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.

Earning selection for SAA First Class (for service on board during December 2006), our latest Pinotage release is a sophisticated and elegant example of the local grape. The words ‘sophisticated’ and ‘elegant’ may seem oxymoronic when used in the same sentence as Pinotage, but that is the beneficial effect of using really good French Oak barrels. The refinement of the oak shows in the fine tannin structure on the palate; cutting through the potentially cloying richness of the fruit.

We hasten to add that we are not the kind of cellar where oak flavours are a primary part of experiencing a wine. For us, fruit always comes first. In fact, it is the intensity of the fruit flavours on the palate that determine whether a wine will ever see the inside of a barrel.

Given the Cockney slang for a suit – Bowl of Fruit – the analogy is perhaps not misplaced. Especially here at Cloof, Pinotage’s intense fruitiness can be quite wild and over-the-top. The 2003 Cloof Pinotage is a wine that very definitely is ‘dressed for dinner’