Beeslaar Pinotage 2016
-
Wine
Enthusiast
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The Beeslaar Pinotage comes from a single vineyard in Stellenbosch, South Africa, planted on shale soils. 2016 Will be remembered as one of the driest and hottest vintages in recent years. There were 2 heat waves during the season—one in October and one in January. The first heat wave came during flowering, and had a big effect on the bunch and berry size, creating a smaller yield than normal. The second heat wave played a role in creating more concentrated fruit with a great color. Because of the dryer conditions of the vintage, the grapes were very healthy with very little disease. The grapes were destemmed and sorted before fermentation in open top concrete fermenters. The cap was punched every 2 hours until the right extraction was achieved. After pressing, malolactic fermentation was done in 19 French oak barrels and 2 American oak barrels. The wine matured for 19 months in oak. The final wine is quite ripe, with a rounded feel to the mix of ripe plum, blackberry and anise flavors. It features a coating of warmed licorice on the finish, with good underlying energy. Drink now through 2022.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Scents of crushed purple violets, fruit cake, sweet tobacco and roasted espresso all dance on the nose of this intense yet layered red. It’s rich and bold in feel, but not overdone, with a full palate of seductive dark-fruit flavors and framing tannin's that produce a firm structure and chewy texture through the close. It’s an infant now, but this classically styled Pinotage has lots of potential ahead of it, so hold until 2024 and enjoy through 2029 for added maturity and harmony.
Other Vintages
2019-
Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator
-
Wine
Spectator
South Africa’s signature grape, Pinotage is a distinctively earthy and rustic variety. In 1924 viticulturists crossed finicky Pinot Noir and productive, heat-tolerant Cinsault, and created a variety both darker and bolder than either of its parents! Today it is popular in South Africa both as a single varietal wine and in Cape blends. Somm Secret—The name “Pinotage” is a subtle portmanteau. The Pinot part is obvious, but the second half is a bit confusing. In the early 1900s, Cinsault was known in South Africa as “Hermitage”—hence Pinotage.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.