Old Pinotage in Cape Town

My chums at The Wine Cellar in Cape Town have just held a tasting of old wines sourced from a private collector. Among them were threee Pinotages:

- Zonnebloem Pinotage 1974
- Simonsig Pinotage 1974
- Lanzarac Pinotage 1966

I couldn't be there (coz, amongst other reasons, I was in Tampa, Florida) but fellow bloggers The Cru Master and Harry Reginald Haddon were. The Cru at thecru.co.za has an attractive sepia photo of the tasting cellar and says Special mention must be made of the aged Pinotage's - sensational stuff but Harry at wineandi.wordpress.com has detailed tasting notes.

Interesting reading.


While you are at Wine & I have a look at the menu tabs at the top. Harry is campaigning against the practise of restaurants charging fees to list wines and he's going further by naming (allegedly) guilty parties.

5 Stars for Beyerskloof Diesel 2008

The annual announcement of wines awarded Five Stars by the Platter tasting team has just been made.

Out of more than 6,000 wines from 800 producers and brands tasted and rated for the Platter's South African Wines 2011 guide, just 58 have achieved 5 Star rating.

The only Pinotage is Beyerskloof 'Diesel' 2008.

Diesel is a premium label, named after owner Beyers Truter's dearly loved dog, that was introduced in 2008 with the 2006 vintage.

Diesel 2007 was awarded Five Stars in last year's 2010 guide. See winemaker Anrie Truter talk about the vision behind the wine and how it got its name here

The full list is

Cabernet Sauvignon
•Boekenhoutskloof 2008
•Delaire Graff Reserve 2008
•Kanonkop 2007
•Klein Constantia 2008
•Kleine Zalze Family Reserve 2007
•Le Riche CWG Auction Reserve 2007

Grenache
•Neil Ellis Vineyard Selections 2008

Pinot Noir
•Meerlust 2008
•Newton Johnson Domaine 2009

Pinotage
•Beyerskloof Diesel 2008

Shiraz
•Boschendal Cecil John Reserve 2008
•De Trafford 2008 (Red Wine of the Year)
•Eagles’ Nest 2008
•Haskell Pillars 2008
•Rijk’s Private Cellar 2005
•Saxenburg Select Limited Release 2006

Merlot
•Shannon Mount Bullet 2008

Red Blends
•Ernie Els Signature 2007
•Graham Beck Ad Honorem 2007
•Hartenberg The Mackenzie Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot 2007
•Nederburg Ingenuity Red 2007
•Reyneke Reserve Red 2008
•Spier Frans K. Smit 2006
•Vergelegen Red 2005

Chardonnay
•Groot Constantia Gouverneurs 2009
•Julien Schaal 2009
•Mulderbosch 2008
•Rustenberg Five Soldiers 2008

Chenin Blanc
•Botanica 2009
•StellenRust ‘45’ Barrel Fermented 2009

Grenache Blanc
•The Foundry 2009

Sauvignon Blanc
•Graham Beck Pheasants’ Run 2010
•Klein Constantia Perdeblokke 2009
•Kleine Zalze Family Reserve 2009
•The Berrio 2009
•Zevenwacht 360° 2009

White Blends
•Cape Point Isliedh 2009
•Hermanuspietersfontein Die Bartho 2009
•Lammershoek Roulette Blanc 2009
•Nederburg Ingenuity White 2009
•Nederburg Sauvignon Blanc-Chardonnay Private Bin D253 2009
•Rall White 2009
•Sadie Family Palladius 2009
•Steenberg Magna Carta 2009
•Steenberg CWG Auction Reserve The Magus 2009
•Strandveld Adamastor 2009
•Tokara Director’s Reserve White 2009

Méthode Cap Classique
•Topiary Blanc de Blancs Brut 2008
•Villiera Monro Brut 2005

Dessert Wine, Unfortified
•Fairview La Beryl Blanc 2009
•Fleur du Cap Bergkelder Selection Noble Late Harvest 2009 (White Wine of the Year)
•Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2006
•Nederburg Winemaster’s Reserve Noble Late Harvest 2009
•Nederburg Private Bin Edelkeur 2009

Port
•Boplaas Cape Vintage Reserve 2008
•De Krans Cape Vintage Reserve 2008
•De Krans Cape Tawny NV
•JP Bredell Cape Vintage Reserve 2007

Video - Alex Milner- Boer and Brit Pinotage and Petit Verdot

Alex Milner is the Brit half (with Stefan Gerber) of an exciting -- and very attractively designed -- winemaking team with a new label Boer and Brit.

I enjoyed his Pinotage which is blended with 15% Petite Verdot. This wine is under their second label Suiker Boisse which means “Sugarbush, I want you so”. (I'm not so keen about that design though.)

The wine is tremendous, and so are their other reds. I got the feeling that Alex (who reminds me a bit of the new Dr Who) isn't that keen on Pinotage but I hope his success with this one will encourage him to make it a regular.

I think we'll be hearing a lot more from Boer & Brit. They're young, have some good ideas -- the red wine in a crown cap beer bottle and modern designed sparkling wine bottle are just two -- and make some good wines.

Video - Mike Ratcliffe of Warwick Estate - Pinotage in China

Mike Ratcliffe talks about Warwick's Old Vine Pinotage in China, how it matches with spicy Chinese food and the benefits of chilling.

Mike is MD of Warwick Estate

Video- Norma Ratcliffe of Warwick Estate

It was good to renew acquaintence with Norma Ratcliffe owner of, and first winemaker at, Warwick Estate.

MD son Mike usually travels the world on his own promoting Warwick but Norma joined him on this trip. They had just returned from a couple of weeks in China where they got involved in matching Chinese cuisine with Warwick wines. Norma said the Chinese were very enthusiastic about the wine with Pinotage especially successful matching dishes.

Here Norma talks about Warwick's Three Cape Ladies 2007 Cape Blend comprising 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Pinotage, 27% Shiraz, 4% Merlot