Collaboration 002: Angus Paul Pinotage 2021

STYLE: Red

COUNTRY & REGION: South Africa, Stellenbosch

VINTAGE: 2021

ABV: 12%

VOLUME: 75cl

THE WHAT:

Pinotage is a distinctly South African grape variety, and it’s often been misunderstood. It doesn’t always have to be treated like Cabernet Sauvignon, and Angus shows us that. Pinotage’s parents are Cinsault and Pinot Noir, two grape varieties that produce light and delicate wines. And so why shouldn’t we treat Pinotage the same way. This is made using Stellenbosch fruit, and the wine is light, crunchy, and the type of red that is best served with a slight chill on it.

THE WHO:

Angus Paul is is probably one of the most exciting winemakers we’ve spent time with. He defines cool, calm and collected, and has a wisdom beyond his years. He speaks with a humble confidence that we can’t help but find incredibly inspiring. His wines are low-intervention in style, but clean and focused in the glass. Ok ok, we’ll stop swooning over him now.

THE WHY:

Angus makes a Pinotage in his own range of wines, and in the 2021 vintage, there was a single barrel that went rogue. Typically, his own Pinotage is driven by pure, candy-floss and bright red fruit characteristics, and this barrel showed with a slightly wilder and more high tone edge to it. So he made the the strategic decision to keep it separate from the main bottling run, without a clear plan of what to do with it down the line. We got the chance to taste it, we fell in love with it, and we had to have it.

THE TUNES:

You always need good music with good wine. Our pairing playlist is courtesy of the man, Richard Cossins of Flawd wine bar and Higher Ground in Manchester. We affectionately call him the Chief Vibes Officer. Click the link, and you’ll see why.

LISTEN HERE