduced for the US market. |
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Indalo 2002 -
Slow to show soft spicy nose, plums, mulberries, Pinotage sweetness with refreshing acidity, spicy mid palate, later developing flavours of mocha, chocolate and tobacco leaf. A delicious wine from Pinotage master Andries Blake.
2001Blended between old and young blocks, fermented on staves, tank matured, no fining but filtered to take out austere flavours. Beautiful dark black colour, lots of fruit, ripe berries, lovely wine (2/2002 PFM) 1996Good colour, ester tones outweighing fruit, 13% alcohol, warm full taste. |
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| Sylvanvale | Devon Valley | |
| Label of Devon Valley Hotel, whose vineyards surround the hotel. | ||
| Reserve 1999 - A disapointment, starting to fade with not enough fruit or 'oomph' to excite. (PFM 08/04) |
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September 2005br> club@pinotage.org