Pinotage Wins Best Israeli Wine

At the 6th Terravino Mediterranean International Wine and Spirit Challenge held in Israel last month, the Grand Champion Trophy for the Best Israeli Wine in Competition was won by Barkan Winery’s Superieur Pinotage 2007. That wine also won the Best Kosher Israeli Wine, and Barkan’s winemaker Irit Boxer-Shank won the Best Israeli Winemaker award.

Ms Boxer-Shank told the Jerusalem Report “I knew it was something special, I think it will help many wine drinkers move beyond Cabernet and Merlot.”

Barkan have been making Pinotage since 2001, and were the first to do so ,but this is only the second vintage accorded Barkan’s Superieur designation, reserved for wines of "exceptional quality wines which represent the best that the winery knows how to make".

Congrats to all.

.

In the Press

Irit Boxer-Shank is the youngest winemaker in Israel and one of only five women employed in Barkan Winery’s cellar. Dale Robertson , who interviewed her for the Houston Chronicle says, “at the moment, she's most passionate about Pinotage, a grape she believes has a superb future in the Israeli terroir.”



New Zealand’s Wanguini Chronicle says Kidnapper Cliffs Hawke's Bay Pinotage 2009, is “produced by the talented team at Te Awa, who have a long pedigree when it comes to making great Pinotage, this is a gorgeous, buxom red showing layers of sweet black tea, baking spices, plum and pepper. It has a delicious, warm, earthy character in the mouth and sensational persistence of flavour.”



Anthony Rose in The Independent (UK) includes Diemersfontein’s Pinotage in a list of wines he dislikes, saying its “its oak-derived flavours of coffee and chocolate” are “an aberration,” but he noted its great popularity. The recent appearance of Marks & Spencer’s Coffee Pinotage Mochatage and Tesco’s mocha-flavoured Choccochino Shiraz which are “as distasteful as the Diemersfontein Pinotage I so dislike. But I have no doubt that to those who like the taste of chocolate in their wine, they will be extremely popular.”

He say that this “goes to show that however objective we try to be about taste, beauty in the long run is in the eye – and nose – of the beholder.”


However Koos Kombuis at South Africa’s Mail & Guardian has made Pinotage the focus of his diet. The columnist writes “during the last few weeks, after eating mostly fat-free food and heaps of vegetables, aided by lots of Beyerskloof Pinotage wine (which, according to the manufacturers, contains a substance that actually enlarges blood vessels), my cholestrol count has miraculously dropped from 7,5 to 6,4, and I’ve lost an astonishing two-and-a-half kilogrammes”.



.

Barkan Pinotage: A Vertical Tasting

Rogov writes from Israel:


This afternoon (Monday, 19 July 2010), I attended the unveiling of the 2007 Pinotage in Barkan's top-of-the-line Superieur series. The unveiling was also the raison d'etre of each of the Superieur and Reserve Pinotage wines released since Barkan was the first winery in the country to introduce this varietal wine in 2001.

Vertical tastings are always appreciated as they add perspective to one's knowledge about a particular wine. I will admit to a bit of surprise in this case, however, for the releases tasted dated back to 2001 and even the very best Pinotage wines that I have sampled over the years rarely cellar well for more than six years, many in fact destined for drinking within 3 – 4 years of the vintage.

The tasting was attended by CEO Shmuel Boxer, senior executive Carmi Lebenstein, and winemakers Ed Salzberg, Yotam Sharon and Irit Boxer. My thanks to each of them for a fine tasting and good conversation.


Superieur

Barkan, Pinotage, Superieur, 2007: Dark, almost impenetrable garnet and full-bodied, a meaty and herbal wine with near sweet, gently gripping tannins and spicy wood parting to reveal plums, currants and dried figs, those supported nicely by notes of sweet herbs. Long and generous, with tannins and fruits rising on the finish. Drink now-2014. Score 90. K (Tasted 19 Jul 2010)

Barkan, Pinotage, Superieur, 2002: Dark garnet with a bit of clearing at the rim, full-bodied, with its ripe blackberry, black cherry and currant fruits now showing light overlays of roasted herbs and earthy minerals and first notes of oxidation giving away its maturity. Holds nicely in the glass for 10 minutes and then quietly falls apart. Showing age, so drink up. Score 88. K (Re-tasted twice with consistent notes 19 Jul 2010)

