Bellingham Bernard Series Bush Vine Pinotage

The Bernard Series from South Africa's Bellingham Estate is dedicated to their founder, Bernard Podlashuk. This Pinotage hand harvests from a prized 43 year old bush vine block in Stellenbosch with granite soils and low yields.  Fermented in open French oak barrels with daily punch-downs and malolactic fermentation in barrels, 50% of the wine was then matured in new French oak and 50% in second fill barrels for a period of 12 months.

Deep ruby with tints of purple on the rim, it shows liberal aromas of black cherry, ripe mulberry and raspberry confit. The palate brings plum pudding, smoked meat and savoury hints of truffle, as well as good spice oak integration on the long, succulent finish. It promises to develop savoury richness and secondary intrigue for up to 10 years in bottle. Try with duck, lamb and beef, barbecue cuisine, or mature, hard and smoked cheeses.

The Bellingham Estate has a wealth of history, with the first vines planted by French Huguenot descendants in 1693 , before passing through the families until the production of Franschoek, and the Cape's, first rose wine in 1949, followed by the first varietal Shiraz in 1956. Today, while still inspired by its history of innovation, Bellingham is firmly set in the 21st century, producing contemporary, structured wines with an unmistakable sense of place and style.

Winner of Silver at the 2021 Decanter World Wines Awards.