Winebuzz

Expert Wine Picks: Top of The Hill Pinotage 2002

Island Shangri-la’s Head Sommelier picks a South African wine.

Nicolas Pierron is Island Shangri-La’s Head Sommelier. This week for WInebuzz.hk’s expert wine picks,  he selects a Pinotage from Top of the Hill, South Africa.

Top of the Hill is only produced in exceptional vintages and only when the current, ninth generation winemaker, Daniel de Waal deems it suitable for release.   The name, Top of the Hill is derived from the fact that the vines are planted on top of the hill and exposed to the sun.

The uniqueness of this wine comes from the vines which are more than 45 years old.  On your first glass, you will be surprised by the dark ink-ish colour and intense flavours of rich black plums, cigars, dark chocolate and spices.  It’s a full-bodied wine with a long lasting fruit taste on the palate and with smooth tannins. This wine is not the usual South African pinotage with lots of fruits and an absence of depth.   On the contrary, the wine has been aged well in French oak for 12 months and only released a few years later at its optimum drinking time.

Top of the Hill reflects a particular terroir and the winemaking tradition of the De Waal family.  At Restaurant Petrus, I usually use this wine in a blind tasting and most of the guests think that it originates from the Rhone Valley or is an old world wine.  The production of this Pinotage is limited to 200 cases of six bottles.

Food Pairing

With the game season starting, the Pinotage Top of the Hill is the perfect match for venison, partridge, hare or even with beef if you are a steak lover.

Wine Stats

• Name + year: Pinotage, Top of The Hill, DeWaal, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2002
• Appellation: wine of origin Stellenbosch
• Type of wine/ varietal: Pinotage
• Alcohol content: 13,5% Vol
• Price: HK$890 per bottle or HK$180 per glass

Wine Expert Rating

• 5 stars

5 star= outstanding, 4 stars =worthy, 3 stars = satisfactory, 2 stars = drinkable, 1 star = avoid

Where to buy?

• It is available at Restaurant Petrus at HK$890 per bottle or HK$180 per glass
• Sheffied Limited Tel:  (852) 2488 8517