Lots to like! Winemag Pinotage Report makes welcome comeback

07/2023 Mike Froud Leave a comment

THREE of the Top 10 in Winemag’s 2023 Prescient Pinotage Report from the same cellar, including one of the panel’s three absolute favourites and the best priced of the Top 10… You won’t see that again anytime soon! Congrat’s to the team at Windmeul Cellar in Paarl – especially for what they achieved with the 2021 vintage of their ‘standard’ version at R70pb scored 95 points. Congrat’s too to fellow top-scorers De Grendel on the Durbanville wine route and Mooiplaas of Bottelary, Stellenbosch.

It was a controversial decision by the South African publication to discontinue their annual Pinotage Report in 2022, only to bring it back a year later, still describing the grape as controversial despite the fact that the Pinot Noir Cinsault cross is the most successful vine to be ‘engineered’ in South Africa – one of the most-planted red varieties in the country with fans around the world.

On the tasting bench were 64 wines from 38 producers, with more than half of the entries rated 90+. On the tasting panel: Winemag editor Christian Eedes (chair), F&B operations manager at the President Hotel in Cape Town Ndaba Dube, and SA Sommelier Association chairman Spencer Fondaumiere.