2010 Harvest Reports

Harvest reports are coming in

Ilse van Dijk, winemaker at Deetlefs Estate, is poetic when describing the intensity of the 2010 harvest: “It feels like walking into a perfume factory, with hallucinations of palm beaches and pineapple cocktails every morning when opening the cellar doors for yet another creative day. ”
Van Dijk says the Sauvignon Blanc is looking good, with exotic tropical fruits and good structure. While the Pinotage, which is still fermenting, already has a deep intense colour and fresh berry flavours.

Willie Burger, cellarmaster at Badsberg Cellar says: “The harvest is smaller this year, but the quality definitely makes up for it. Pinotage is the only red cultivar harvested so far, and the wines made from this variety look very promising. “What really stand out are the soft tannins and the deep, red colour. Overall 2010 promises an exciting vintage, although a bit smaller.”

Gerrit van Zyl of Botha Cellar says the harvest is smaller than expected – about 10% to 15% less than 2009. Cultivars already harvested are Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon, while they have started with Pinotage. The Pinotage at Botha also has good colour and the wine is fruity but with tannins that are both ripe and soft in the mouth


At KWV they say 'so far we received Pinotage, Merlot and Shiraz grapes. We are almost finished with the Pinotage and we’ll start on the Merlot shortly. The grapes are definitely coming in later than in 2009 because of the cool weather and today’s weather has made things challenging…. However, the quality of the Pinotage that has come in is amazing and from the Merlot grapes that we have seen, KWV Wines is expecting a good vintage from this year’s crop too.'

Corlea Fourie, winemaker at Bosman Family Vineyard harvested their Pinotage grapes early February. By mid-month she was blogging "Beautiful purple/crimson juice-maybe the most rewarding cultivar to work with purely because of the instant gratification of oodles of colour. Loving it!"

But Delheim is reporting "only the Pinotage has not fared as well as hoped."