Aaldering Estate Pinotage 2023 Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

If Aaldering has a signature wine, this is it. The Dutch-owned Stellenbosch estate has quietly become one of the names to know for Pinotage, and its Estate bottling shows why the grape deserves more respect than it sometimes gets. Careful vineyard work and gentle extraction are the house approach.

The fruit is estate-grown, from Pinotage planted in 1998 on decomposed granite, southeast-facing at 110 to 160 metres. Grapes are picked at two ripeness stages and fermented in separate lots with different yeasts, with 20 percent whole-bunch fermentation for lift. Malolactic happens in French oak, 20 percent new, and the wine ages 18 months before bottling.

2023 was a cooler, slower season across the Cape, especially kind to wines with freshness in mind. At Aaldering it brought concentrated fruit and lovely natural acidity. The measured ripening shows in a Pinotage that feels bright and lively rather than jammy, with the structure to age gracefully.

Deep purple in the glass. Plum and dark fruit lead, with red berries, mocha and dark chocolate and a savoury, earthy edge. The palate is silky, with voluptuous, velvety tannins that run long and a lively acidity keeping everything fresh. It is drinking well now but will cellar for 10 to 15 years. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees.

The 2023 took Double Gold at the 2025 Michelangelo International Wine and Spirits Awards. Think of it as a modern, refined Pinotage, riper and rounder than a Rhône red but with real freshness. It suits a rich rack of lamb or venison, and rewards a special dinner without demanding one.