When we encountered our Austrian crystal suppliers they showed us a hand blown glass specifically intended for mellow aged reds. We thought it was just perfect for our shiraz, but we were concerned it would be too expensive once landed in South Africa.

Putting Pinotage into new French oak barrels is a bit like dressing an unruly schoolboy in a blazer and tie (and combing his hair!). We make this observation apropos the 2003 Cloof Pinotage, which we release this week.

“The Future of the Cape”
Master of Wine (MW) Tim Atkin has singled out Cloof as a “winery to watch” in the October edition of Off Licence News:

“Situated a mere six miles from the Atlantic Ocean in one of South Africa’s most dynamic regions, Cloof has taken a sizeable step forward since it changed owners in 2002. The wines here are flag-wavingly New World in style, but they manage to combine flavour and high alcohol levels with drinkability.

Leading UK wine writer Tom Cannavan has selected the 2004 Cloof Bush Vines CPS as his Wine of the Week, making the following comments

Last week we played host (in Bordeaux!) to a group of UK wine writers, for the launch of our 2005 Bordeaux-style blend. In the past this wine has always been named for its constituent grape varieties (cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and merlot). However, from the 2005 vintage onwards, this wine will now be called Lynchpin, in recognition of the critically important role played in the blend by Cabernet Franc.