Reserve

Barkan, Pinotage, Reserve, 2008: Dark garnet, full-bodied, with gently gripping tannins. Developed in French and American oak, full-bodied, with aromas and flavors of black currants, plums and figs, those supported nicely by notes of sweet herbs and briar. Drink now-2013. Score 90. K (Re-tasted 19 Jul 2010)

Barkan, Pinotage, Reserve, 2007: My most recent tasting note holds firmly. Oak-aged for 12 months, dark garnet and concentrated, with purple plum and blackberry notes along with sweet and spicy notes that run through this medium- to full-bodied and gently tannic wine. Drink now. Score 87. K (Re-tasted 19 Jul 2010)

Barkan, Pinotage, Reserve, 2006: Dark garnet with orange reflections, its once gripping tannins now integrated nicely and parting to show generous berry, black cherry, purple plum and cassis notes, those supported by notes of earthy minerals and tobacco. Notes of cloves and cinnamon rise on the moderately-long finish. Drink now or in the next year or so. Score 87. K (Re-tasted 19 Jul 2010)

Barkan, Pinotage, Reserve, 2005: Garnet toward purple, now showing medium- to full-bodied, with soft, near-sweet tannins and reflecting its 12 months in oak with generous spicy wood. Opens to show straightforward berry, cherry and plum fruits on a lightly spicy background. Showing better than at earlier tastings but not meant for further cellaring. Drink now. Score 87. K (Re-tasted 19 Jul 2010)

Barkan, Pinotage, Reserve, 2004: With its generous wood and tannins now integrated nicely and parting to reveal blackberries, plums and black cherries, those on a light herbal and leathery background. Medium- to full bodied, still drinking well but not for further cellaring. Drink up. Score 88. K (Re-tasted 19 Jul 2010)

Barkan, Pinotage, Reserve, 2002: Dark garnet, medium- to full-bodied, with its once firm tannins now integrated. Alas, suffering from the "2002 curse" and its berry and currant fruits are now marred by overlays of bitter herbs and a note of balsamic vinegar that develop as the wine sits in the glass. Drink up. Score 85. (Re-tasted 19 Jul 2010)

Barkan, Pinotage, Reserve, 2001: Dark garnet with hints of browning and clearing at the rim, with the acidity now rising together with notes of balsamic vinegar, and on the palate not so much fruity as it is meaty and herbal. Well past its peak and no longer scoreable. K (Re-tasted 19 Jul 2010)

(K) indicates a Kosher wine.

Rogov is an Israeli wine writer, journalist and author. This item was first published at Rogov's Place on the Wine Lovers Discussion Group forum, posted here by permission and with my thanks. Copyright (c) D Rogov 2010

Pinotage in the Papers

"Give the Cape’s indigenous workhorse Pinotage some tender loving care in a vineyard and winery and even at this price level you can be rewarded with a fat, ripe, spicy, inky mouthful," says Jane MacQuitty in the Sunday Times. She's reviewing Tesco's own label 2008 South African Pinotage from Swartland Winery at an attractive £3.63.

Jane MacQuitty upset many South Africans earlier this year when she damned their top red wines, so well done Swartland for finding favour with her at the lowest price level.

Daniel Rogov, writing in Israel's Haaretz newspaper about the latest releases from Barkan Winery, finds their 2006 Pinotage Reserve "Dark but somehow not glistening garnet toward purple in color, showing near-sweet tannins and berry, plum and currant fruits. In the background constant notes of earthy minerals and tobacco. On the finish fruits rise along with both the flavor and aroma of cloves. Drink now-2010. NIS 69. Score 87".

In the Jerusalem Post, Ofer Zemach says of the same wine "Much like the Pinot Noir, the Pinotage is a wine that really benefits from some breathing time. It takes its time in the glass to tease you with its aromas before revealing its full bouquet. The grapes for this wine came from a vineyard in Tel Tzaif in the Judean foothills. Aged for 12 months in oak barrels, the wine has excellent structure with firm tannins and good acidity."

Finally, this piece from Melissa Priestley writing in Edmonton News got my attention:
"You may have also wondered at the multitudes of other grapes bearing “Pinot” in their name. Could there be a connection, you ponder? Indeed, this phenomenon is more than a coincidence — Pinot Noir is prone to genetic mutation. Darwin would have loved this grape, as it has been spawning bastard children for millennia — Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier, and many others all trace their ancestry to that bitch of Burgundy. Even Pinotage, South Africa’s signature variety, calls Pinot Noir mom (daddy being Italy’s Cinsault — must have been quite the party)."

Indeed :)