Simonsig Pinotage 2002

USA Wine Spectator 2004 - 87 points
Deep black cherry hue with a bright crimson rim indicating its youth. 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 flavour of Pinotage beautifully balanced and leaves a gentle dry finish in the mouth making it a great food wine.

Best with richly flavoured dishes, aromatic dishes or slightly chilled in summer.

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variety : Pinotage [ 100% Pinotage ]

winery : Simonsig Family Vineyards

winemaker : Johan Malan

wine of origin : Stellenbosch

analysis : alc : 15.0 % vol rs : 4.5 g/l pH : 4.0 ta : 5.3 g/l

type : Red

pack : Bottle

AWARDS

USA Wine Spectator 2004 - 87 points

ageing : Enjoy in its youth or age for a further 5 years.

in the vineyard : The first red wine released by Simonsig in 1970 was a Pinotage. Pinotage is a crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut made by Professor A.I. Perold in 1924. This Pinotage is unwooded and the aim is to accentuate the raspberry fruitiness of the Pinotage grape unobscured by the wood. Our best Pinotage is grown on weathered shale soils which makes deliciously perfumed Pinotage.

The winter before the 2002 harvest was extremely wet with 897mm of rain measured in 2001. This is about 33% more than the long term average. High rain fall during the growing season created very high disease pressure. Downy mildew destroyed almost 25% of the crop in Stellenbosch, resulting in one of the smallest crops in years. Average temperatures were considerably lower than average. The cool summer was followed by ideal warmer weather in February and March. The red varieties ripened slowly and allowed the tannins to ripen to perfection. The small harvest and ideal ripening conditions produced wines with excellent concentration of fruit and ripe tannins. An excellent vintage for Simonsig.

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