A new chapter for the historic Pinotage vineyard at Meerendal Wine Estate is unfolding as South Africa celebrates 100 years of Pinotage.
Planted in 1955, the Pinotage Heritage Block turns 70 this year, a testament to the resilience and character of old vines. With a renewed commitment to organic farming and sustainability, this vintage reflects a philosophy that honours the past while embracing the future. It is a registered Heritage Vineyard with the Old Vine project.
To mark the occasion, the 2023 Single Vineyard Heritage Block Pinotage wine was unveiled at a special event last week to signal a new era for one of Meerendal’s most historic vineyards.
Says cellarmaster Wade Roger Lund, “I believe that this historical block has a special place in the history of Pinotage and the fact that these old blocks tend to promote the more elegant style of Pinotage is a bonus for me.
“It matches perfectly with my philosophy for the block and Meerendal in general, softer and more refined texture and structure be.”
Guests were treated to an exclusive guided tasting of this landmark release, as well as the 2024 vintage that is still in the barrel. The new label is a close replica of the 1969 Meerendal Pinotage label in the same font and colours.
It was unveiled ceremoniously by Herman Coertze, owner of Meerendal and Wade Roger-Lund at the start of the tasting with the 2023 vintage bottle next to a recently recorked 1969 bottle.
Hand-harvested
The grapes were hand-harvested in the early morning to retain freshness and fermented in the traditional open-top fermenters with gentle punch-downs every six hours.
Thereafter the wine was aged for 16 months in 45% new 300-litre French oak barrels and in second-fill French oak barrels. The wine was bottled unfiltered for maximum expression of flavour in September 2023.
The wine has a deep ruby red with a purple rim.
It has layers of dark berries, black cherries, and plums with hints of mocha, spice, and vanilla. The palate is full-bodied with silky tannins, rich fruit concentration, and well-integrated oak. The wine has a long and elegant finish with lingering notes of dark chocolate and spice. Although the wine is delicious to enjoy now, it has excellent maturation potential for 10-15 years for added complexity.
Only 850 bottles of 750ml and 235 bottles of 1,5l were made after a stringent selection of the best barrels of the 2023 vintage and each bottle is individually numbered.
The 750ml bottles will be selling for R1 250 from the Cellar door and at selected wine specialist shops.
Oldest Pinotage vineyard
Meerendal Wine Estate boasts the oldest Pinotage vineyard in the Wine of Origin (WO) Cape Town and Durbanville: its Heritage Block Pinotage is one of the four oldest remaining Pinotage vineyards in South Africa.
Meerendal is also a founder member of the old vines project “Certified Heritage Vineyards”, established in 2016.
Meerendal is one of the First Fourteen wine estates that was granted this appellation on 1 September 1973 when the new Wine of Origin legislation was instituted.
It is only a handful of brands in South Africa with the proud tradition of more than 50 years since the bottling of its first vintage in 1969 selling wines uninterruptedly in the local and international markets.
Meerendal has collaborated on a project in conjunction with Vititec, the South African leader for the improvement of vine plant material, which involves the identification, treatment and cleaning of any viruses of the best vines in the 1955 Heritage block.
After six years the new planting material has been released and will be used to fill the gaps in the old block.
In this way, the DNA of the original vines from Professor Abraham Izak Perold, the founder of Pinotage, will be preserved.