Wine Review - Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Pinotage - Another Great South African Wine

Another one of my favourite wines is the uniquely South African Pinotage. This varietal of grape doesn't appeal to everyone, but it is one that can be used to create a beautiful wine. There are many factors which combine to produce a wine. The climate, soil, rainfall, temperature range, aspect of the vineyards, and care of the vine all combine to deliver a grape which hopefully will be turned into a fine wine. Durbanville Hills Rhinofields Pinotage is one of those examples of all of these factors working together to produce something pleasing on the palate.

This is a full-bodied wine, with a velvety smooth texture with a good balance of sweet, dark berriy flavours, and vanilla spice. It has well integrated oak, and is balanced with a silky tannin, leaving you with a mouth full of flavor long after the sip. When we first openned the bottle the oakiness was quite predominant, but after leaving the wine to breathe a while a better balance of fruit and spice came through the oak, and some sweetness was found.

The second glass from the bottle was a lot more open and enjoyable to drink. The oakiness had subsided substantially to reveal a wine of good complexity of berry and spice, with a mouthful of bold flavours, and a still smooth and silk finish. This wine is definitely worth giving some time to breathe for a while before enjoying. It went very well with our slow-cooked beef stew.

My score for this wine is a good 3.5 out of 5. My favourite remains the Kanonkop Pinotage, but this one at almost half the price is well worth considering.

Cheers!!

^{Team Australia, Team South Africa, and The Alliance banners by @bearone
My Awesome Upboks by @ryivhnn}