I have been asked to present a tasting on Tuesday 14 April of Pinotages to a wine club of 60 people in Brentwood, Essex, and I am currently writing the tasting sheets .
I couldn't get hold of any non-South African pinotages for the tasting, so I decided to have a theme of 'firsts'.
These are the eight wines I will be showing on Tuesday:
Delheim Rosé
Pinotage 2008
(Delheim were the 1st winery to make a rosé Pinotage in 1976)
Simonsig
Kaapse Vonkel Brut Rose
Méthode Cap Classique 2006
Simonsig were the 1st South African winery to make a Methode Champenoise sparkler in 1971)
Mellasat
ENIGMA Blanc de Noirs
Pinotage 2008
(this is the 1st commercial release of a white Pinotage)
Warwick Estate
Three Cape Ladies
Cape Blend 2005
(Warwick's 3 Cape Ladies was the 1st cape blend in Wine Spectator’s World’s Top 100 Wines)
Diemersfontein
Pinotage 2008
(Diemersfontein pioneered the amazing 'coffee & chocolate style' of Pinotage and it was voted 1st choice of readers of The Cape Times which proclaimed it “the Peoples’ Pinotage”)
Bellevue Estate
Houdamond
Pinotage 2007
(Bellevue grew and made the world’s 1st varietal Pinotage in 1959 )
Beyerskloof
Reserve
Pinotage 2006
(1st winery to have 2 wines, this is one of them, in Pinotage 10 Competition)
Kanonkop Estate
Pinotage 2004
(Kanonkop is South Africa’s ‘1st Growth’ says WINE Magazine)
Problem, as always, is sourcing the wines I wanted. I ordered some Reyneke, which is theolny biodynanically grown Pinotage but then the supplier cancelled theorder as they had only one bottle. And I couldn't get 4 bottles of NZ or California Pinotages either.