The Mentors Pinotage 2017

This wine reveals the true varietal characteristics of a modern-styled Pinotage: It's dense in colour and bold in flavour. It has an abundance of cherries and plums on the nose, with hints of perfume and cloves. The intense concentration on the palate shows juicy bright fruits and well-integrated oak. The silky-smooth tannins contribute to the wine's round and seamless finish.

This Pinotage is the perfect accompaniment to a pork-belly roast with garlic and sage or a succulent beef roulade.

variety : Pinotage [ 100% Pinotage ]

winery : The Mentors

winemaker : The Winemaking Team

wine of origin : Stellenbosch

analysis : alc : 14.69 % vol rs : 2.35 g/l pH : 3.5 ta : 5.8 g/l

type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fragrant wooded

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork

ageing :

This wine can be enjoyed now, but will also cellar well for five to eight years.

Winter 2016 provided sufficient cold and higher rainfall for a great start to this vintage. Regular, small rains in spring and cool to moderate temperatures provided conditions for good, early-season cane and canopy development. Bud break was even as was spring growth, but flowering was not-usually due to weather. Early leaf breaks directly after flowering allowed sunlight to even out the virtage, as did early green harvesting of retarded bunches.

Growth and development sped up in moderate conditions that ensured outstanding vine health. Warmth from late December to January, drought and lighter yields, meant another record early start to harvest that ran until early March. Despite shifts in variety harvest order, wine quality looks fabulous.

in the vineyard :

Vineyards: 73% Darling, 22% Stellenbosch, 5% Swartland

Yield: 7-8 tons/ha

in the cellar :

A three-step selection process ensured only the best quality fruit was chosen for fermentation. Selective picking in the vineyard followed by both bunch and berry selection on the sorting table in the Mentors cellar, is strictly observed. A 2.5% portion of the cuvée was allowed to undergo natural fermentation and the rest was inoculated after two days of cold soaking. Fermentation took place at 26°C over six days. The wine was pressed before alcoholic fermentation was completed, to prevent the extraction of hard and dry tannins.

email the winery

email this page

find our wines in :