SA Pinot Report includes some good reviews but leaves a hollow feeling

93/100

THE FOLKS at Creation on Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge must have mixed feelings about the award for Best Wine Overall in Winemag’s 2018 ‘Tonnellerie-Saint-Martin Pinot Noir Report’. A score of 93 points (out of 100) equates to an “outstanding” wine in the opinion of panellists Christian Eedes (chair), Roland Peens and James Pietersen (both of Cape Town retailer Wine Cellar), all respected judges. And there were four more South African wines also scored 93, with another seven rated 90 to 92 (excellent). But missing from the report are reviews of SA Pinot Noir benchmarks Bouchard Finlayson, Crystallum, Hamilton Russell, Meerlust, Newton Johnson, Paul Cluver… And we are particularly curious given that recent releases of Bouchard, HRV, Meerlust and Paul Cluver’s flagship were assessed separately on Winemag (with labels in sight) just days before the report was published – all rated 90-plus.

In total there were 35 wines submitted by 26 producers, which compares with 52 entries from 33 producers in the 2017 report. For the full story including all of the ratings and the judges’ tasting notes for the Top 5, see here. For the panel’s favourites, see below.

RATED ‘OUTSTANDING’

Creation The Art of Pinot Noir 2015
R885 pb at the cellar, Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge

Iona Pinot Noir 2013
R285 pb at the cellar, Elgin

Kershaw Clonal Selection Pinot Noir 2017
R605 pb from the producer, Elgin

Stonebird Pinot Noir 2016
R460 pb from the producer in Elgin (grapes from Hemel-en-Aarde)

Sutherland Pinot Noir 2015
R155 pb from Thelema cellar in Stellenbosch (grapes from Elgin)

RATED ‘EXCELLENT’

Bosman Pinot Noir 2017
R160 pb from the cellar in Wellington (grapes from Hemel-en-Aarde)

Creation The Art of Pinot Noir 2016
R885 pb from the cellar, Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge

Donkiesbaai Pinot Noir 2017
R300 pb from Guardian Peak cellar (grapes from Ceres)

Elgin Vintners Pinot Noir 2016
R209 pb from the cellar, Elgin

Ghost Corner Pinot Noir 2016
R220 pb from Cederberg cellar (grapes from Elim)

Nitida Pinot Noir 2016
R160 pb from the cellar, Durbanville

Shannon Rockview Ridge 2016
R285 pb from the cellar, Elgin

 

 

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One comment

  • We were disappointed that the Pinot Noir line-up [for the report on Winemag.co.za] was so incomplete this year but we accept that participation is entirely at the discretion of producers. There must be quite a bit of ‘ratings fatigue’ at the moment but we would humbly suggest that those you mention could afford to be a little more brave and adventurous. As much as our Reports involve scoring, they are also an investigation of the state of any particular category. They also involve blind tasting whereas so many other takes on the SA wine scene do not.

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