The first commercially produced Pinotage was released in 1961 under the Lanzerac label, vintage 1959, made from grapes sourced at Bellevue and Kanonkop. There is currently 164.45 Ha of Pinotage vineyard, older than 35 years.
In celebration of Pinotage Day, the Old Vine Project team paid a visit to the 4 oldest Pinotage blocks, still in production.
Meerendal – planted in 1955
Pinotage Vines planted in 1955 at Meerendal in Durbanville
This block was planted with the original Perold cuttings, with the first single bottling in 2005 from this 6 Ha block. There is an interplanting plan on the go with careful viticulture applied to preserve the old vines.
Bellevue and Kanonkop – planted in 1953
Gnarly old vines at Bellevue – Planted in 1953
Pinotage vines at Kanonkop – planted in 1953
At Kanonkop, a minimalistic approach towards soil preparation (in the late 1940’s) is evident in the visible unmixed soil layers – with only about 55 cm of “usable” soil (it abruptly goes from gravel to clay) the plants were left with a relatively small root system. A true example of vines forced to survive its conditions. Nowhere to run, as Prof Deloire always said – they had to endure and manage.
De Waal Top of The Hill – 1950
The oldest Pinotage in South Africa, and in the world! Planted in 1950. De Waal Top of the Hill Pinotage
According to records the oldest surviving Pinotage in South Africa and most likely in the world. This mere 0.47 hectare block still produces wine today and can be tasted in the Top Of The Hill Pinotage from De Waal Wines in Stellenbosch.
Pinotage Celebrations across the Cape Winelands on #PinotageDay, 14 October 2017: http://www.wine.co.za/news/news.aspx?NEWSID=31707&CLIENTID=0
And more Pinotage stories here:
http://en.gilbertgaillard.com/article.php?id=1045
And for this #PinotageDay we compiled a fresh outlook on these old and faithfull vineyards. Have a look here and enjoy the video!
