WoTM - Topper's Mountain 2010

My Wine of the Month for December is Topper's Mountain 2010 Wild Ferment Pinotage  from the  New England appellation of New South Wales, Australia.

I had a too brief taste of this wine in September at the international Pinotage tasting I presented in Toronto, but this time I was able to give it my full attention. I bought a bottle of 2009 and 2010 vintage which I had couriered to my Sydney hotel. Thanks to BYO enjoyed it with dinner in Annie’s Kitchen restaurant on Coogee Beach. 

On first taste the 2010 is a lighter style of Pinotage with cherry notes but there’s a meaty herbal body with violet hints. There are soft tannins in the background and a touch of dark chocolate.

This wine grows on one as it develops in the glass and it has a persistent finish, leaving lingering cherry flavours. Really delicious complex wine. 

The wine was fermented using only the wild vineyard years and traditionally fined with isinglass. Only 700 bottles were produced.

Topper's Mountain are cool-climate vineyards planted on red volcanic soils at a altitude of 900 metres. Mark Kirby is the owner and vigneron and the winemaker is Mike Hayes.

Topper's Mountain 2010 Wild Ferment Pinotage 

abv: 14%

Cost: $32 AUD

No. 337 of 700 individually numbered bottles.

Ake Ake Plant Pinotage

Ake Ake Vineyard Winery are in the midst of planting 400 Pinotage vines. “We had difficulty  sourcing them,” owner John Clarke told me, “and we received these pot-planted but that means we can plant them now even though it’s late in the season.”

 

John Clarke shows the first of his 400 new Pinotage vines

John showed me the first of the infant vines. After just two weeks in the ground they are already showing healthy new growth. “The nursery say that we can get our first harvest in the second year, but I am dubious about that,” said John. “But come back in two years.”

Ake Ake— the name means ‘forever and ever’ in the Maori language— is near Keri Keri in The Bay of Islands Northland region of New Zealand’s North Island.

Ake Ake have been producing wine for a decade and already have a reputation for their Pinotage, which they made from grapes sourced from Waitapu Vineyard, the most westerly vineyard in the north of New Zealand’s North Island. 

Ake Ake currently grows Chambourcin, Syrah, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Albarino. After an initially promising start, Tempranillo failed.

“Our soil is a bit of everything,” says John. “We are on higher ground and exposed to the wind so some varieties that do well at neighbouring vineyards fail here.”

Ake Ake grow organically and are in transition to full certification.  “From September 2015 our wine will be Certified Organic by Organic Farm NZ,” says John. “Growing grapes using organic principals will be better for our customers who visit the vineyard and restaurant, us who live here and ultimately we should have healthier vines and better wines.”

“We do have a bit of powdery mildew, but not enough to cause problems. Pinotage, with its thick skins and early ripening, should do well here. I really like the wine it makes, and it’s more reliable than Pinot Noir which can be hit and miss here in the North Island.”

I tasted 

Syrah-Pinotage 2012, 13%ABV ($20 NZD). This is a blend of 2/3 Syrah to 1/3 Pinotage. “2012 was a cool year,” said John. “This has been aged half in oak and half in stainless steel.”

I found this a lighter style of wine with bright cherry notes and crisp acids on the finish.

Pinotage 2013 14.5% abv ($30 NZD). 

“This is 100% Pinotage aged 10 months in seasoned oak barrels. Whole berry fermentation— the berries ware so hard most went through the destemmer-crusher barely marked, and unfined.”

This wine is delicious but probably would be even better with more time as it has the dark purple colour of youth in the glass. There’s cedarwood on the nose followed by an assault of layers of fruit including raspberry, cherry and red plum. Delicious ripe and fruity and before one can find more descriptors the glass and bottle are empty.

We hope to return in a few years to taste John’s own estate grown Pinotage.

Before we left we dined like royalty in the winery restaurant.

Ake Ake Pinotage 2013
Northland
14.5% abv
$30 

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Te Awa Pull Up Pinotage

Te Awa winery on the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, have been making excellent Pinotage since 1993 but no more. 2010 was their last Pinotage vintage.

The vineyards lining the driveway to the winery have a gap in them where seven rows of Pinotage vines used to be. They’ve been pulled up, but nothing has yet taken their place.

I bought one of the last bottles from just a handful of remaining 2010 premium Kidnapper’s Cliff label which comes in a statement heavy bottle, closed with a cork sealed with red wax and thick textured paper labels.

The wine is dense and powerful with a berry nose, medium bodied with soft tannins and hint of toffee and chocolate.

