Cricketers knocked for six by 36 year old Meerendal Pinotage

The Daily Telegraph / English cricket team third wine tasting was was hosted by Johann Rupert at his L'Ormarins Estate in Franschhoek.

After the formal tasting Graham Boynton reports that

Johann Rupert pulled out two very old wines – a 1982 Rustenberg cabernet sauvignon and a 1974 Meerendal pinotage – which we drank after the formal tasting. Both were lovely, complex aged wines but it was the Pinotage that provided the big surprise. Pinotage is South Africa's one indigenous grape varietal, a cross between cinsault and pinot noir, and has been described by critics as having no redeeming features.

Yet here was an aged Pinotage that was balanced, luscious and with none of the bitter aftertaste that characterises so many younger pinotages. The lesson: even a capricious style flourishes under the African sun if nature and nurture are applied in the correct balance.

Read the full Telegraph report here

Pinotage Impresses Press

Neil Pendock reports on a press trip to Pinotage Country organised last week by Pinotage Association sponsors ABSA bank.

Last week’s press tour ended at Meerendal, home to one of the oldest Pinotage vineyards in the Cape, the aptly named Heritage Block, with its tiny berry grapes, tiny yields and a uniquely perfumed flavour profile. Wines made from this block confirm the point made by Meerendal GM Guy Kedian that "there are as many styles of Pinotage as there are producers".

From the surprisingly Bordeaux-style Simonsig Frans Malan ’97 Cape blend to the surprisingly juvenile unwooded Simonsig ’95 to the 1.12 million bottles of Truter’s fruit driven Beyerskloof Pinotage ‘06, great value at R33.50 a bottle. From the seamlessly elegant Allée Bleue ’95 made from tiny high altitude bush vine grapes from the Piekenierskloof to the Devon Valley fruit bombs Zaine Pritchard sells to Russia and the exciting Simonsig MCC ’06 made from Pinotage and Pinot Meunier – a step up from two previous vintages snapped up by the UK Waitrose supermarket chain.

From Truter’s violet-infused Cape/Portugal blend of Touriga Naçional and Pinotage to Kaapzicht’s effortlessly elegant Steytler Vision Cape Blend presented by the effortlessly elegant Yngvild Steytler and the Pinotages De Wet Viljoen makes at Neethlingshof which confirm just how seriously Cape Legends takes sometimes pilloried Pinotage.

My standout wine of the pilgrimage was a 1991 Kanonkop Pinotage, remarkably fresh and free of blemishes for a 16 year old teenager. Primary fruit flavours were still evident and had been complimented by the evolution of mushroom and forest floor flavours from the Pinot Noir parent of the grape. Along with the still vibrant 1982 Meerendal, it confirms the remarkable longevity of Perold’s grape.

A vertical tasting of Kanonkop vintages from the early ‘90s side-by-side those of a decade later was revealing: the ‘90s wines all had 10% less alcohol for wines made from grapes harvested from the same vineyard at approximately the same harvest date. Kanonkop winemaker Abrie Beeslaar offered several explanations – from Global Warming to cleaning-up the vineyard for leaf-roll virus. As he commented "the worse a vineyard looks, the better the wine you can make from the grapes – totally contrary to what we were taught at University". Leaf-roll virus inhibits sugar accumulation and increases hang-time – leading Beeslaar to comment, "I don’t believe leaf-roll virus is 100% negative" – a point often made by Chardonnay champion Mike Dobrovic with his Mulderbosh barrel fermented wines made from grapes grown on virus-infected vines.

On the subject of alcohol levels, Beeslaar notes that Pinotage fermented in traditional open cement tanks (like those from Jacobsdal, Kanonkop and Allée Bleue) also can expect up to 1% lower alcohols as compared to those fermented in stainless steel tanks.

Meerendal's Guy Kedian summed up "to those who say that Pinotage is not the varietal we should pin our flag to, I totally disagree. We should ignore the pretentious folk trying to turn it into something it isn’t, for their own benefit. At the end of the day, it’s only wine – not some mystical thing".

