96TA: Eben Sadie sources this delightful Swartland Cinsault from the Anthonij Rupert farm in Riebeeksrivier, using grapes grown on schist. Fermented with 30% whole bunches in concrete and foudres, it’s a graceful, elegant, refined expression of Cinsault with potpourri and Turkish Delight aromas, lots of zip and energy, succulent red berry fruit and granular tannins. 2025-40 

96VM: The 2023 Pofadder, 100% Cinsault planted in schist, has a floral bouquet: white flowers, rose petals, bright wild strawberry and cranberry, with a little more mineralité than the Soldaat. The palate is medium-bodied with crunchy red fruit. It’s perhaps the most tensile of any Pofadder I’ve tasted, culminating in a linear finish with life-affirming frisson. There is an effortless brilliance about this Pofadder—even better than last year's offering. - By Neal Martin on August 2024

Winemaking: In the late 19th century, and much of the 20th, Cinsault was the workhorse red variety that played an undeclared role in some great red blends. It was an obvious candidate for inclusion in any historical edition of wine, although it poses many challenges in the vineyard as well as in the cellar, including the difficulty of keeping yields down and attaining perfect ripeness, plus its very oxidative character. Simply put: one has to tread very carefully with all aspects of the cultivation and the production of Cinsaut but it does come with great reward if all is in check. We basically fill the concrete tanks whole cluster to about 50% and then destem 50% to get some juice in the tank to have the initiation of fermentation. The fermentation is for about 30 days on the skins and then we press the grapes in an old basket press. After pressing the wine is transferred into some 28 year old conical wooden casks that do not impart any wooden flavours and the age and the saturation of the wooden staves also make for a very slow reaction of the resultant wine with oxygen. The wine is left on the lees for 11 months and then racked to another concrete tank for an additional month to settle clean. Two weeks prior to bottling we add 60mg/Litre of sulphur and bottle the wine from the fine lees.

Winery: One of the most fascinating aspects of Cinsaut is the depth of texture and the load of tannin that this big berry grape holds, for as a norm one will expect this level of depth and texture and tannin on the smaller, berries varietals – but Cinsaut is a complete enigma in this regard. The wine may hold massive volumes of bright-red fruit and lifted aromatics; and upon smelling the wine the expectation is that it would be very soft on the pallet – but then firm tannins are met. The 2023 Pofadder displays highly complex aromas and is one of the most stylish presentations of Cinsaut we have seen. The overall balance and depth of the wine are just sublime. The complex fruit aromas and earthy aspects carry through to the mouthfeel and taste, which is a more mature style of Cinsaut. The overall balance and crisp acidity make for a long, persisting aftertaste.