Aaldering Estate Lady M Pinotage-au-natural 2024 Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Lady M is Aaldering’s most playful red, a Pinotage-au-natural that the estate makes without any oak at all. The name is a personal one, dedicated by the family, and the wine is a deliberate change of pace: proof that Pinotage does not always need barrels to make an impression.

It comes from the same estate Pinotage block planted in 1998 on granite soils, but takes a different path in the cellar. Around 30 percent whole berries are fermented in stainless steel, the wine pressed gently and taken through malolactic in tank, then bottled with no fining and no barrel time. The aim is pure, unadorned fruit.

2024 brought a warmer growing season with smaller berries and bunches, concentrating the grapes, which were picked at optimal phenolic ripeness. That concentration matters even more for an unoaked wine, where there is nowhere to hide, giving Lady M its depth of fruit alongside a fresh, lively line.

Medium purple in the glass. Juicy plum and dark fruit lead, backed by red berries, mocha and dark chocolate, with intriguing forest floor and savoury mushroom notes. Full-bodied but fresh, its plush, velvety tannins run long, kept lively by bright acidity. Bottled unwooded, it drinks well over about five years.

Because it sees no oak, the estate suggests treating it like a white, even chilling it lightly. That makes it unusually flexible at the table, happy on its own, with a salad, with fish, or chilled to 14 degrees alongside a classic seafood paella. A characterful, conversation-starting red for the curious.