Writer’s Block has critics talking about this and that and scoring high

NOT FROM Stellenbosch or Tulbagh, nor from Bot River, Wellington, Paarl… Flagstone’s super-successful Pinotage is from vines on the farm of Anton Roos in the Waaihoek Mountains, one of the highest vineyards in the Breedekloof district of South Africa’s winelands – the place and the wine so astounding that Flagstone founder Bruce Jack was once ‘stumped’ for words!

The first vintage was back in 2003, and the cellarmaster is now Gerhard Swart. The winemaker’s role is considered important to the extent that he’s acknowledged on the ink-splattered label. And the 2016 is a cracker: winner at the National Wine Challenge, at the Terroir Wine Awards and in the Top 10 Pinotage Competition.

What an outstanding track record: ranked among the very best in the SA Wine Classification and a shoo-in for the 2018 Top Wine SA Hall of Fame. Pinotage is described by Flagstone as one of the Somerset West winery’s defining grape varieties, and such is its revered status that their icon wine is (also) made from Pinotage – ‘Time Manner Place’ comprising a special Reserve, a selection from the best barrels that sells for more than three times the asking price of the current-release Writer’s Block.

FLAGSTONE WRITER’S BLOCK PINOTAGE 2016
WO Breedekloof. Single vineyard wine. The fruit is picked when very ripe and, after destemming and sorting of the grapes, fermentation takes place in open-top tanks as well as in 225-litre barrels – fermented and matured in 80% American and 20% French oak.
Alc 14.7 | RS 3 | TA 5.6 | pH 3.4
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: Dry and full-bodied. On the nose, dark red fruit like mulberry and blackberry, with mocha chocolate and Indian spice, underpinned by a hint of bramble and mint. Rich palate, elegant and powerful at the same time; flavours of very ripe strawberry, cherry and darker blackberry, with soft hints of oak, vanilla and dark chocolate. Long and luscious.
Cellaring Advice: 5 to 10 years after the vintage.
Pairing Suggestions: braaied springbok fillet, spicy lamb stew, Indian curry.
R280 pb at the cellar door, Somerset West.

 

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