Flagstone Fiona Pinot Noir 2016, a happy midweek match with Nic van Wyk’s Liver in Sour Sauce

Friday, 2 March, 2018
Michael Olivier
Gerhard Swart, the Winemaker at Flagstone Wines, has a knack of making wines which are so good with food – surely that is what wine is about? I don’t like Pinot Noir being called the ‘Heartbreak Grape’, but it is a tricky little blighter. Thin skinned, so not too intense in colour.

It also soaks up the soil, the climate, the talent of the winemaker. Most times you succeed which makes up for the occasional disappointment! The Flagstone Fiona Pinot Noir 2016 is the perfect example of a wine with which the Winemaker can fall in love. Named for Fiona Jack, Flagstone’s founder winemaker Bruce Jack’s sister who lives in New York who wanted Flagstone to make this style of wine. Elevated in the Flagstone Cellar with the usual care taken there by Gerhard and his team, the wine is elegant and so superbly structured. 

It looks like
Bottled under screw cap in a Burgundy shaped bottle the Flagstone Fiona Pinot Noir 2016 has the usual slightly quirky Flagstone livery. In the glass, it is a gem bright translucent ruby at the core which pales out at the edges to a delicate garnet.

It smells like
Berries and cherries. Mulberries, Morello cherries. Fynbos herbs scrunched in your hand. Petrichor and fresh foraged mushrooms.

It tastes like
Complex and layered, plums, the foraged mushrooms again. There are notes of snappy dark chocolate, sweet brown spices. Wonderful flourish of an ending which does not go gently.

It’s good with
Chilled it makes a great glass on its own. Pinot Noir is the wine of Coq au Vin and Boeuf Bourguignon, so the Flagstone Fiona Pinot Noir 2016 can take full flavours. There are any number of traditional Sunday roast dishes this wine can accompany, though it does as well with a great midweek supper dish. Nic van Wyk’s Liver in a Sour Sauce is real nostalgia food for many South Africans. Click here for his recipe.

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Pinot Noir just after harvesting
Pinot Noir just after harvesting

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