This is our estate Pinotage: a pure expression of what the variety can achieve when grown in a cool climate, while remaining true to its origins and crafted with care.
Layered, complex and elegant, it is a wine that showcases the depth and versatility of Pinotage. And never, ever over-oaked. Oak should support a wine, not dominate it. Too much oak masks terroir and terroir is precisely what Spioenkop has in abundance.
Pinotage in Elgin, or how Koen single-handedly helped shake up the wine world and pave the way for a new generation of Pinotages.
Knowing that Pinotage is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, Koen was convinced that it would thrive in a cool climate, provided it was planted, grown and vinified with passion, precision and respect for the variety.
Our Pinotage is planted on a mix of Elgin shale and clay soils along the slopes of Spioenkop. These soils contribute to the wine’s deeper colour, structure, length and complexity. In many ways, they can be compared to the clay-rich soils found in parts of Northern Burgundy, which are equally renowned for producing wines of depth and character.
Another key element is the wind, our famous South Easter. The constant wind naturally limits vine vigour and keeps the berries small. Small berries result in a higher skin-to-juice ratio, which translates into naturally higher acidity, more tannins and greater concentration in the wine.
Our Pinotage vineyards were planted in two phases, both using the PI48 clone. The older block, planted in 2007, is grafted onto 101-14 rootstock, which tends to produce a more herbaceous and savoury expression of Pinotage. The younger block, planted in 2017, combines 101-14 and 110 rootstocks. Rootstock 110 contributes a more fruit-driven character to the wine. The first harvest from these younger vines took place in 2021.
Tim Atkin: 93pt
Alc 12.84% - T/A 5,6 – R/S 2.2 – pH 3.49