2018 Olifantsberg Pinotage

Olifantsberg Family Vineyards is less than an hour's drive from Cape Town, in the middle of the South African wine region Breedekloof. This small, five-hectare vineyard has been owned by the Dutch Leeuwerik family since 2003. The Olifantsberg vineyards lie on the slopes of the Brandwacht Mountains. Thanks to the high location and the almost constantly blowing wind, there is a cool microclimate. Ideal conditions for the production of top quality grapes! The vineyard works with respect for nature. The vines are organically fertilized and the yield in the vineyard is deliberately kept low. All this with the aim of optimally harvesting ripe, healthy and concentrated grapes of high quality. After the manual harvest, these grapes are brought to the newly built wine cellar. Here again, winemaker Elizma Visse lets nature do its work. After crushing the grapes, traditional peeling takes place and the grapes are fermented. After this they are aged in oak barrels of which about one third is renewed annually. The wines from Olifantsberg are therefore perfectly balanced with beautifully dosed oak in scent and taste.

The philosophy with this Pinotage from Olifantsberg is to make this unique South African variety where elegance and freshness must be of paramount importance and not the many overripe heavy and high in the alcohol pinotages as we unfortunately see too much among the mass producers. This Pinotage puts the grape at the center. The wine consists for 82.5% of the Pinotage and has been supplemented with Cabernet Sauvignon to give it that little bit of extra complexity and bite. The wines have had a year-old education in 2000L oak foudres and 300L french oak barrels. The wine is harvested in clusters (so all specific places in a vineyard) and these have been fermented and raised separately and only blended at bottling to get the Pinotage that Paul and Elizma want.

The wine is beautifully dark red in the glass. This pinotage surprises in both the nose and the mouth. The wine is very fresh with beautiful fruit and not those rubber and animated tones that have the mass of pinotages. The pinotage is velvety as a Pinot Noir, cherry, mulberry and eucalyptus. The wine has fine-grained but mature tannins and a small bitterness. The wine is excellent to drink but can also mature for 7 years. By the way, it is advisable to drink this pinotage slightly chilled (around 16 degrees).

Tim Atkin: 90/100