Seeking to find the best examples of Pinotage between the R60 and R100 price points, the wines were tasted blind by our three judges: Malu Lambert, Spencer Fondaumiere and Jolette Steyn with scoring done on the 100-point system.
Two distinct styles emerged at this price point: classically-styled pinotage – flavours of black cherry, plum and blackcurrant on a medium to full-bodied palate – with a judicious use of oak.
The wines that impressed had a degree of finesse and polish while the less successful veered to the rustic side. There were also wines that had a whole bunch, carbonic character with plenty of red fruits in the flavour profiles. Easy drinking, juicy wines that stood out for their freshness. Two of the top wines came out of the Breede River area, a region that is proving synonymous with price-point related quality.
As if to underscore this, Slanghoek Cellars not only has a top wine in this Pinotage report, but features in the Best Value Chardonnay report too.
The top five #BestValue wines at this price point, are as follows:
Bader & Walters Pinotage 2016
Bloemendal Waterlily Pinotage 2016
Lammershoek The Innocent Pinotage 2017
Bonnievale River Collection Pinotage 2018
Slanghoek Private Selection Pinotage 2017
To read the full tasting article including key findings, tasting notes for the top five and scores on the 100-point quality scale.