Wine of the week: a world-class pinot from South Africa

published 26 March 2021

2019 Restless River, Le Luc Pinot Noir, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, South Africa

£45, reduced to £39 for MoneyWeek readers, swig.co.uk - use voucher code RESTLESS0221

I wrote about winemaker Craig Wessels’ extraordinary 2013 Restless River Chardonnay on this very page back in September 2016. In my eyes, it was the wine that turned this estate from a new kid on the block, like so many cool brands in the fast-moving South African wine scene, into an estate worth hunting down at all times on all restaurant menus and in all wine shops.

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The vineyards were planted back in 1999 and the vines are certainly finding their feet in this idyllic setting at 360-metre altitude, some three miles from the chilly South Atlantic Ocean. Famous for making stalwart cabernet and mind-blowing chardonnay, Craig planted his pinot noir vines in 2013 and this is his finest release to date. Having said this, and please bear in mind that the vines are still only babies, this is one of my favourite Cape pinots of all time. Goodness knows what will happen when these vines mature, driving their roots deeper into the soil, and Craig has even more experience playing with his stellar fruit, but I would urge you to do all you can to taste this wine.

Swig and MoneyWeek are old friends and so all of our readers have been given a special deal. At £39 this is a vitally important world-class pinot that should be opened and assessed by everyone as obsessed with this stellar red grape as I am.

Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com)

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Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’. He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.