WoTM 2010 Meerendal Estate Pinotage Single Vineyard 'The Heritage Block'

My Wine of the Month for October is  2010 Meerendal Estate Pinotage Single Vineyard 'The Heritage Block' (WO Durbanville).

I opened this 11 year old wine for International Pinotage Day  2021 on Saturday 9 October.

This was browning and offered soft sweet succulent, albeit aged, fruit. Tannins had softened to invisibility. I loved this wine.

Some wine was saved to sip during a two hour Zoom ‘Celebration of Pinotage’ organised by Gerhard Perold of Perold Wine Cellar. Gerhard is the great-grandson of Pinotage’s creator, A I Perold.

Meerendal Estate were one of the first to plant Pinotage, but their first and second vineyards, planted in 1953 and 1954 are no more, and this comes from their 6 ha 1955 vineyard - the first in South Africa to be registered as a Single Vineyard.

I visited Meerendal in 2018 to see the vineyard; my  report is here.

Absa Top 10 Pinotage 2021 Virtual Tasting

If you are in South Africa and have 995 Rand to spare there's an interesting online tasting on 25 November of the 2021 Pinotage Top 10 winners, organised by The Institute of Cape Wine Masters.

For your money you get delivered a 125ml sample of each of the ten wines to drink along with the tasting, plus some snacks to go with them. But there's a 60 participant limit.

Details here

Tanzania Gets Pinotage

According to Tanzania's Daily News national newspaper, Tanzania has only two varieties from which to make wine - Makutupora Red and Chenin White.

Now they will be importing cuttings of 13 varieties, for both rootstock and wine including Pinotage.

Story here

Pinotage Day is Saturday 9 October!

Tomorrow, Saturday 9 October is International Pinotage Day. I'll be opening a Pinotage - but that's not unusual. However at 7pm I'll also be logging on to Pinotage - Time to Wine Down, a two hour online webcast organised by A I Perold's Great-Grandson, Gerhard Perold.

The webcast promises  that "Gerhard Perold and Andy Copps (from My London Voice) will be there to entertain and relay some of the amazing stories around Pinotage that is now grown in various countries.

Michelle from the Content College team will be making sure the boys behave and that everyone is having fun while relaying your comments and questions from the chat.

Nadia Rae will be mesmerising us all with her gorgeous voice.

We will also have the stories of some prominent winemakers in the Pinotage story shared:

Jeremy Borg from Painted Wolf Wines

Izele van Blerk from KWV

Celeste Truter from Truter Family Wines"

To access the webcast costs £9.97, see

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pinotage-time-to-wine-down-tickets-175601909037

Lanzerac, Bellevue and the First Pinotage

That the first varietal Pinotage was released under the Lanzerac label 6o years ago in 1961 is well known. The fairly recent Lanzerac Estate has been taking credit for it, that is not true as shown in this article by Joanna Gibson.

However, just announced is that Bellevue Estate, who made that first Pinotage, and the modern Lanzerac Estate are producing a wine to celebrate the original bottling. 

Bellvue are supplying grapes from the original 1953 vineyard to Lanzerac to vinify. The wine is available from both wineries' tasting rooms.

And they have an informative new website telling  the history of Pinotage and that first wine - https://storyofpinotage.co.za/

ABSA Perold Cape Blend 2021 Competition Winners

 Winners of the 2021 Perold Absa Cape Blend Competition are

Beyerskloof Faith Cape Blend 2018 - WO Stellenbosch, Winemaker: Anri Truter

Pinotage/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

 

Flagstone Dragon Tree Cape Blend 2018 - WO WC, Winemaker: Gerhard Swart

Pinotage/Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon/Durif/Cinsaut/Grenache Noir/Mourvedre

 

Idiom Cape Blend 2018 - WO Stellenbosch, Winemaker: Reino Thiart

Pinotage/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Shiraz

 

KWV The Mentors Perold 2019 - WO Coastal Region, Winemaker: Izéle van Blerk

Pinotage/Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz/Petite Sirah   

 

Simonsig Frans Malan Cape Blend 2017 - WO Stellenbosch, Winemaker: Michael Malan

Pinotage/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot

The 2021 competition, first held in 2011, had 32 entries. The judges were Wilhelm Pienaar, Wikus Human, Rudger van Wyk, Elsa du Plessis and Charles Hopkins.

.

Pinotage Rosé 2021 Competition Winners

Winners of the The Pinotage Rosé competition, which was first held in 2017, are  

Beyerskloof Pinotage Dry Rosé 2021 - 

WO Western Cape, Winemakers: Anri Truter, Elsa du Plessis

 

Du Toitskloof Pinotage Rosé 2021 - 

WO Western Cape, Winemaker: Shawn Thomson

 

Jakkalsvlei Pinotage Rosé  2021-

WO Western Cape, Winemaker: Louis van der Riet

 

Maastricht Pinotage Rosé 2021 –

WO Western Cape, Winemaker: Thys Louw

Rooiberg Winery Pinotage Rosé 2021 –

WO Robertson, Winemaker: André Scriven

The 2021 Pinotage Rosé competition had over 27 entries. The panel of judges were Wilhelm Pienaar, Wikus Human, Rüdger van Wyk, Elsa du Plessis and Charles Hopkins. 

 

De Wet Viljoen, Vice-Chairman of the Pinotage Association, said “Pinotage Rosé proves that rosés do not represent one consistent wine style.  The winemakers have stepped up and truly showcase how delicate Pinotage can be.  We should start marketing these amazing wines more aggressively.”

.