Prescient Pinotage Report 2023: Top 10
By Christian Eedes, 4 July 2023
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Introduction
This year’s Pinotage Report sponsored by multinational financial services company Prescient is now out. There were 64 entries received from 38 producers and these were tasted blind (labels out of sight) by a three-person panel, scoring done according to the 100-point quality scale.
Top 10
The 10 best wines overall are:
95
De Grendel Amandelboord 2022
Price: R300
Wine of Origin: Durbanville
Abv: 14.56%
95
Mooiplaas 2022
Price: R155
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 14%
95
Windmeul 2021
Price: R70
Wine of Origin: Coastal Region
Abv: 14.54%
94
Diemersdal Reserve 2022
Price: R190
Wine of Origin: Durbanville
Abv: !4.81%
94
Warwick The First Lady 2022
Price: R120
Wine of Origin: Western Cape
Abv: 13%
94
Windmeul Reserve 2020
Price: R150
Wine of Origin: Paarl
Abv: 14.25%
94
Windmeul The Legend Collection 2021
Price: R350
Wine of Origin: Paarl
Abv: 14.7%
93
Illimis 2022
Price: R248
Wine of Origin:
Abv: 12%
93
Stellenbosch 1679 Old Vine 2020 (Koelenhof)
Price: R375
Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch
Abv: 15.22%
92
Bruce Jack Reserve Collection 2021
Price: R111
Wine of Origin: Breedekloof
Abv: 14.5%
About the category
Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault (also called Hermitage, hence the contraction), was first engineered by Stellenbosch University’s Professor Abraham Perold in 1925. The first commercial bottling was released in 1961, namely the SFW’s 1959 Lanzerac Pinotage.
Pinotage is the sixth most widely planted variety in South Africa, making up 7.4% of the total area under vineyard at the end of 2022.
What does top Pinotage go for?
The average price of the 37 wines to rate 90-plus is R208 a bottle and of the Top 10 is R207.
Best buy
Offering the best quality relative to price is Koelenhof 2021 with a rating of 90 and selling for R65 a bottle.
Red and black cherry plus a hint of vanilla on the nose. Good fruit concentration, bright acidity and nicely firm tannins.
In-depth analysis
To read the report in full, including key findings, tasting notes for the top wines and scores on the 100-point quality scale for all wines entered, download the following: Prescient Pinotage Report 2023
Shop online
Johannesburg boutique wine retailer Dry Dock Liquor is offering all of the wines in the Top 10 for sale and can deliver nationwide – buy now.
Hermanus wine shop Wine Village is offering most of the wines in the Top 10 for sale and can ship all over the world – buy now.
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