Riebeek's Kasteelberg 2013 and Pieter Cruythoff 2014 Pinotages

I’ve followed Riebeek Cellars, located in the now fashionable Swartland, for a long time. They are large volume producer making value wines that exceed expectations, and they also encourage their team to act like boutique winemakers by making separate small lots and experimenting.

Riebeek were showing two Pinotages at WoSA’s London  Intrepid show. 

First up was Kasteelberg 2014 of which only 22 barrels were made. This is a handmade wine, in that vine blocks destined for it are personally identified and selected by the winemaker, the grapes are picked and sorted by hand then pressed in a hand powered basket press. First and second fill barrels are used then the wine is hand bottled, hand corked and the labels are stuck on by hand. They say they avoid shaking the wine by using these  gentle  methods. 

Surprisingly little of this information is mentioned on the labels.

Kasteelberg Pinotage 2014, named after the castle shaped mountain seen from the winery. has soft sweet fruit and subtle flavours. It shows a restrained elegance and a European feel. A handsome wine in all respects.WO Swartland 14% abv.

Pieter Cruythoff Middlepos Pinotage 2013 is from a single vineyard named Middlepos planted with bush vines between 30 and 40 years ago.  This is more expressive than the elegant Kasteelberg, older style and more gawky. The label, named after the founder of Riebeek Cellars, was created for an American importer but  I believe is now also being distributed elsewhere.

So, two quite different expressions of the variety; of the two I was taken with Kasteelberg tho' maybe  Cruythoff was at a disadvantage by being tasted immediately after.

8 October is Pinotage Day

The second International Pinotage Day will be celebrated this year on Saturday 8 October. 

Wine farms taking part include 

Beyerskloof in Stellenbosch offers a Pinotage-based meal, Pinotage and oyster pairing, Pinotage and salami pairing, special tasting of older sought-after vintages, live entertainment, blind tasting competition, one Beyerskloof wine glass per person and a lucky draw of exclusivewines.  Detailed Information here

At Conradie Penhill Artisanal Wine Cellar in the Nuy Valley near Worcester,there will be  special tastings and promotions of  Conradie Family Vineyards Pinotage 2014. Contact -  wine@conradiepenhill.com


Its the three P's at  Mellasat Vineyards  in Paarl - Pinotage Pairings and Potjie with a barrel tasting the latest vintage of and pairing their famous white Pinotage with snacks fandy a potjie lunch. Detailed information here  

Neethlingshof in Stellenbosch,  will host a Pinotage  8 kilometre off-road Fun Run through the estate. with prizes, live music and  food. Contact - amoijaevents@gmail.com

Simonsig Estate, in Stellenbosch, will be open from 10:00 for an all-day event with music,  food and a selection of Pinotage wines and cocktails.  An evening dinner event (bookings essential) will see Simonsig’s award-winning restaurant Cuvée collaborating with winemaker Debbie Thompson to take Pinotage to new culinary heights. Contact - wine@simonsig.co.za.

Wellington Wines will host a feast of Pinotage with a variety of foods and products made from the grape, followed by a a formal Pinotage Langtafel dinner in the evening, with different styles of Pinotages from the vinoteque being served with each course and the winemakers sharing the stories behind the wines.  Detailed information is here
 
The many of us far from a Pinotage winery can join in by opening a bottle of favourite Pinotage, red, white  or pink, if its Pinotage lets  Pour!!

Pinotage Evening at Vivat Bacchus, London

Vivat Bacchus, a South African restaurant in London is hosting  An evening of Pinotage: SA’s Signature Red Grape at 7pm on 31st Oct 2016

 
They say

We have had the ‘onerous’ task of scrupulously choosing our Pinotage wines to ensure we get only the best – here’s the chance to taste our selection.

Price: £15pp
To book email: info@vivatbacchus.co.uk, call: 020 7353 2648 or online here.

