'La Cave' 2003 Wamakersvallei Pinotage

“Uh huh,” I thought. “Cold coming”. A tickle in the throat and a blocked nose presages a cold which is a real inhibitor on enjoying wine. So I decided to open a ‘special’ wine, one that I had been saving so that I’d have good memories to carry me over the cold.

‘La Cave’ 2003 Pinotage from Wamakersvallei is one of my favourite Pinotages, and since Wamakersvallei’s wines are unfortunately not available in the UK, this was a rare bottle I’d carried back from the Cape.

I remember how well it accompanied pan fried cob fish in Stellenbosch’s Fish Market restaurant in 2004 (yes, really) and how I returned to it after being offered a wide choice of the very top winning wines at a celebratory meal after that years Veritas wine judging. (I was lucky enough to be a judge at that competition and also the Pinotage Top 10 at which La Cave 2003 was a winner.)

And it tasted just as good again. This is a delightful serious wine with restrained fruit and great structure, very integrated, no rough edges. You know what it reminds me of? Vergelegen’s estate red. Platter is a bit sniffy about the 2003 vintage La Cave, but ignore them. This is a great wine.


If you’ve got a bottle, please do let me know what you think.