The 2008 Stoneboat Pinotage is an enjoyable and quite remarkable wine that doesn’t require a remarkable occasion to open a bottle.

On the nose, green peppers were followed by white pepper, and blackberry and plum fruit with raspberry undertones. Also hints of earthy sandalwood with licorice.

The palate followed along similar lines with plums, raspberries, green peppers, milk chocolate and licorice. The tannins are soft and mellow tannins but with enough structure to hold their own.

The fruit comes from the Black Sage Bench in the Okanagan Valley, in British Columbia, Canada.

Pinotage is South Africa’s signature variety – bred there in 1925 as a cross between Pinot noir and Cinsaut – and not much of it is produced in the Okanagan Valley but Stoneboat’s 2008 displays plenty of potential for the variety in this northern clime.

For a more in-depth look at Stoneboat and its Pinotage, hop on over to this blog post at The Pinotage Club.

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