Anura Pinotage Reserve 2010

Receiving an invitation to attend the annual Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards is always a highlight on my calendar as each year it is a pleasure to taste so many excellent winning wines selected by a credible panel of judges.

Now in their eighth year, the awards were founded by Marius Labuschagne, who said: “There were no repeat winners from last year’s Top 5 Wine Estate wines, while the winners of the Novare Trophy for the Top Wine Estate and the Novare Trophy for the Top Wine Area have differed every year. This is a good representation of South Africa’s precious viticultural areas right across the Cape winelands.

“The Wine of Origin system is a very real part of this country’s wine culture and to be able to award the top wines which showcase a specific wine area is a privilege, as well as giving recognition to the team who, with nature, create these wines with such passion.”

The Novare SA Terroir Wine awards have also been described as the most exclusive wine competition in the world, which is indicative of South Africa’s ability to compete with the best internationally when it comes to wine of origin.

Invited guests to the award presentation at Anura’s Lilly Pad Restaurant were able to taste all the winning wines before and during the luncheon ceremony. Winners were from both well-known and lesser-known wineries but all excellent wines nonetheless. So, there were plenty of wines for me to write about, but the wine that stood out on the day was the Top Pinotage, The Anura Pinotage Reserve 2010.

The Reserve is produced from 100 percent Pinotage which after fermentation in open-top 500-litre oak barrels, spent 14 months in first-fill American (40 percent) and French (60 percent) oak barrels. The result is a full-bodied wine with exotic aromas of black cherry fruit with delicate cinnamon spice.

The palate is rich and offers concentrated flavours of ripe raspberries and plum flavours with polished tannins balanced with the oak.

We enjoyed the wine with fillet of beef served on a parmesan-encrusted gratin potato with a bordelaise jus. It was a perfect match and although drinking so well now, like all good Pinotage the wine will offer so much more in years to come.

Expect to pay: R113.00