Source -- www.wine.co.za. Reposted with thanks.

Meerendal Releases Single Vineyard Heritage Block Pinotage

A world class meal demands a world class wine and at Meerendal Estate (pictured left) I enjoyed both.

Meerendal have taken opportunity of the recent change in South Africa’s Wine Of Origin system to register production from single vineyard block. This block, officially identified as number 2D and named The Heritage Block, was planted with Pinotage in 1955, making them the oldest Pinotage vines in the Durbanville area and – by my reckoning – the third oldest in the world.

I mentioned earlier that visiting Meerendal to taste this wine would be a must during my time in the Cape.I had the extreme good fortune to meet David Higgs, Meerendal’s General Manager/Executive Chef (pictured right) at Beyerskloof and he immediately invited me to lunch to taste the wine at Meerendal.

Meerendal is easy to find – take the R302 exit north from the N1 , and after passing through Durbanville take the left fork onto the M48 and you cannot miss Meerendal on the right. The Estate changed hands a few years ago, and the new owners have great plans – the release of a single vineyard Pinotage is the result of one and there are new building works underway.

There is a buzzy Bistro with great views from its deck and a deli stocking produce made on the farm, a function room and a chapel whichjis a favourite spot for weddings. And the old manor house (pictured above) houses the sophisticated Wheatfields restaurant.

The last of the Pinotage was being harvested although Heritage Block was already in tank undergoing malolactic fermentation. Meerendal do their alcoholic fermentation in kuipes - traditional open tanks. Each of the 20 tanks can hold 5 tons, so Meerendal can handle 100 tons of grapes at a time.

Winemaker Liza Goodwin told me that the 2005 vintage was the first where the grapes from the Heritage Block had been handled separately. “Everything is done by hand,”she told me, “from picking through to labeling the bottles.” She pointed at a small team of workers carefully placing the heavy paper engraved labels on the bottles - which have been imported especially. They weigh 1 kg and have a very deep punt. The 2006 vintage is in barrel. Lisa poured a taste in my glass. It had a good structure, subtle mulberry flavours of great depth and a long finish, on which wooding was apparent. “It has been in barrel 15 months and I expect to be bottling it next month,” said Lisa.



In Wheatfields restuarant I chose Oven roasted Springbok, with sweet potato and honey rolled in crispy filo pastry on a bed of shredded mangetout which had been flash fried with some pancetta and homemade smoked chili, on rosemary gravy (pictured right) This dish was exceptional, with the mangetout outstanding being so crispy. One of the best meals I have eaten, and priced at just 90R.

With it we tasted Meerendal Pinotage 2003. This had a ripe fruity nose and although not overt there were rich silky berry flavours and an underlying sweet mouthfeel. A classy wine.

The single vineyard Heritage Block Pinotage 2005 was opened. "It was just bottled in December 06," Dave Higgs told me. There was a bright nose, it was exciting and youthful and a little perky, with dense mulberry and grip on the finish. We agreed it needed more bottle age. Having seen how well the 2003 has fared, I'd wouldn't open this wine till 2010 at the earliest.

I found it difficult to choose just one dish from the menu of this excellent menu, but it is hard to image a meal more enjoyable than my roast springbok with its 'salad of pancetta, mangetout, and smoked chili'. Executive Chef Dave Higgs, Head Chef Stephen Fraser and their team (they are training local youngsters in their kitchens) are cooking up a wow.

New York’s FOOD & WINE magazine (May 2006 issue) named Wheatfields in their List Of Hottest Restaurants In The World, one of just seven restaurants in the Cape. I have no doubt Dave and Stephen will go far in their profession and we wil be hearing much more of them in the future.

And as for The Heritage Block Pinotage: only 300 cases were made of this special initial 2005 vintage, so don't delay in in laying down some down. You'll be thanking me in 2010.