Rijk's Private Cellar Pinotage 2017

Drink it now or cellar for up to 15 years. It is recommended to decant it for half an hour.

Located in the Tulbagh valley, northeast of Cape Town and 80 km from the Atlantic Ocean, the Rijk's winery was founded in the late nineties by Neville Dorrington together with his family. The estate, whose name honors Rijk Tulbagh, governor of Cape Town from 1751 to 1771, is located in a strategic position where it enjoys the protection of the Obiqua, Winterhoek, and Witzenberg mountains and a Mediterranean climate particularly favorable for the cultivation of high-quality grapes. The vineyards that extend on slopes facing north, south, east, and west, are planted on schist soils with Chenin Blanc and Pinotage grape varieties.

The Pinotage grapes are harvested by hand overnight to preserve their fragrance and freshness. After a short period of cold maceration and fermentation, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in barriques and is then aged again in barriques for 22 months.

Rijk's Private Cellar Pinotage is a wine with a complex and multifaceted aromatic profile with aromas of bramble fruit, such as blackberries, and other ripe red fruit, with mineral and spicy notes. On the palate, the wine is rich and round with a pleasant creaminess well balanced by the mineral notes of graphite. The tannins are velvety and the finish is long and elegant. Try it with game or ostrich meat served with fruit sauces.