Groot Constantia’s Pinotage Legacy Continues to Earn Recognition

 Three recent accolades for Groot Constantia’s Pinotage highlight the quality, character and ageing potential of South Africa’s signature cultivar, from the 2024 vintage to a 2016 wine recognised for its ability to evolve over time.

Groot Constantia’s Pinotage has earned three accolades in 2026, with the 2024 vintage receiving Double Gold at the National Wine Challenge and a Top 20 finalist position in the ABSA Top 10 Pinotage Awards, scoring 93.40/100. The estate’s 2016 Pinotage received an Award of Excellence at the ABSA Vintage Pinotage Excellence Awards. Together, the accolades highlight the quality and ageing potential of Pinotage at South Africa’s oldest wine-producing farm.

As the South African wine industry celebrates more than 100 years of Pinotage, these recent accolades provide an opportunity to reflect on the place this uniquely South African cultivar holds at Groot Constantia, and what its wines can continue to offer in the years ahead.

Pinotage has been part of Groot Constantia’s story for generations. For winemaker Daniel Keulder, that history is part of what makes the estate’s Pinotage distinctive. “We have one of the most complete collections of Pinotage in our vinoteque, with our oldest single-variety Pinotage dating back to 1965,” says Keulder. “That wine was made only six years after the first Pinotage was bottled in 1959. Since then, Groot Constantia has consistently produced Pinotage as a single variety.”

While the cultivar is often associated with warmer wine-growing regions, Groot Constantia’s cooler conditions give its Pinotage a different character. The vines grow on the lower slopes of the farm, predominantly facing south, where slower ripening allows flavours to develop gradually. The South-Easter during flowering also naturally keeps yields lower, helping to bring greater concentration and complexity to the grapes.

Once the grapes reach the cellar, the aim is to bring out the fruit, colour and structure of the wine. Different batches are carefully worked through fermentation before undergoing malolactic fermentation and spending 12 months in 300-litre French oak barrels. They are then blended to create the final Groot Constantia expression.

“I fell in love with the Groot Constantia expression of Pinotage back in 2010,” says Keulder. “What I love about it is the pure fruit expression on the nose, followed by the structured, full-bodied character that is so traditional of Pinotage.”

Stay connected with Groot Constantia on Facebook and Instagram @GrootConstantia. For more information and to explore the estate’s story, wines and visitor experiences, visit www.grootconstantia.co.za.