It is not widely known that Cinsault was the backbone of our wine industry for many decades. Especially when an older vine, Cinsault can offer delicate aromatics, sweet red fruit, good acidity and amazing longevity. In a market seeking fresher, lighter and more authentic wines, forgotten Cinsault could just be South Africa’s trump card in the international wine market.
‘With the possible exception of Cinsault, Syrah is the most exciting variety in South Africa at the moment.’ – Tim Atkin MW
SA’s new winemaking stars are already using Cinsault as an important blending component; Savage’s Follow the line, Jasper Wickens’ Swerwer and Tremayne’s The Blacksmith all hold old-vine Cinsault as their backbone. Few serious single varietals have hit the scene, however. One of the most exciting is Leeuwenkuil, which recently won Gold at the Old Mutual Trophy Show with the maiden 2014 vintage. This ‘Pinot Noir of the Swartland’ reminds us of the Swartland co-op Cinsaults of the ‘70s and offers phenomenal value for money!
You will not have heard of Skylark – a tiny batch of wine made by Chris Alheit for a private customer. It is a wonderfully lean, fragrant expression produced from an old Darling vineyard. The lightest of the 3 wines below, it shows remarkable drinkability, freshness and balance.
The Silwervis* was born at the inaugural Swartland Revolution and is now made by Ryan Mostert. Produced naturally, with only the addition of sulphur, old-vine Swartland Cinsault was matured in one Nomblot concrete egg. It shows haunting aromatics, sweet fruit and spice, with the egg maturation adding to its unique structure and poise.
These lighter-styled reds are not short on depth, flavour or complexity. Viva the Cinsault Revival!
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Free delivery on orders over R1,500 (main centres only). If you need any assistance, call us on 021 448 4105 (CT) or 011 027 9463 (JHB).
Tasting notes
‘The grapes are from the Leeuwenkuil farm. These are dryland farmed and from bushvines. Part of the grapes are early harvested and whole bunch fermented to keep some freshness and to add some verve to the wine. We’ve been making Cinsault for many years, experimenting with different techniques and ripeness levels and next to the Shiraz this is my favourite Swartland variety. We use old 500L barrels for malolactic fermentation, whilst further maturation took place in 5th fill 5000L foudre.’ – Pieter Cartsens, Leeuwenkuil.
‘The Leeuwenkuil is a smart enough wine – an appealing nose of red fruit and flowers while the palate shows lovely fruit concentration, bright acidity plus a slight and not unpleasant stalkiness on the finish.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za
Made from 40+ year-old bush vines in Darling by Chris Alheit. Whole-bunch fermented in small tanks, left for 4 weeks on the lees, gently pressed into very old barrels and bottled after 9 months. ‘The wine is light, almost luminescent in body, with a spiced nose of cinnamon, sour cherry and sweet apple lollipops! It is such a counter-trend wine when compared to opaque, main stream reds that frankly we regarded its release as somewhere between bold and crazy. However, its elegance and an enchanting palate have bewitched us and we knew that it needed to be delivered as a single variety.’ – Adrian Dommisse, Proprietor
‘Delicately framed and low in alcohol – this Cinsault has a refined and haunting persona. It is delicious, evolves stunningly in the glass and ends moreishly dry’. James Pietersen, Wine Cellar ‘This is a Cinsault, and it’s lovely. Fresh, pure and grippy with red cherries, raspberry and spice. Fine, expressive, juicy and with some savoury grip. Just 900 bottles made.’ – 93/100, Jamie Goode, Wineanorak.com
*Roland Peens is a partner in the Silwervis project.
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