Description
Tokara Limited Release Pinotage 2023 is a small-batch Stellenbosch red built in a serious, concentrated style, with the kind of texture and depth that places it well above a simple everyday Pinotage. This is a wine that leans into dark fruit, structure, and careful barrel work, but it still keeps enough freshness and floral lift to avoid feeling heavy. For drinkers who appreciate Pinotage with polish, power, and cellar intent, this is a compelling expression.
The nose opens with dark plum, black cherry, and violet, followed by baking spice, vanilla, dark chocolate, and a gentle note of toasted oak. On the palate, the fruit is generous and richly textured, with fine, mouth-coating tannins giving the wine shape and persistence rather than hardness. There is clear concentration here, but it remains controlled, carrying through to a long, confident finish. It would pair especially well with roast lamb, braised beef, venison, or smoky grilled meats, where its fruit depth, spice, and tannic structure can settle naturally into the food.
Already impressive in youth, this is a Pinotage with enough balance and structure to continue developing well over the next several years.
The nose opens with dark plum, black cherry, and violet, followed by baking spice, vanilla, dark chocolate, and a gentle note of toasted oak. On the palate, the fruit is generous and richly textured, with fine, mouth-coating tannins giving the wine shape and persistence rather than hardness. There is clear concentration here, but it remains controlled, carrying through to a long, confident finish. It would pair especially well with roast lamb, braised beef, venison, or smoky grilled meats, where its fruit depth, spice, and tannic structure can settle naturally into the food.
Already impressive in youth, this is a Pinotage with enough balance and structure to continue developing well over the next several years.
The bunches were hand-harvested into shallow trays and chilled overnight before destemming and hand sorting. The fruit was then transferred to small concrete fermenters and partially crushed, followed by four days of cold maceration before natural fermentation began. Extraction during fermentation was managed through twice-daily punch-downs and pump-overs. After fermentation, the free-run wine was separated before pressing, then moved to barrel for malolactic fermentation. The wine was racked off its lees and returned to barrel for a total of 20 months of maturation in 50% new French oak, with minimal intervention throughout. It was bottled in November 2024 with light filtration and no fining.
Winemaker: Stuart Botha
Winemaker: Stuart Botha
South African Tokara winery, on the R310 outside Stellenbosch, is nestled among vineyards and olive groves on the crest of the Helshoogte Pass with sweeping views across False Bay and all the way to Table Mountain. With elevations of between 350m and 550m, soil profiles are of weathered sandstone and decomposed granite - the combination lending structure, perfume and longevity to their wines.
