Pinotage disaster

The announcement of the top five Cape Blends at the Cullinan Hotel yesterday is an unmitigated disaster for Pinotage. And I’m not talking about the lack of ladies at the function, confirming the contention of Jan Boland Coetzee many moons ago that ladies don’t like Pinotage. Wine judges don’t like it either on the evidence of the five they picked for the Perold Cape Blend Competition. Not one has a majority of Pinotage. The closest is Schalk Burger’s Hat Trick 2007 at 50%.

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To rub salt into the wounds, the Perold Tributum 2013 from KWV has more Cabernet (39%) than Pinotage (34%). This for a wine made as a tribute to the father of Pinotage.

All the others are dominated by either Bordeaux varietals (Anura LB 2014 67% Bdx and Idiom 2011 57% Bdx) or the Rhone (Painted Wolf’s Peloton Rouge 2011 is 47.12% Syrah)  or somewhere in between (La Cave from Wellington is 30% Syrah and 25% Cabernet). The Wolf is a wonderful wine, but not what I’d think of as a Cape Blend.

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There were, however, some stunning Cape Blends the judges overlooked for the overseas trip for winners. Both Pulpit Rock and the Inkspot from Cloof have 70% Pinotage – the maximum allowed by the definition of Cape Blend – a shade more than the Rebus from Romond (67%) while the Cellar Door 2014 from Namaqua is 60% Pinotage and 40% Malbec. Bet the direksie are wishing they hadn’t dropped competition sponsor ABSA as banker! If I were Namaqua, I’d graft my Pinotage vines over to Malbec as Pinotage seems to have reached the end of the road.

Will the kidnappers who’ve hijacked the competition please return the judges? You can keep the one who infamously compared making Pinotage to molesting children. Meanwhile the Pinotage Association needs to seriously consider the message these blends give to consumers.

Declaration. The author is a producer of Pinotage and Pinotage blends. He does not enter wine competitions.