Top 10 competition showcases consistency of leading Pinotages

IS IT JUST a figment of the imagination or does that bottle of Stellenbosch 1679 stand out front and foremost among the 2021 Absa Top 10? Picture (above) courtesy of the Pinotage Association, convener of the competition… Certainly the maiden vintage of the Pinotage flagship from Koelenhof Winery has attracted quite a bit of attention during the year, having also earned grand gold at Concours Mondial (EU) and judged top of the class in the National Wine Challenge (SA). But then again, there's also been a fair amount of hype about the maiden vintage of Francois van Niekerk, scored 96 at the Decanter World Wine Awards (UK) and one of the Top 10 in Winemag's 2021 Pinotage Report.

The best track records of the 2021 Absa Top 10 winners are those of Beeslaar, Beyerskloof, Diemersdal, Flagstone, Neethlingshof and Wellington Wines, who all have wines among the Top 20 in the Pinotage Classification spanning the past 10 years. The jury on this occasion: panel chair Winnie Bowman CWM and winemakers Carl Schultz (Hartenberg), Frans Smit (Spier), Johann Fourie (Benguela Cove), Solly Monyamane (Beyerskloof viticulturist) and Elmarie Botes.

For the names of the runners-up, click here, and for more about the competition, click here. As in previous years the awards function was also an opportunity to showcase the ageability of Pinotage, with the museum class for wines at least 10 years old won by the 2010 vintage of Kanonkop and the 2011 vintage of Rijk's Private Cellar and Rijk's Reserve.

Beeslaar Pinotage 2018
R525pb ex-producer, Stellenbosch

Beyerskloof Diesel Pinotage 2018
R900pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch

Diemersdal Journal Pinotage 2019
R335pb ex-cellar, Durbanville

Flagstone Writer's Block Pinotage 2018
R330pb ex-cellar, Somerset West

Francois van Niekerk Pinotage 2019
R500pb ex-producer, Wellington

La Cave Pinotage 2018
R220pb from Wellington Wines

Môreson Widow Maker Pinotage 2018
R280pb ex-cellar, Franschhoek

Neethlingshof Pinotage 2020
R115pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch ‘1679' Pinotage 2019
R270pb from Koelenhof Winery

Stellenrust Corner Stone Pinotage 2019
R210pb ex-cellar, Helderberg-Stellenbosch