Few grapes have had more of a bum rap than Pinotage. South Africa’s native Pinot Noir/ Cinsault cross has been languishing for decades. But a new cohort of winemakers has begun to carve out significant ambitions for the grape.
So, should you pay £50 a bottle for a 2021 Pinotage? One man who thinks you will want to is Anthony Hamilton Russell. He is the proprietor of Anthony Hamilton Russell Vineyards, the Ashbourne vineyard and Southern Right vineyard, all three in South Africa’s Hemel-en-Aarde which is part of the Walker Bay appellation. These may be Cape producers, but they are sited on the cool coast, some of the continent’s most southerly vineyards and the closest to the sea.
Anthony Hamilton Russell, Noble Rot, London
Hamilton Russell is in London hosting a lunch at Mayfair’s Noble Rot. He commences by showing his 2023 vintages from the 170-hectare Anthony Hamilton Russell estate which specialises in producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Analysis has shown that, thanks to the shale-derived soil, a tract of this stony, iron and clay-rich terroir is eminently suited to Burgundy-style wines. In many people’s eyes, Hamilton Russell is the producer of internationally acclaimed “budget Burgundy”. A nice problem to have, though one which you can see must also bring frustrations for a man so fiercely passionate about winemaking in his home country.
Hemel-en-Aarde is cooler than Burgundy – and the weather, in fact, is getting cooler and wetter.
The first white, Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay 2023 (£40) sets the bar high. Eschewing the term “minerality”, Hamilton Russell says the white should have a sense of “hardness“ or “austerity”. Fresh and creamy on the palate, there are pear notes here and a fine integration of the oak. “You don’t smell the wood in it – we spend a lot of money so you don’t notice it,“ he says. This would be well worth leaving for another couple of years.
On to the Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir 2023 (£44). Opening the first bottle, the proprietor apologises for serving the wine at a “criminally young” age, before adding that Pinot Noir has a beauty and charm at each stage of development.
The Pinot Noir yields in Hemel-en-Aarde are tiny. This gives rise to a certain tightness. And the wine is not upfront fruity or soft. It shows excellent concentration, spicy and sweet notes and nice tannins; it should have considerable ageing potential.
An honourable mention is also deserved for the highly quaffable Ashbourne Sandstone 2023, a fresh Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon blend (£19).
Most intriguing, however, is the Ashbourne Pinotage 2021. Pinotage, variously described as South Africa’s signature red variety and its worst vinous ambassador, has long been derided. Seen as a concocted varietal prone to over-ripeness, unattractive notes and associated with the bad old days in South Africa, it was shunned for a generation. But Hamilton Russell felt it his duty to drive a renaissance.
At £50, the 2021 Pinotage is the priciest wine at the tasting. Hamilton Russell declares that this should have an aroma like his grandmother might have smelt in the 1930s with notes of Christmas cake and spices. Floral and fresh with fine, delicate tannins, there are certainly hints of nutmeg and cinnamon and a lovely salinity. With lots of complexity and a very decent length, this is as fine an expression of South Africa’s maligned native variety as you are likely to get.
I ask Hamilton Russell if he has elevated Pinotage merely out of a sense of duty, or because he truly believes in its excellence in this terroir. He is unequivocal. “I still believe that one day South Africa’s most famous red will be a Pinotage or a Pinotage-based wine”.So not bargain Burgundy but Premium Pinotage.
The wines of Anthony Hamilton Russell are imported and sold in the UK by Mentzendorff. To discover more about them click here.
