The Post Tree Pinotage 2013 Swartland, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

The Post Tree is named after the milkwood tree at Mossel Bay where early Portuguese explorers left letters for ships heading home. Its wines come from the Riebeek Valley in the Swartland, on the warm, north-facing slopes of the Kasteelberg, with Eric Saayman leading the winemaking.

Pinotage is South Africa’s own grape, a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault created in 1925. In the Swartland it typically gives dark-fruited, generous reds with a savoury edge, and this bottling is made in an approachable, food-friendly style rather than a dense, heavily oaked one. It shows the more relaxed, drinkable face of a variety that can sometimes be big and bold.

This is the 2013 vintage, so the wine has had well over a decade in bottle. We hold limited vintage-specific detail for it, so the notes reflect how a Swartland Pinotage of this age tends to show rather than verified harvest data. As an older wine it should be approached as a mature red, with the fruit giving way to more savoury character.

With bottle age, expect ripe plum and dark berry fruit softening towards earthy, savoury and lightly spiced notes, with the tannins settled and mellow. Decanting for half an hour can help an older red like this open up, and it is best served at cool room temperature.

Mature reds suit slow-cooked dishes, so pour it with beef stew, oxtail, lamb or a mature hard cheese. If you like South African Pinotage and enjoy the softer, more complex character that age brings, this is an interesting bottle to try.