Pinotage 2022

The Southern Right estate lies 3 kilometres from the South Atlantic, and its wines are named after the rare southern right whales that frequent the cool bay near the vineyards. The Pinotage cuvée is made from vines close to the Atlantic Ocean in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, within Walker Bay. The proximity of the ocean provides cool maritime conditions and yields dry wines with very pure fruit and great aromatic complexity, thanks to a longer ripening cycle. The wine is aged for 10 months in barrels of first-, second- and third-use French oak. This 100% Pinotage develops spicy notes of blackberry, black plum, blackcurrant, liquorice, cracked pepper, graphite, cocoa, leather and rosemary. The palate is vigorous, with a very lively texture, juicy acidity and long, fruity persistence.

The first vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really begin to take off until the arrival of French Protestants, in the 1680s, with their skills and their knowledge of viticulture. Stellenbosch is also a historic wine region, with the first vineyards being planted there in the 1690s. Today South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere. With over 300 years of winemaking history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often have more in common stylistically with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and acclaim for its wide variety of styles. South Africa's wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Vineyards can also be found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, strongly influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The country's signature grape variety is Pinotage, an indigenous cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that is rarely found in quantity in other wine-producing countries. Shiraz (Syrah) is also widely planted, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend). South African Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc have become popular internationally in recent years.