SOMETIMES what the Pinotage specialists at Beyerskloof do is performed with very little fanfare. Towards the end of 2018, word got out that the Truters had added another label to their portfolio of wines made from Pinotage, either entirely or in part. The newcomer: Beyerskloof Winemakers Reserve – 2016 being the maiden vintage. But no mention of it on their pricelist… In early 2019, the opening of the new Beyerskloof WynBar in the Stellenbosch CBD was so low-key that even some of the brand’s greatest fans only heard about it some months later. And we were just into the second half of the year when it was announced that the 2017 vintage of the mysterious Winemakers Reserve had earned a place among the Absa Top 10 competition finalists. Curiously, the wine was still not listed at the farm even after being named among the trophy winners. Watch this space!

Other Stellenbosch producers represented among the Pinotage Association’s Top 10 laureates in 2019 are Kanonkop, Simonsig and Distell (Fleur du Cap), all among the most successful Pinotage campaigners over the years, as are Beyerskloof and fellow trophy winners Diemersdal of Durbanville and Wildekrans of Bot River. Once again, Kanonkop submitted more than one vintage and once again it was an older entry (2015) that impressed more than its younger siblings: the current-release 2017 was among the runners-up this year and it’s likely that that it will place among the Top 10 a year or two from now.

Trophy winners from Paarl: Anura and Vondeling (Bowwood). From Rawsonville in the Breedekloof: Badsberg, whose Pinotage is the only one of the Top 10 selling for under R100pb. And from the Overhex winery in Worcester: Survivor, made from grapes grown in the Swartland, sporting an image of the marvellous Nguni cow that survived a jump from the back of a cattle truck that she was travelling on through the winelands…

The winning vintages are given below, and for more about the competition click here.

2019 ABSA TOP 10

• Anura Pinotage Reserve 2016
• Badsberg Pinotage 2018
• Beyerskloof Winemakers Reserve 2017
• Bowwood Pinotage 2016 (Vondeling)
• Diemersdal Reserve Pinotage 2018
• Fleur du Cap Series Privée Pinotage 2016 (Distell)
• Kanonkop Pinotage 2015
• Simonsig Redhill Pinotage 2017
• Survivor Pinotage 2017 (Overhex)
• Wildekrans Barrel Select Reserve Pinotage 2016

MUSEUM-CLASS WINNERS

• Fairview Primo Pinotage 2007
• Hill & Dale Pinotage 2007 (Neethlingshof)
• Rijk’s Private Cellar Pinotage 2009