There are a reducing number of New Zealand Pinotages being produced and Te Awa  made one of the best. Pinotage sceptic Jamie Goode awarded the 2009 Kidnapper Cliffs Pinotage 91 points, the 2010 won Double Gold at the 5 Nations Challenge, Bob Campbell, MW, rated 2010 4/5 stars and there are many positive reviews on the web.

The demise could be connected with Villa Maria’s  purchase in September 2012 of Te Awa vineyards and estate along with the Kidnapper Cliffs brand. The Kidnapper Cliff website is offline

Kidnapper Cliffs

2010 Pinotage

Hawke’s Bay

Abv: 13.5%

Bottle No. 200

Cost: $53 NZD

WoTM - Simonsig Redhill Pinotage 2010

My Wine of the Month for November is Simonsig Redhill Pinotage 2010. Not old enough to have reached its peak, but absolutely scrummy now. Complex flavours of plum and black berries with a stiffening of tannins and a beautiful silky texture that caress the throat.

Redhill Vineyard

The Redhill comes from a vineyard growing on a low hill of red soil that rises behind the winery. Redhill Pinotage is consistently good, and a deservedly regular winner of Top 10 and other accolades.

Roobois Replaces SO2 in Pioneering Pinotage

Earth's Essence is a new brand from KWV which uses a pioneering patented method of fermenting with Rooibois and Honeybush woods instead of adding SO2. 

The first wine under this label is a a 2014 Pinotage, which bears the statement 'No sulphites or preservatives added', (which, in my opinion, is a bit misleading since the whole point of fermenting with Rooibois and Honeybush wood is to extract quercetin, luteolin, orientin, iso–orientin, vitexin, iso–vitexin and aspalathin to act as antioxidants and to assist in preserving wine.)

Winemaker Louwritz Louw says "“The grapes are harvested at optimal ripeness after which they are de-stemmed and crushed into the fermentation tanks. The fermentation, with Rooibos and Honeybush wood, is done on skins. The wine is removed from the skins and pressed earlier than usual to prevent the extraction of hard tannins. In order to keep the wine sulphur free, it is also matured with wood from the indigenous Rooibos and Honeybush. After maturation the wine is fined, filtered and bottled."

Louw says that Earth’s Essence is an easy-drinking wine with a distinct flavour and by replacing traditional oak in red-wine with Honeybush and Rooibos woods the wine has a distinctive aroma and structure. “The Pinotage shows upfront fruit sweetness with prominent cranberries, Turkish delight and dark chocolate aromas,” says Louw. “Nuances of nuts, Rooibos, Honeybush and sweet basil are complimented by the grippy tannin structure and the intense, lingering finish.”

Wine fact sheet at www.earthsessence.co.za/assets/Earths-Essence-Factsheet.pdf

News source: wine.co.za

Diemersfontein wins Perold Pinotage Trophy

Diemersfontein won this year’s International Wine & Spirit Competition Abraham Perold Trophy for Pinotage, sponsored by The Pinotage Association, for Diemersfontein ‘Carpe Diem’ Pinotage Reserve 2012. 
 Competition was fierce with entries not only from South Africa but also New Zealand and California, however the judges chose Carpe Diem which they described as 

Opaque with tight, bluish rim. Powerful, rich, full fruited nose with ripe dark berries, plums, vanilla and coffee. Bold entry into the deep, full flavoured mouth. Flavours of dark cherry black berries, lots of vanilla, leather and more coffee. Intensity develops all the while in the mouth. Incredibly smooth flow and fine tannins. Well supported by spicy oak. Very palatable now yet lots of development to come.

Diemersfontein owner David Sonnenberg accepted the trophy from Peter May, representing The Pinotage Association, last night at the International Wine & Spirit Competition Banquet in London’s Guildhall in the presence of IWSC President Laura Catena and Chairman Viscount Thurso. 

It was a good night for South Africa.

The Sauvignon Blanc Trophy was won by Bloemendal Estate’s Suider Terra Sauvignon Blanc 2013

The Chenin Blanc Trophy was won by Oldenburg Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2013

The Blended Red Trophy was won by Jordan Wine Estate ‘Cobblers Hill, 2010 (a stunning Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot-Cabernet Franc blend -- Jordan also took home the South African Winery of the Year Trophy) 

The Bottle Fermented Sparkling Wine Trophy was won by Graham Beck Wines Blanc de Blancs 2009

The World Wide Brandy Trophy was won by KWV Grape Brandy 12 Year Old

And South Africa’s Dave Hughes was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Trophy.

Congratulations to all. 

David Sonnenberg, Diemersfontein (left) accepts the Abraham Perold Trophy from  Peter May  on behalf of  The Pinotage Association , and IWSC President Laura Cantena