Dense opaque colour. Sweet ripe mulberry, raspberry, vanilla spice with a hint of liquorice captures the characteristics of this unique grape varietal - extraordinaire. Balanced oak and tannins enhances these versatile aromas sculpturing a palate filled with lingering fruit filled pockets.

Heritage: The first red wine that Frans Malan, founder of Simonsig Wine Estate, released in 1970 was a Pinotage. He was a pioneer in using new small French oak barriques for his Pinotage in the early seventies. Today, the Redhill Pinotage is made from a vineyard grown on the famous Redhills of the Simonsig Estate. The red soil originates from decomposed weathered shale and is regarded to be the best soil for growing premium red wine. This is due to the excellent moisture retention capacity and good drainage.

Winemaking: Two days of cold soak is followed by yeast inoculation and a short, but intense, three day fermentation in traditional open top fermenters. Regular manual punch downs every 2 to 3 hours gives ample extraction of fruit and colour. Fermentation temperature peaked at 28° C which was slightly lower than previous years. Gentle pressing takes place before complete dryness. Berry size was noticeably smaller, which gave excellent concentration of colour and fruit. Malolactic fermentation took place in the barrel and the wine received 4 rackings before bottling.

Wood Maturation: 16 months in oak.