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Doran Vineyards with Edwin Doran

I was pleased to be invited by owner Edwin Doran to visit him at the Intrepid wine show, so fortified by Bunny Chow I went to meet Edwin and taste his Doran Vineyards Pinotage.

Edwin Doran - Owner Doran Vineyards

Edwin, who was born in Ireland then lived 50 years in England had sold his travel business and gone into partnership with his long time friend South African Andre Badenhorst who’s been deeply involved in some of the Cape’s most iconic wine farms, and has passed on his knowledge to his son, Adi. 

Edwin and Andre bought Far Horizon’s vineyards, and built a modern winery to in which to install winemaker Martin Lamprecht.

The vineyards are in Voor Pardeberg nestling alongside the Swartland, between Wellington and Malmesbury.

I tasted Doran Pinotage 2013. There’s soft fruit on the front palate and gentle fruit flavours throughout. It’s deliciously fresh and delicate – repeat  delicate! - so imagine my amazement when I turned  the bottle to find 14% abv.

Edwin says there's no  pressed juice; that after fermentation wines are only racked and fined before bottling.

Edwin insisted I tried his pink Pinotage, Rosie D 2015, named after Edwin’s wife. 

This looks bright light red in its clear bottle, but is much paler in a glass. The juice was left on its skins for just two hours to get colour bright. I am not a big fan of pink wines but this was enjoyably  dry and refreshing and though dry there’s a welcome touch of the Pinotage variety sweetness on the finish. Its very pleasant and refreshing on a hot day. As Edwin says, “it’s wine, not diluted Calpol.”

Doran Vineyards is a  (yet another) name  new to me, and one whose Pinotage I’d like have more of, and especially to drink with dinner.

I must make an effort to visit during my next visit to the Cape in March.

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Absa Honours Beyers Truter

Absa, the financial institution who  generously sponsor  the Pinotage Top 10 competition, took the opportunity of the 20th Top 10 awards ceremony to make an extra presentation.
 

From left: David Hodnett, Chief Executive and Financial Director for Barclays Africa, Beyers Truter and Doug Walker, Absa’s Provincial Managing Executive in the Western Cape.

Presenting Beyers Truter, Chairman of the Pinotage Association, with an award for his contribution to the world of Pinotage, Doug Walker, Absa’s Provincial Managing Executive in the Western Cape, said that it was almost impossible to thank someone for his or her passion.

“However, it is my task to express Absa’s sincere gratitude towards Beyers for helping the Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition and this red wine cultivar reach an important milestone,” said Walker.

“Like everybody else I enjoyed watching the recent Olympic Games. I saw how Wayde van Niekerk was put into the outside lane number eight. Never before has any athlete won the Olympics 400m from the outside lane, never mind setting a world record.”

Walker said that this was the position where Pinotage found itself 20 years ago – in the outside lane of grape cultivars.

“And just see where Pinotage is now,” he enthused. “A wine of South Africa, a wine from Africa and a wine winning international medals and garnering critical acclaim the world over. Some of these Pinotage speak Afrikaans, some speak English and some speak other languages while the grapes and the wine are being worked in the cellar.”

But there is one voice commanding attention over all others.

“Beyers, thank you so very much that you have been the coach of Team Pinotage,” said Walker. “Thank you for getting our starting blocks right, for overseeing the guidance of our producers to ensure that the consumer has such as vast choice of winning Pinotage wines.

“For this and on behalf of Absa, I thank you and all the country’s Pinotage producers.”

Hear Hear!!


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Bowwood Pinotage at the WoSA Intrepid Tasting

To London, and Tobacco Dock for the Intrepid South Africa tasting. WoSA put on this years show in the transformed old warehouse on the banks of the Thames after  Chile and Argentina pulled out of the co-operation of previous years in combining tastings.

London was undergoing an unexpected heatwave with very high humidity and the hall’s air-conditioning struggled to cope with the mass of exhibitors and visitors. Wines at first were too warm but soon bags after bags of ice were brought in and wines both red and white cooled.

