Diemersfontein is the People's Pinotage

South Africa's Sunday Times has been running a competition over the past months asking readers to write a tasting note for their favourite Pinotage; the prize is a presentation case of the ABSA Top 10 Competition winners donated by the Pinotage Association.

This Sunday they announced that the winner was Lynne Maddock who wrote "I have been a Pinotage fan since returning to SA in 1986, after a 23-year absence. In Canada, it had only been Roodeberg, Roodeberg or Roodeberg. An unusual recent discovery was Diemersfontein’s 2005 Pinotage, which has quite an arresting coffee/chocolate nose. Forget blackberry, grass clippings, hint of boomslang bladder, whiffs of fig — wafting from this Pinotage is a deep fragrance so novel and rich, I wanted to breathe it forever. Following on, the wine itself was packed with fruit and full-bodied, intense at first sip, then mellowing. Savoured to the last drop and a new favourite."

And Diemersfontein was chosen by so many entrants that the Sunday Times said "If Lady Di was the People’s Princess, then Diemersfontein is the People’s Pinotage. After a month of readers’ recommendations featuring this home-grown varietal, Diemersfontein was the overwhelming favourite."

The ten runners up chose

1. Diemersfontein 2006
2. Nederburg 2005
3. Diemersfontein 2006 (Woolworth's Limited Edition)
4. Diemersfontein 2003 (Carpe Diem)
5. Kanonkop Estate 1991
6. Longridge
7. L’Avenir
8. Cloof 1998
9. Botha Kelder 2002 (Dassie’s Reserve)
10. Thelema 2004

Congratulations to Lynne Maddock and Diemersfontein.

The full article with all the tasting notes is here.

And for the background on how Diemersfontein winemaker Francois Roode (pictured at top left) makes the People's Pinotage see There is no Secret.