Out of africa
Pinotage is South Africa's gift to the repertoire of red wines, with a taste all of its own. This mongrel grape variety was first produced on the Cape in 1925 by Professor AI Perold from a successful crossing of Cinsaut, the workhorse grape in many a Midi blend, and Pinot Noir, the aristocratic varietal of great red Burgundy.
At first thought, Pinotage may seem like a strange, mutant creation - the vinous equivalent of mating a bull terrier with a greyhound. Certainly a conventionally-vinified Pinotage when young gives off an acetic smell rather like nail varnish and is very apparent in the tasting. But with age that odour recedes, and in its place lovely aromas of plum pudding and succulent sweet flavours of soft red fruits develop.
Good Pinotage also has street appeal, due to its easy-drinking style and friendly price, as there are plenty of wines costing no more than £40 to £50 a case before vat - that crucial price band for selling wine in volume, particularly in pubs and bars.
Pinotage is currently experiencing a revival in South Africa, with new plantings in the cooler regions of the Cape, from Swartland on the west coast to Walker Bay at the southern-most point on the African continent.
Two distinct styles are emerging. The newer, more commercial style stresses big, bold, primary fruity flavours. These are usually achieved through an adapted form of carbonic maceration, a fast fermentation technique (first used in Beaujolais) to make the wine palatable within a few months of the harvest.
In contrast, the classic Pinotage style cries out for long ageing, as it often takes seven or eight years for a wine made this way to throw off the straitjacket of acidity and show a rich, gamey, but not overblown, character akin to decent red Burgundy.
The tasting, the tasters and their verdict
Twenty South African Pinotages across a full range of styles and vintages (from 1994 to 1987) were tasted at the offices of Wines of South Africa, 260a Fulham Road, London SW10.
Andrew Anderson, treasurer of the Circle of Wine Writers and Miguel Torres' representative in the UK for many years, was our guest taster. He joined Caterer's regular panel of Fiona Sims, Joe Hyam and Michael Edwards.
With the very distinctive flavours that Pinotage produces, there was some disagreement about the wines among the judges, but all agreed that the best wines were those that had been in bottle for at least five years.
The panel was divided on the merits of the new, young, fruity style. But it is this sort of ‘Beaujolais' wine style with a hint of sweetness, however, that will be attractive to a large number of people in pubs up and down the land, even if it is less appealing to a coterie of wine buffs in west London.
Star system explained
All the wines tasted were marked out of a maximum of 20 points, those wines reaching a sufficient aggregate score were then converted into one of the following star ratings.
* recommended
very good
* best quality available.
Recommended Pinotage wines from south Africa
Sable View Pinotage 1991
Caxton Towers Wines 0181-758 4500
£16.50 per six bottles
Rating *
"Plummy, cooked-fruit nose. Balanced tannins. Slightly earthy. A good food wine." JH
"Simple fruit. Attractive balance." AH
"Berry fruit, raspberry ice-cream, medium tannins, some spice." FS
"Very light colour. Acetone rather than tannic character. Thin." ME
Cape Selection Pinotage 1994
Australian Wineries 01780 55810
£3.99 per bottle (inc vat)
Victoria Wine Shops
Rating *
"Good primary fruit, juicy, jammy, no prizes for finesse but excellent slurping wine." ME
"Ripe fruit on the nose. Very pleasant open fruity palate. Young, sprightly and plump." JH
"Too much alcohol on nose, some strawberry fruit, quite stalky." FS
Kapfontein Pinotage 1993
Rawlings Voigt 0171-403 9269
£35.90 per case
Rating *
"Boiled sweets, acetone nose, brash fruity palate. Commercial but fair value for money." ME
"Macerated. Taking a commercial short cut." AH
"Harsh berry nose, hot on palate, strawberry fruit, quite a kick." FS
Swartland Pinotage 1994
Raisin Social 0181-673 3040
£44 a case
Rating *
"Big juicy fruit, attractive unaggressive acidity, well-made." ME
"Powerful nose of pear-drops, spicy, good with spicy food." FS
Drostdy-Hof Pinotage 1991
Heyman, Barwell & Jones 0171-730 0324
£44.40 per case
Rating *
"Light nose, good structure and balance on palate." AH
"First bottle musty, second one better. Real Pinotage character." ME
KWV Pinotage 1991
Edward Cavendish 01794 516 102
£35.44 per case
Rating
"Fresh clean fruit bursting forth on palate - shows variety at its best." JH
"Smooth, gentle acidity, nice raspberry fruit on palate." FS
"Sound Pinotage character, good finish." AH
Cape Bay Pinotage 1993
Forth Wines 01577 862513
£38 per case
Rating H
"Herby, nice perfumed nose, tannic - good if left a year or two." FS
"Fruity elements with wood tones. Pleasing structure." AH
"A serious wine at a keen price. Fruit, terroir, Burgundian perfume." ME
Bolandse Pinotage 1991
Boutinot Prince 0161-477 1171
£42 per case (available July 1995)
Rating H
"Attractive maturity showing.Pleasing character. Good restaurant wine." AH
"Complex, built to last." ME
"Farmyardy nose, lot of acidity, mouthwatering spices." FS
Beyerskloof Pinotage 1993
Raisin Social 0181-673 3040
£60 per case
Rating
"Very nice strawberry fruit on nose, strong tannins on palate." JH
"A bit of class - lovely balance of fruity and vinosity." ME
Kanonkop Pinotage 1993
Raisin Social 0181-673 3040
£70 per case
Rating HH (the tasters differ)
"Complex, concentrated, big tannins - too much for me." FS
"Mad. Loose. Over-powering, wooded." AH
Wildenkrans Pinotage 1993
Bibendum Wine 0171-722 5577
£71 per case
Rating *
"Superb balance of red fruit flavours and sprightly acidity - a bridge between the old and the new styles." ME
"A wine worth shouting about." AH
Uiterwyk Pinotage 1991
Lay & Wheeler 01206 764 446
£70 per case
Rating *
"Lots of fruit, clean, long-lasting, keeps coming through and should do for years." JH
"Deep colour, careful structure, classic Pinotage." AH
"Beautifully made." ME
Zonnebloem 1987
Patrick Grubb Selections 01869 340229
£60 per case
Rating ***
"Really nice, poised and mature glass of wine; fine old Pinotish nose, silken and elegant - super with veal or pigeon - great value." ME
"Wonderful ripe fruit, slightly caramelised, spicy, delicious." FS
Prices do not include VAT unless otherwise stated.
