APPEARANCE

ON THE VINE: Small, conical, compact bunches; oval berries with thick, blueish-black skins.

IN THE GLASS: In the centre, deep ruby to crimson, and on the rim/edges, fuchsia-purple to brick red. Older wines tend towards a mahogany centre and russet-orange rim.

SMELL

Associations include plum, black cherry, mulberry, strawberry, occasionally raspberry and bramble, sometimes spice and cloves. Certain wines have a banana/mango aroma.

TASTE

When young, packed with plum and berry flavours, then softening and developing associations with prune, cherry, cassis as well as red and black berries. Medium- to full-bodied, sometimes with a sweet sensation on the finish - long, layered - and with a complexity that makes Pinotage age well for up to 10 years and more. Maturation in oak barrels can add cedar, vanilla and toasted flavours.

ORIGIN

South African: the Pinot Noir Cinsaut (Hermitage) cross was engineered by Stellenbosch University’s Prof Abraham Perold in 1925, and the first commercial bottling was a Lanzerac ’59 released in ’61 – though it’s widely accepted that subsequently it was Kanonkop, pioneer of full-blooded oak and show-stopper style, that really put Pinotage on the map after the first vintage in 1973.

IN SOUTH AFRICA

ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD

New Zealand was the first wine-producing country outside South Africa to pick up on Pinotage. It has been grown in California since the late 1970s, a few other cellars elsewhere in the USA have since joined the club, and Pinotage is now also grown in Candada and Australia.

AGEING POTENTIAL

Pinotage producers first started using new and small oak as recently as the early ’90s. It’s early days to tell how newer-styled wines might age in general, though signs are promising – some of the Kanonkops have developed with interest – and it’s expected that good Pinotages today should easily last 10 years. That said, certain well made old-style Pinotages have benefited from 20 to 30 years’ maturation.

MATCHING WITH FOOD

Unwooded, fruity Pinotage: game, lamb, bobotie, braaied boerewors and fish, curry, young cheddar. Full-bodied Pinotage: spare ribs, pepper-steak, or full-flavoured game dishes such as ostrich, kudu, springbok and guinea fowl.

SERVING TEMPERATURE

Between 16° and 18° C.