Transient Lands Pinotage

Beef, Game (deer, venison), Poultry

Multiple sites of younger and older vineyards are used in blending to produce an expression of Stellenbosch through the lens of Pinotage. In 2025 the blend uses two Pinotage sites: 65% from the granitic Polkadraai Hills above Stellenbosch the remaining 35% comes from the fractured shale soils on the Bottelary hilltops.

After 11 months wines were racked for the first time, blended and put back into larger 500L barrels. Wines were bottled in June 2026 after having spent 16 months in barrel.

Grapes are hand picked and cooled overnight. They were then fermented in open-top bins and concrete tanks. Of the grapes, 50% were foot trodden whole bunches, and the remainder destemmed. A light sulphur addition was made at crushing. Natural fermentation took place over 10 days after which a maceration was carried out until the tannins had developed satisfactorily (about 5 more days). After draining, the remaining grapes were pressed to old barrels. A sponta- neous malolactic fermentation then took place, and in early Autumn wines were sulphured for the first time.

The profoundest facet of wine, beyond its flavour, is when and where it can be utterly unique - otherwise all the wine in the world might as well come from a single factory in France (or Taiwan). Angus Paul Wines looks to identify that which makes South Africa unique; combining its old rocks, atavistic gees and quasi-indigenous varietals to produce wines that could only come from the windy Cape. Chenin blanc and Pinotage take the lead roles in the winery - along with a small but genuine supporting cast of other grapes - where they are left untampered to bear the transcription of the sunshine, soil and soul of the Western Cape.