Beyerskloof

Tasting A Superb Archive Vertical with Beyerskloof Icon Winemaker Beyers Truter…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

You simply don’t get bigger names in South African winemaking folklore than Beyers Truter who undoubtedly made his name and established it on the global wine map producing the fine wines of Kanonkop. While winemaker there he won numerous prestigious awards including the highly coveted Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Trophy for the World’s Best Red Blend with his iconic Paul Sauer 1991 Bordeaux blend.

But the true love affair in Beyer’s life has always been another grape variety, Pinotage which will probably be the one that defines his lasting legacy and high standing in the South African Winemaking Hall of Fame.

Like a school boy watching their Springbok rugby idols on tv, I used to stand in awe of Beyers whenever I’d attend a wine tasting. But of course many of those school boys came good and ended up playing rugby alongside their idols. I too grew up, became qualified in wine and now feel honoured to call people like Beyers Truter a good friend. One will never shake off the surreal feeling that accompanies these unique paths in life.

In 2019 it was with great honour that I was invited to judge on the ABSA Top 10 Pinotage Competition overseen by the Pinotage Association and of course Beyers Truter. It was a truly fantastic and enlightening experience getting to taste and assess so many top expressions of Pinotage in one moment. But after judging was completed, I could not pass up on the opportunity to visit the great man himself at his eponymous winery Beyerskloof to taste through a fabulous archive selection of his wines.

The Stellenbosch estate was planted in 2003 and started using their own fruit from the 2007/8 vintages.

Beyerskloof Pinotage Reserve 2005, WO Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch, 14 Abv.

Normally a combination 30% New oak using a selection of 2 or 3 better blocks. Bright earthy brambly nose with graphite an wood spice. Bright crisp acids with vibrant nervy black fruits and a savoury, steely finish. Holding up very well.

(Wine Safari 90+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Beyerskloof Pinotage Reserve 2004, WO Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch, 14 Abv.

Rich savoury oak complexity with boot polish, black cherry and graphite notes. Palate shows sweet and sour plum, plenty of punchy depth, mineral tannins and fine pin point freshness.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood)

Beyerskloof Pinotage Reserve 2003, WO Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch, 15 Abv.

From a warm, dry year, the nose shows slightly riper baked, sun dried fruit notes, strawberry jam, raisined cranberries and a round opulence with a creamy oak profile, plenty of generosity and great drinkability. The aromatics may have suffered from the heat but the palate fruit is certainly vital and punchy.

(Wine Safari Score: 89/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Beyerskloof Synergy 2006 Cape Blend, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5 Abv.

A blend of 41% Pinotage, 41% Shiraz, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot. Rich bright youthful nose, this is a really complex melange of black fruits, and savoury meaty fruit. On the palate there is a smokey charcoal embers spice, gun smoke and sweet black fruit, cured meats and clean bright acids.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Beyerskloof Synergy 2005 Cape Blend, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5 Abv.

A blend of 50% Pinotage, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot. Savoury ripe brambly fruits, earth and wood spice. The palate is vibrant yet mature, but shows a beautiful texture and polish demeanour. There are some stewed fruit notes to begin but the lasting impression is overt opulence, good purity and a harmonious texture.

(Wine Safari Score: 90/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Beyerskloof Synergy 2004 Cape Blend, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5 Abv.

A blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Pinotage, 30% Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot. Opulent nose of sweet wet tobacco, cassis, black cherry and blue berry fruits. Wonderfully sleek, lithe, harmonious and finely poised with light touch tannins, superb acidity and an overall youthful persona. Delicious.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Beyerskloof Field Blend 2009, WO Stellenbosch, 14 Abv.

A blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Merlot. Aged in 100% new French oak for 21-23 months. Attractive fragrant nose of dried mint leaf, potpourri, violets and savoury black currant and black plum. Grilled herbs and spice show a more compact, dense vintage that is 2009 with multi layers of flavour, texture and nuanced black berry complexity. A very smart expression.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Beyerskloof Field Blend 2008, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5 Abv.

A blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon and 37% Merlot. Dark deep, broody black fruit with notes of grilled herbs, sweet tobacco, black currant and leafy spice. The palate shows a sappy sweet / sour note, spicy wood tannins and good opulence but the showy nose is a little less revealing on the palate finishing with stewed red fruit notes.

(Wine Safari Score: 89/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Beyerskloof Field Blend 2007, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5 Abv.

A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot. Cool dark broody nose with earthy sweet smokey spicy black fruits, tobacco and tannery leather, mint leaf and savoury black currant. Fleshy, balanced, a touch of sappy leafy fruit and a graphite finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 88+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Head to Head ~ Kanonkop Versus Beyerskloof Pinotage…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 3 Comments

My recent tasting and lunch with Beyers Truter raised a lot of questions around Pinotage – it’s styles, it’s ageability and it’s future. Who better to explore these questions with than Mr Pinotage himself, Beyers Truter. So after our lunch, I assured him I’d explore these questions in more depth when I had access to my cellar in Pretoria where many of his vinous gems lurk. Here’s my assessment…


Kanonkop 1997 Vs Beyerskloof 1998:


Kanonkop Pinotage 1997 Magnum, Stellenbosch, 13 Abv.