As well as 94 stands, many hosting two wineries were 9 themed tasting stands holding 18 bottles manned at different times by winemakers. These tables also included some non-SA wines “highlighting South Africa’s confidence in producing world class wines, while demonstrating that South Africa has honed its own style and identity.”

The Pinotage stand was hosted by Anthony Hamilton-Russell, an enthusiastic Pinotage advocate and owner of Pinotage producing Southern Right and Ashbourne, as well as Hamilton-Russell Vineyards.  Anthony was his usual very dapper self in an immaculate tweed jacket despite the heat. He was partnered by winemaker Danie Steyler Jr from the first rate Pinotage producing Kaapzicht estate.

The wines on show on ‘Driven by History’ Pinotage stand were

• Tormentino Bush Vine 2014
• Spionkop 1900 2014
• David & Nadia 2015
• Bellingham Bernard Series 2014
• Lyngrove Platinum 2014
• Ashbourne 2009
• Southern Right 2015
• Spier 21 Gables 2013
• Bowwood 2014
• Beaumont 2013
• Flagstone Writers Block 2013
• Simonsig Redhill 2013
• Kaapzicht Steytler 2012
• Neethingof Owl Post 2014
• Diemersdal Reserve 2015 

The non SA, non-Pinotage, wines were

• Clos Saron Blue Cheer Cinsaut/Carignan 2014 (USA)
• Niepoort Vertente 2013, (Douro, Portugal)
• La Crema Pinot Noir 2013 (Sonoma, USA)

Bowwood is a name new to me. It was produced at Vondeling by its winemaker Matthew Copeland with the assistance, for this maiden vintage, of Pinotage perfectionist Bruce Jack. 

 

Matthew Copeland, Bowwood Winemaker

Matthew (above) was also at the stand and he told me that just the wine hasn’t yet been released and this bottle he'd carried from the Cape in his baggage

Bowwood 2004 has a fruity nose redolent of blackberries. It is soft on the front palate developing a really lip smacking spiciness on the finish with a refreshing little lift of acidity. Very tasty wine, definitly worth looking out for it - yet only 5 barrels were made so you'd better be fast!

Outside three food stands offered a choice of barbecued boerewors or a healthy mixed salad but I settled on a Cape Malay mutton and banana curry served as bunny chow in a hollowed out bun, accompanied by a bush mint and Table Mountain lemon yoghurt.

The essential accompanying glass of Pinotage came from the tasting room.

Then back into the fray……

WoTM - Beyerskloof Diesel 2007

My Wine of the Month for August 2016 is Beyerskloof ‘Diesel’ 2007.

Diesel, named in memory of owner Beyers Truter’s faithful hound, is Beyerskloof’s premier Pinotage. It’s a selection of the best barrels of bush vine Reserve Pinotage.

The 2007  spent four days in open fermenters with the cap  being punched down by hand. Fermentation temperature was between 26 and 28°C. After malolactic fermentation in stainless steel the wine was matured in 100% new French oak barrels for 23 months.

The winery says it will reach perfection ‘in 15 – 20 years’. But I couldn’t wait, and thankfully it’s hard to believe it could get any better because this was Pinotage perfection at nine years.

I’ve enjoyed several Diesels over the years, mostly in South Africa and much younger since the large heavy bottle is difficult to carry home. It’s a big wine when young. 

This 2007 had soft tannins under sophisticated subtle silky Pinotage fruit with depths. Age had turned it into a ballerina, dancing on the tongue as it revealed more and more layers of flavours. And all too soon it was an empty bottle…….

Wine of Origin Stellenbosch

Total Acidity:         6.1 g/l

Alcohol:                 14.50%

pH:                        3.64

Total SO2              141 mg/l

Residual Sugar:     3.2 g/l

Age of Vines:        15 - 20 years old