First up, thanks to Peter May of Pinotage.org who responded to my plea when I boldly stated that I’ve never enjoyed a wine made from the grape Pinotage. Of his picks, I was intrigued by the Stoneboat ’07 Pinotage from Oliver, BC which I’ve heard mentioned a few times recently. You see, lately there’s been some buzz surrounding this wine after it was one of only 12 to receive the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for Excellence in British Columbia Wines in ’09 – a pretty impressive feat considering it was chosen blind by an expert panel from 248 wines. After calling the winery, I was able to track down a bottle from one of the very few places in the city that has any – Marquis Wine Cellars on Davie St (as of Saturday they had 13 bottles left).

For anyone unfamiliar with the Pinotage grape – it was South Africa’s contribution to the world’s varietal pool in 1925, when it was made by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsaut (then commonly called Hermitage). It’s often known for its smokey animally qualities and is usually high in the volatile ester isoamyl acetate (think banana skins).

My Tasting Notes:
The colour is dark and nearly opaque with a vibrant purple rim. It smells dark… black and purple fruit, chocolate, black licorice, and a hint of smoke. Very lush and concentrated on the palate with a very lovely silky soft texture. Persistant and grippy tannins give it some structure and a slight dustiness. A raisiny and spicy oakiness on the palate is well integrated with mocha and plenty of dark purple fruit.

My first point is that I rather like this wine. It has a fantastic texture with great concentration and I can completely see it as being a general crowd pleaser (I tasted it on 4 other people whose palates I trust and they all liked it as well). At $25, this has tremendous value and especially when you compare prices of similarly styled wines from BC (please don’t bump up your prices next vintage because you won an award! Okay?). My next point is a bit of a catch 22 - I think varietally speaking, this wine is quite ambiguous. Ranging anywhere from big Merlot characters (soft plummy fruit and lots of chocolate) or Malbec-esque traits (dark purple berry fruit profile with a dusty earthiness). I do get the banana skin quality and a lot of dark characters (licorice, espresso, black and purple fruit), but to be honest I find this isoamyl acetate aroma alongside similar dark notes in a lot of BC wines (see all of Kettle Valley and especially their Malbec). There are very few smokey or in anyway funky aromas that I would normally asociate with Pinotage. So, do I enjoy this Pinotage because it doesn’t taste like a Pinotage? Perhaps I need to further develop my perception of the grape through more tasting, but at least now I can truly say that there is a Pinotage I enjoy drinking!