L’Avenir, Stellenbosch (South Africa) Pinotage Rosé 2016

Everybody knows that Pinotage has its detractors (both within South Africa but especially elsewhere around the world, though the number of detractors who have actually tasted recent releases has declined dramatically, and I am among those with a recently revived respect for the variety.  Be that as it may, the team at L’Avenir likes Pinotage a lot more than Cabernet Sauvignon or Cab Franc for making rosé, and this wine provides a convincing case in point.  It shows lovely, classy pale color and very pretty fruit to match, and though this is a decidedly dry wine (only 1.6 grams per liter of residual sugar, which is very low by global standards for rosé), it is quite flavorful and by no means austere.  One can only imagine how exciting the even fresher 2017 will be when released soon, but there’s no rush…this still tastes terrific.