Old Blocks Pinotage by Darling Cellars
£11.39
£15.19 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Only 4 bottles left
South Africa's own grape, grown the hard way: old bush vines on the Darling Hills, dry-farmed within reach of the cool Atlantic. Expect dark cherry, red plum and a warm note of vanilla and coffee, with silky tannins that make it easy to love. Brilliant value, and just the thing for a midweek roast.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
UK wide delivery
Expert curated
Our Verdict
We have a soft spot for Darling. It's one of the most underrated corners of the Cape, and Darling Cellars consistently overdelivers, which is exactly why this Pinotage earns its place with us. We love it for the honesty: real bush-vine fruit, that cooling coastal freshness, and a price that genuinely surprises people. It's the bottle we reach for when someone says they don't get Pinotage, because this one wins them over. Ideal for relaxed weeknight dinners and braai-style cooking. We only get small quantities, so if it's calling to you, don't wait too long.
Tasting Notes
There's a lot going on here, and it all hangs together. The nose is generous and layered: red berries and black cherry up front, then vanilla and butterscotch from the oak staves, with coffee and a hint of strawberry sitting underneath. That sweet-savoury push and pull is classic Pinotage, and it carries straight onto the palate. Red plum fruit, silky tannins, and a structure that holds everything in place. The finish is long and even, more elegant than rustic, which is not always a given with this grape.
About This Wine
Here's a Pinotage that quietly proves a point. The Darling district sits on South Africa's breezy West Coast, where Atlantic mist rolls in over the morning vineyards and afternoon sea breezes keep the heat in check. That cool influence is the secret behind this wine's freshness, and you can taste it from the first sip. The fruit comes from unirrigated bush vines rooted in deep, decomposed granite on the Darling Hills slopes. Low-yielding, dry-farmed and untrellised, these are vines that have to work for every berry, and the concentration shows. There's ripe black cherry and red plum here, a lift of strawberry, then a savoury undertow of coffee and toasted nuts. Twelve months ageing with French and American oak staves adds a gentle thread of vanilla and butterscotch without ever burying the fruit. The tannins are silky, the finish long and balanced. This is everyday South African red wine doing everything right: generous, characterful, properly made. Pour it with a Sunday roast, sticky barbecue ribs, or a wedge of mature Cheddar by the fire. It also makes a thoughtful gift for anyone missing the Cape. Delivered to your door anywhere in the UK, usually within a few days.
Food Pairing
This is a wine built for the grill and the slow oven. Pour it alongside a charcoal-cooked rib-eye, sticky barbecue ribs, or a Sunday lamb roast and the smoky, coffee-edged fruit really sings. The silky tannins also handle a venison casserole or a midweek sausage and mash beautifully. For cheese, reach for a mature Cheddar.
- —Charcoal-grilled rib-eye steak
- —Sticky barbecue pork ribs
- —Slow-roasted lamb shoulder with rosemary
- —Venison and red wine casserole
- —Mature Cheddar with chutney
How to Serve
Decanting
Half an hour in a decanter does this a real favour, loosening the oak and letting the red berry and coffee aromas open up. Not essential, but worthwhile if you have the time.
Behind the Wine
Darling sits close to the Atlantic, and that proximity does the heavy lifting here. Cool morning mist and fog roll in off the ocean, a westerly sea breeze takes the edge off the midday heat, and the wide swing between warm days and cool nights lets the grapes ripen slowly. Darling Cellars works almost entirely with dryland, unirrigated bush vines, so the fruit has to dig deep. The result is Pinotage with ripe red and black fruit, real structure, and a freshness that stops it ever feeling heavy.
Ageing Potential
This is made for drinking now, and it shows beautifully in its youth with all that fresh berry fruit on display. The structure and silky tannins will hold comfortably for another three to four years if you prefer a softer, more savoury profile, but there's no need to wait.
The Land
These vineyards sit on the slopes of the Darling Hills, rooted in deep, decomposed granite soils. As untrellised bush vines farmed without irrigation, they fend for themselves, sending roots down for moisture and naturally keeping yields modest. With the Atlantic close enough to cool those warm afternoons, the fruit ripens evenly and holds onto its lift.
The Winemaking
The approach is all about keeping the fruit front and centre. Grapes are destalked and crushed, then fermented on the skins for around ten days at controlled temperatures to draw out colour, flavour and gentle tannin without overextracting. After the malolactic fermentation softens the wine, it rests for twelve months in stainless steel tanks with French and American oak staves rather than barrels. That choice is deliberate: it adds a whisper of vanilla, coffee and butterscotch warmth while letting the bright cherry and berry character stay in charge.
About the Producer
Darling Cellars
Darling Cellars sits on the Cape West Coast, about seventy-five kilometres north of Cape Town, in a landscape that was dairy country long before anyone thought to plant vines. Founded in the mid-nineties as a privately owned cellar, it's run by a cooperative of around twenty shareholders farming roughly 1,300 hectares, a community venture in the truest sense. Nearly all their vineyards are unirrigated, with bush vines doing what they've always done: pushing roots deep into decomposed granite to find their own water. It's dry farming in its purest form, and it gives the wines a concentration and honesty that you simply can't manufacture. Under the direction of red wine specialist Pieter-Niel Rossouw, the cellar has built a quiet reputation for wines that overdeliver at every price point, genuine, terroir-driven, and refreshingly unpretentious.