Top Pinotage-led Cape Blend

HOW MUCH longer will it take for the concept of a ‘Cape Blend’ to gain traction, one wonders. Some are really good, yet more than a decade after South Africa’s inaugural Perold competition for Pinotage-led combos there were only 30 entries in the 2023 edition – less than the number entered back in 2011 – and just 17 with track records good enough to qualify for the SA Wine Classification. This compared with 39 expressions of single-varietal Pinotage in the Classification and 134 entries in the 2023 Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition that has gone from strength to strength over the past quarter of a century.

Over the past 10 years, The Mentors Perold from the KWV in Paarl and Faith from Beyerskloof in Stellenbosch have accumulated the most top accolades of all the ‘Cape Blends’, and by a considerable margin. They’ve received such good reviews so often from panels of experts internationally as to be included in the Top Wine SA Hall of Fame. The six Perold Absa Cape Blend competition winners in 2023 include the 2019 vintage of the Perold (Pinotage, Cab, Shiraz and Petite Sirah) in The Mentors range, and the 2021 Beyerskloof Synergy (Pinotage and Cab plus four other varieties) from ‘The Home of Pinotage’, whose Faith (Pinotage, Cab and Merlot) was among the Top 10 finalists for the second year running.

Another of the 2023 Perold competition winners is the 2020 Dragon Tree (Pinotage, Shiraz, Cab and four other varieties) from Flagstone in Somerset West, the current release of another Top 20 wine in terms of South Africa’s Red Blend Classification.

The Perold panel of judges for this year were all winemakers at various Cape cellars: Wilhelm Pienaar (Hermanuspietersfontein), Lucinda Heyns (Illimis), Narina Cloete (Blaauwklippen), Elsa du Plessis (Beyerskloof) and Janno Briers-Louw (Eenzaamheid).

COMPETITION WINNERS

Bellevue Atticus Cape Blend 2021
R145pb ex-cellar, Bottelary-Stellenbosch

Beyerskloof Synergy Cape Blend 2021
R150pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch

Endura Winemaker’s Selection Cape Blend 2020
R350pb from Perdeberg cellar, Paarl

Flagstone Dragon Tree 2020
R155pb ex-cellar, Strand / Somerset West

Mentors Perold 2019
R749pb from KWV cellar, Paarl

Stellenbosch Hills Suikerboschrand Cape Blend 2017
R425pb ex-cellar, Vlottenburg-Stellenbosch

• For more about the winning wines, click here.

CLASSIFIED CAPE BLENDS

• Alvi’s Drift Reserve Drift Fusion
Worcester Cellar
• Anura Signature Cape Cuvée
Paarl Cellar
• Asara Vineyard Collection Cape Fusion
Stellenbosch Cellar
• Beyerskloof Faith
Stellenbosch Cellar
• Blake’s Amethyst
Yzerfontein Cellar
• Clos Malverne Spirit of Malverne
Stellenbosch Cellar
• Flagstone Dragon Tree
Somerset West Cellar
• Idiom Cape Blend
Sir Lowry’s Pass Cellar
• Kaapzicht Steytler Vision
Stellenbosch Cellar
• La Cave Cape Blend
Wellington Wines
• Louisa (Pulpit Rock)
Riebeek West Cellar
• Lyngrove Platinum Latitude
Stellenbosch Cellar
• Mentors Perold (KWV)
Paarl Cellar
• Simonsig Frans Malan Cape Blend
Stellenbosch Cellar
• Spier Creative Block 8
Stellenbosch Cellar
• Wildekrans Barrel Select Reserve Cape Blend
Bot River Cellar
• Windmeul Reserve Cape Blend
Paarl Cellar