For people looking in from the outside, the debate about what should constitute a Cape Blend may look somewhat Nero-esque. At the centre, of course, is the role that Pinotage should play. There is even talk of legislating the percentage contribution by our indigenous grape.
The veneer to the debate is that the marketing (and sales) of South African wines around the world would be aided by having a wine that is uniquely South African, but one can’t help feeling that ‘blends envy’ provides some of the motivation for this project. Bordeaux, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes du Rhône and Chianti are some of the Old World’s most famous wines, and they’re all blends. Against this one has to consider the contribution that ‘varietal’ wines (i.e. not blends) have made to the huge growth in New World market share.
Cloof has red blends that by default may be classified as Cape Blends, but this isn’t the reason why they were made in the first place. Pinotage is the most planted red grape at Cloof, and is therefore more than likely to feature in any blends we make up. It so happens that our Cabernet Sauvignon is very soft and juicy, and therefore benefits from the structure that Pinotage adds to the blend. Our Shiraz production is still relatively small, but even the little we have available for blending adds a gorgeous opulence to the wine.
Blending Cabernet and Pinotage with a little Shiraz not only delivers an experience that is uniquely Cloof, but also produces a well-balanced wine that remains interesting to drink once the palate has become bored with juicy primary fruit. As this blend is used in our Dusty Road range no barrel maturation takes place, so there is even greater reliance on complexity being provided by the interplay of the blending components.
Our 2003 Dusty Road Cabernet/Pinotage/Shiraz (a 40/40/20 blend) was selected for service on SAA, and earned a three-and-a-half star rating from the Platter guide. It has now also received the same rating from Wine magazine in a benchmark tasting of Pinotage-based blends (in which it was one of the top-rated wines). The significance of this is that it is ranked amongst barrel-aged wines with much higher selling prices.
One tier lower, at three stars, was the 2002 Cloof Bush Vine, a blend of Pinotage, Cabernet and Cinsaut.
Regardless of the Cape Blends debate, there is no question that Pinotage can be an important component of a blend.