TOP 10 IN the 2021 Winemag Pinotage Report (SA), gold medallist at the 2021 Decanter World Wine Awards (UK) and trophy laureate in the Pinotage Association’s 2021 Absa Top 10 competition. What an impressive beginning for Francois van Niekerk’s first vintage (2019) under his own label – a very limited release produced when not busy as cellarmaster at Wellington Wines where he also makes Pinotage under the La Cave label, which also placed among the 2021 Absa Top 10!

Van Niekerk is a prime example of how telling the winemaker’s role is in coming up with something special, and of how special Pinotage is as the variety that he is most passionate about. It was after a six-month stint at the Kendall-Jackson winery in California that he was hooked on life in the winelands, changing course from a career in forestry to one among the vines and barrels. Since then he has also worked a harvest at Château Angélus in Bordeaux, and it would have been understandable if he had fallen for the Cabernets of France or the USA rather than a grape born in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

With “Pinotage King” Beyers Truter as his mentor, Van Niekerk has won Absa Top 10 trophies on nine occasions to date, first with Reserves from Windmeul and then with Wellington Wines before doing so with his own beauty. In fact he is now one of the most successful winemakers in the history of these awards, having won just one shy of Truter’s haul with various styles from Kanonkop and Beyerskloof.

FRANCOIS VAN NIEKERK PINOTAGE 2019
WO Coastal Region: 26-year-old Pinotage bush vines in Paarl (50%) and Wellington (50%) – dryland (unirrigated). Grapes handpicked, destemmed and sorted. Open-top fermenters, with punch-downs every two hours. Five days on the skins. Malolactic fermentation in 225L French oak barrels, 70% new and 30% second-fill. 24 months barrel-maturation. Paarl and Wellington fruit vinified separately before blending.
Alc 14.5 | RS 1.9 | TA 6 | pH 3.5
Decanter Judges’ Tasting Notes: “A full-bodied and brooding wine. Precisely balanced with red cherries, blueberries, coffee and chocolate with silky tannins and refreshing sour cherry acidity. Serious pedigree here.”
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: Ruby red. Layered aromas of soft blueberries and fresh cherries underpinned by hints of spice and vanilla pod – an elegant balance between oak and fruit. Spicy vanilla and oaky notes follow through on the palate, giving weight to the flavour profile, wrapped up in aromas of raspberries and dark plums. Rounded and smooth with a velvety finish. Ageing potential of 15 to 20 years after vintage.
R500pb from the producer (heavyweight bottle, deep punt).