The wonderful Bruce Jack sent me a bottle of a new wine that he’s making under his Flagstone label. Just 200o bottles of this Pinotage, from a single vineyard high up in the Bredekloof mountains, were made. It’s just an infant, and although it will be released this September, it’s a wine to hold onto for several years before broaching. This follows in a sequence of really good Pinotages that have recently been released: it was a grape I had largely given up on, but which I’m now changing my mind about.

Flagstone Time/Manner/Place Pinotage 2010 Bredekloof, South Africa
Initially on opening a powerfully aromatic nose with some tight, spicy, sweet vanilla oak as well as complex black fruits with some herb and clove elements. Primary and youthful. The palate is firmly structured with tar, spice and mineral notes as well as sweet black cherry and blackberry fruit, as well as some oak and some tannins. Wild, herby, meaty notes lurk in the background. This isn’t just about sweet fruit: there’s also a strongly savoury, mineral dimension here. A serious effort, but it will need considerable time to come round. 92-94/100

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