Bellevue Heritage Pinotage 2021 Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Bellevue’s Heritage Pinotage is the estate’s homage to the grape it helped bring into the world. The wine comes from a single, certified old block that the family has nurtured for decades, bottled on its own only in the years it merits the honour. It is the pinnacle of the estate’s deep relationship with Pinotage.

The fruit comes from 1.85 hectares planted by P.K. Morkel in 1953, on a cool southern slope of Cartreff soil, farmed as a registered single vineyard. Kritzinger ages the wine for around 22 months in 300-litre French oak, half of it new, with a natural malolactic, aiming to add polish and depth while keeping the old vines’ distinctive character intact.

The 2021 vintage was outstanding across the Cape, a cool and even season with a later harvest that let flavours develop slowly. Very old, low-yielding vines like these tend to shine in such years, producing tiny, intense berries with layered fruit, real freshness and the fine-grained structure that allows a wine to age for decades.

The nose is deep yet lifted, with black berries and violets, raspberry, chocolate-mint and exotic Asian spice, all brightened by a pronounced menthol freshness. The palate is concentrated and complex, layering dark fruit, spice and a savoury, earthy note from the old vines over fine, firm tannins. Long and fresh on the finish, it will cellar for many years. Try it with venison or a beef roast.

Greg Sherwood MW rated the 2021 an exceptional 96-plus points, with a drinking window reaching towards 2041. Old-vine Pinotage of this calibre is genuinely rare, and stands comfortably alongside the world’s serious single-vineyard reds. For anyone who wants to understand what Pinotage can become, this is the reference, and a wine to lay down.