KWV re-enforced its record as a consistent producer of quality wines in this year’s Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition with its KWV The Mentor’s Pinotage 2009 having been included in the select group.

KWV chief winemaker Richard Rowe said the award was testament to the efforts of the winemaking team and, seen together with KWV’s trophy haul at the recent National Young Wine Show, continuing proof of KWV’s commitment to producing world-class wines.

In its 15 year history, the competition has seen six KWV wines among the soughtafter Top 20 and Top 10.

This year, no less than two KWV wines caught the attention of the esteemed panel of judges and made the list of 20 finalists in the respected event. For the ultimate Top 10, it was the KWV The Mentors Pinotage 2009 chosen as one best representing the quality benchmark for the uniquely South African varietal.

Only outstanding wines of international standing are selected by KWV’s winemaking team for inclusion in the premium quality The Mentors range. The best grapes, sourced from vineyards across the country, are used for making the wine at a custom-built cellar in Paarl.

Grapes for the KWV The Mentors Pinotage 2009 hail from Simonsberg and Bottelary vineyards. It is a wooded, full bodied wine bearing flavours of juicy blackberry and plum, complemented by notes of toffee, dark chocolate, hints of spice, fruitcake and soft floral notes. On the generous, soft palate the wine is well rounded and full with velvety tannins and integrated maturation nuances.

Rowe described the harvest producing the wine as having been cooler and said that wines from the 2010 harvest were already generating much excitement. “They are juicier, presenting more intense colours and flavours,” he said. “While we’re very satisfied at receiving the Absa Top 10 accolade, we expect great things from the 2010 vintage next year.”

Reflecting on the achievement, Rowe said while Pinotage had polarised winelovers for years, substantial improvement in style and quality necessitated those detractors who remain to revisit their stance. “Developments in the variety warrant another look,” he declared.

The winning wines in the Absa Top 10 Pinotage Competition this year were selected by a judging panel comprising renowned South African wine producers, writers and tasters. They were Duimpie Bayly, Gert Boerssen, Winifred Bowman, Susan Erasmus, Neil Pendock and Chris Roux. The winners were announced at a luncheon held at the Webersburg Wine Estate, near Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape.

The competition was conceived by the Pinotage Association to promote wine made from Pinotage grapes. It is a stated aim of the competition to annually identify 10 Pinotage wines that “serve as benchmarks for the development of distinctive South African Pinotage and illustrate the uniqueness of Pinotage in the international wine world”.