Simonsig Pinotage Stellenbosch

Vintage Description

Deep black cherry hue with a bright crimson rim indicating its youth, the 2002 Pinotage has a ripe, sweet raspberry nose with layers of plummy fruit and a touch of forest floor earthiness. Full-bodied on the palate with delicious crushed berry fruits on the middle palate. Well-rounded, ripe tannins provide ample structure to allow further development in the bottle. The quality of the tannins keeps the natural sweet flavors of the Pinotage balanced and leaves a gentle, dry finish in the mouth � making it a great food wine. Winemaking Notes

The first red wine released by Simonsig in 1970 was a Pinotage. Today, this uniquely South African grape is the most planted variety on the Estate. The cool conditions and especially cool nights broughtabout by the cooling effects of the sea breezes from the Atlantic Ocean, help younger vines reach optimum ripeness. The 2002 vintage weathered severe rains during growing season, which resulted inhigher Downy Mildew destruction � killing almost 25% of the crop in Stellenbosch. This resulted in one of the smallest crops in years. A cool summer was followed by ideal warmer weather at harvest, allowing the red varieties to ripen slowly, with the tannins ripened to perfection. The small harvest and ideal ripening conditions ultimately produced wines with excellent concentration of fruit and ripe tannins.