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10 best pinotage wines for a taste of South Africa’s signature red

From smokey reds to blush rosés, discover one the regions most popular drinks

John Clarke
Monday 12 October 2020 08:56 BST
Defined as a cross between pinot noir and cinsault which first gained notoriety in the Fifties and Sixties
Defined as a cross between pinot noir and cinsault which first gained notoriety in the Fifties and Sixties

Pinotage is the signature wine of South Africa, where it was cultivated in the early 1920s as a cross between pinot noir and cinsault (then known as hermitage, hence the name). 

But it wasn't until the Fifties and Sixties that the wine began to gain popularity and it wasn't until the 1980s that international recognition came its way. 

In the broadest sense, it's still a "local" wine. Very little of it is cultivated outside South Africa. And it does have its critics.

There's always a danger that the chemical isoamyl acetate – better known as nail polish remover – can develop during winemaking, although modern wine production methods mean that risk has very much lessened. 

But its popularity, especially in South Africa, remains high and with good reason. 

At its best – as in the selection here – the wine is savoury, elegant and versatile. The reds offer hugely impressive and concentrated fruit flavours with hints of spice and smokiness while the blush rosés are refreshing, crisp and dry. 

International Pinotage Day is celebrated on 10 October, so set any prejudices aside and discover what South Africans have been enjoying for decades, one of that country's most enjoyable, well-balanced and drinkable wines.

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The verdict: Pinotage wines

The big upfront fruit flavours of this wine are evident in Majestic's definition and Waitrose's fairview, both great value wines for under £10. Moving up, Laithwaite’s bowood is intense and hugely enjoyable while the gold-medal winning Môreson MKM Moraka Klaas Maffa and standard-setting David & Nadia pinotage siebritskloof 2017 are great wines by any definition of the term. The best buy is the M&S classics No. 16, a smooth, full-flavoured and supple introduction to pinotage that's recently arrived on the shelves and fully deserves its place there.

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