Cullinan Award for Welbedacht 'Barrel Select' 2005

I am beginning to wonder just how well I know Pinotage. Another competition result is announced and the best Pinotage award goes to a wine that I've never heard of.

The Juliet Cullinan Wine Connoisseur's Awards is judged by the Cape Wine Masters "who understand the nuances and the local consumers' preferences better than any panel in South Africa".

Welbedacht 'Barrel Select' 2005 won the Pinotage award. Runners up were Mooiplas 2003 and Groot Constantia Pinotage 2005.

According to wine.co.za , the 2005 was Welbedacht's maiden vintage of Pinotage, which, its says, "displays a seductive elegance more reminiscent of New World Pinot Noir than old-school Pinotage. Powerful red berry fruit, rather than droopy plums and banana, are interlaced with subtle hints of tomato puree and floral undertones. Although a dry wine our wood selection supplies a palatable sweetness with wafts of coconut and vanilla, followed by a delightful lingering sensation of mocca, cinnamon and pepper. Intense but elegant, with a superbly long finish. The balance of this wine allows us to enjoy its current flirtatious liveliness, but will soften pleasurably for the next three to five years."

Congratulations to Welbedacht, Mooiplas and Groot Constantia (who are on a roll with their 2005 Pinotage.)

But I'm not the only one to be unaware of this wine. Welbedacht's own web-site doesn't list Pinotage among the wines they make.

Gold for Groot Constantia Pinotage at IWC

The International Wine Challenge (IWC) is the worlds largest wine competition. For the 2007 competition, whose results were announced at the London International Wine trade fair this week, 9,358 wines from 35 different countries were tasted by 400 judges, who included 33 Masters of Wine.

Just 260 Gold medals were awarded (2.8% of total) and Groot Constantia 2005 was one of them and the only Pinotage with a Gold. I tasted it at the end of last year and wrote "There's a European feel to this wine, quite restrained with a good balance of red plum fruits and tannins and a very long finish. "

1,129 wines won Silver medals (12.1% of total), and included three Pinotages:-

Beyerskloof Reserve 2005
Morrison 'The Best' 2006
Simonsig Redhill 2005

'The Best' Pinotage is the label used in Morrison's UK supermarket chain for Bellevue Estate's Sizanani Pinotage -- see here.

Another 30 Pinotages gained Bronze and Commended awards, including one non-South African wine with a Bronze -- Fort Ross Pinotage 2003 from California.

The full awards can be seen at http://www.internationalwinechallenge.com/

Congratulations to them all

Two Pinotages Tasted

I came across these tasting notes for two wines I had with dinner last year.

Groot Constantia Pinotage 2003 (WO Constantia)

Beautiful deep black/red colour. There's a silky mouthfeel and a delicious rich depth, with plum, cherry, cinnamon and spices. Wonderful complex and rewarding wine.

Lindhorst Pinotage 2004 (WO Coastal)

Plummy colour, fruits of the forest nose. There's lots going on here, its an exciting elegant wine, complex and mouthfilling with cherries and spices on the back palate

Bath University Pinotage Tasting

Professor Keiran Molloy at the University of Bath organised a Pinotage tasting for the University Staff Wine Society. He writes " Thank you for your help on the tasting, which was extremely successful and well received. You have converted a lot of people to Pinotage, and personally I will be stocking up on the Stellenzicht, L'Avenir and Kanonkop (which was far more approachable even at this stage than I had expected)".

His notes with "an unscientific marking of each wine out of 10, which reflects relative rather than absolute merit" follow.

Southern Right 2002 - The lightest of all the wines tasted. Bright red colour, mix of red and black fruit flavours, full flavour in mouth, short on finish. An uncomplicated wine that won't disappoint but is unmemorable. No noticeable tannins so a wine for drinking now rather than keeping. (5.5/10)

Flagstone Writers Block 2002 - Mid-red colour, light tannins, sweetish red fruit flavours with a smokey finish. More body and slightly longer in the finish than Southern Right. A popular wine for immediate drinking. (7/10).

Groot Constantia Estate 2001 - Similar in colour to the Southern Right. Darker fruit flavours becoming more apparent than the earlier two wines. Full flavour in mouth but again short on finish. Earthy flavours, with smoke/tar finish. A more lively wine than the opening pair with more of a zing. By the end of the tasting, after being open for about 3h, this wine developed pronounced southern Rhône flavours becoming reminiscent of a Gigondas and far more complex in nature (6/10, based on early evening opinion)

Bellevue Estate 2000 - Deep red colour with well integrated tannins. This is a far more complex wine and would work better at this stage in its life with food. There is a hint of eucalyptus on the nose and nice mixed red/black fruit flavours. Other tasting notes suggested this was a controversial "new age" wine but that was not the opinion of the group. Good value for money as the cheapest wine in the tasting. (7/10)

Stellenzicht Golden Triangle 2000 - Deep red colour with purple hue. Obvious and yet soft tannins which are well balanced with the fruit, this is a wine which is drinking well now (perhaps better with food) but a long and exceptional future ahead of it. A long, full mouthful of plums and black fruit flavours. (7.5/10)

Neethlingshof Estate Lord Neethling 1998 - The most controversial of the wines presented. Dry tannins with less weight of fruit than the Stellenzicht. Mid-weight fruit overall, plum, blackcurrant and mulberry flavours with a slightly smokey edge. The fruit/tannin balance is not as good as Stellenzicht, and the wine has a sharp, spicey, slightly burning finish with met with divergent reaction. (7.5/10 but some much higher, some much lower )

L'Avenir Estate 2002 - The most popular of the wines tasted, drinking perfectly now but with enough soft tannins to ensure a long life. This is a very smooth wine with a hint of creamy vanilla on the nose. The flavours are of sweetish red and black fruits and there is a very long finish from this wine. Excellent. (8.5/10)

Kanonkop Estate 2001 - This wine could be described as a younger version of the L'Avenir in that it has similar characteristics but is less well evolved at this stage in its life. There is again the soft creamy flavours of oak/vanilla with loads of dark fruit flavours, but which are more hidden at this stage than for the l'Avenir. This wine became better and better with increased aeration. A wine that can be drunk with pleasure now but will be a real star in 5+ years time. (8/10)"

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