Perfect cork, this Magnum started off a touch muted as would be expected. But 30-45 minutes of breathing reavealed a dense, powerful wine. From a very late, long hanging vintage, the nose is full of sweet bramble berry fruits, cedar spice, raisined red berries, strawberry confit and cherry pastille sweets. Hardly any tertiary notes at 20 years of age suggest this wine is still a baby. The palate is fleshy and opulent, showing sweet tannins, raisoned cranberries, red orchard fruits, strawberry jam, red apples and black plum. The texture is dense and broad, carrying much more concentration and weight of fruit than you’d expect on a 13 Abv wine. The finish is sappy and spicy, sweetly fruited and complex with a long, youthful finish. Give this another 10+ years I reckon. 

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)



Beyerskloof Pinotage 1998, Stellenbosch, 13 Abv. 

Interesting style departure between these two wines, with the Beyerskloof coming across in a much crunchier, red fruited expression as if it was trying to advertise its Cinsaut parentage. The nose is bright and spicy, with cedary, sappy, stalky complexity marrying well with red plum, bramble berries, redcurrant and cranberry tartness. Whether from vintage variation or fruit source, there is much more herbal tension, crushed leaves and spicy sappy red berry fruit. The tannins are soft, precise and very sweet, with the mid palate developing a ‘strawberry jam on white toast’ opulence. Due to its crunchier, fresher style, the granitic minerality is much more pronounced than on the Kanonkop, making this feel more like a food wine than the Kanonkop. No rush to drink this up as I’d like to see more tertiary Pinot Noir’ish, foresty complexity in another 8 to 10 years. An intriguing expression. 

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW) 


So after much tasting and retasting, I put the question to my guests… which did they consider the better wine? A tough question considering the Beyerskloof probably cost less than a third of the price of a bottle of Kanonkop at the time and was also probably made to be drunk younger (the label says drink within 8 years).

So the verdict is the same score with Kanonkop getting an extra + based on its assured age ability, its youthfulness, its density and its track record. But the real winner has to be Beyerskloof for is freshness, purity, mineral depth, and great value. 

Catching Up In London with “Mr Pinotage”, Beyers Truter ~ A South African Wine Trade Legend…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

It was great to spend time catching up with Beyers Truter at the London Wine Trade Fair this past week to taste a selection of his wines including his new(ish) Trail Dust Pinotage, Cinsaut and Pinot Noir Blend as well as his full Beyerskloof range. His Bordeaux blends, needless to say, have always been real favourites of mine. But it is of course Pinotage that he is best known for. 


Beyers is the founder and Chairman of the Pinotage Association starting his own practical career actually working with table grapes before starting his winemaking career at the now famous Kanonkop winery. Known as Mr Pinotage, he has been producing Pinotage wines since 1981 and it has always been one of his greatest passions, or even obsessions. 


Today he is the cellarmaster and owner of Beyerskloof winery near Stellenbosch. In 1991 he was named international Winemaker of the Year for his Kanonkop Pinotage 1989 at the International Wine and Spirit Competition and also famously won the prestigious Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande Trophy for the World’s Best Bordeaux Blend with his 1991 Kanonkop Paul Sauer. 


Spending a last few days in London with his partner Lorraine Geldenhuys, who runs the Elsenberg Wine Cellar, taking in the summer sights and sounds of London, Beyers and I made a date to meet up again for a last few glasses of fine wine and fabulous oysters and seafood, before they headed back to South Africa.


I was fascinated to hear about the wine making venture Beyers is heading up in Angola with one of the countries 4 top army generals, planting among other things, Cabernet, Rubernet, Syrah and Pinotage. The vines are still young but the high altitude vineyards show great potential and it will be fascinating to taste these wines in due course.


Over lunch we enjoyed a few beautiful bottles including a Jean-Claude Ramonet Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Belles Filles 2014 Blanc that was salty, briney, fresh and supremely intense and focused with pithy white citrus and liquid minerals (94/100 GS); a fabulously serious Comtes Lafon Meursault 2011 that was initially tight and dense, but slowly opened up to unfurl a masterclass in Chardonnay showing yellow citrus, pithy minerality, dry lemon, a touch of reduction and just a delicate lick of oak (94+/100 GS); and finally a very attractive bottle of Domaine Dujac Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2011 which it turns out is one of Beyers’ favourite Burgundy appellations. The wine was beautifully fragrant with violets, cherry blossom and sappy forest fruits, following to a sappy, spicy, chalky palate with polished black berry fruits, plum and forest strawberries. Over lunch the wine just opened up to give more, and more, and more! A wow wine that’s young but sooo pretty. (96/100 GS).


Such a privilege to spend quality time with another of my ultimate South African wine legends. I look forward to visiting Beyers at Beyerskloof Winery hopefully later in the year.