Private Cellar Pinotage 2019

Rijk's Estate is located in the Tulbagh Valley, 120km north-east of Cape Town. It is a family-run estate where fine wine, food, family and friends come together. Focused solely on Chenin Blanc and Pinotage , the vineyards are deeply rooted in schist-rich soils and benefit from a Mediterranean climate with cool winds in the summer. Rijks has an ideal environment to produce exceptional wines.

The grapes were harvested at night and hand-picked to preserve the freshness of the aromas. Pinotage is the grape used in this wine. It embodies South Africa's signature red grape variety , a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault. Fermentation begins in stainless steel vats, then the wine is aged for 22 months in oak barrels (60% French and 40% American). In total, 40% new barrels, 30% second-use barrels and 30% third-use barrels were used for aging. The bouquet is intense, with layered notes of black cherry , blackberry , cranberry and blond tobacco, plum , wildflowers and licorice . The palate is rich and complex and reflects silky tannins, giving the wine suppleness and texture. The finish is long and spicy.

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.