First Lady Pinotage
£11.99
£15.99 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
In Stock — 13 bottles available
Pinotage made for easy enjoyment, bright, juicy, and brimming with red cherry and strawberry fruit. This is Warwick Estate's accessible introduction to South Africa's signature grape, named for pioneering winemaker Norma Ratcliffe. Light on its feet, finely textured, and ready to pour on a Tuesday night or share with friends who think they don't like Pinotage.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
UK wide delivery
Expert curated
Our Verdict
We list a lot of Pinotage, and the First Lady is the one we recommend most often to customers who are new to the grape, or who have been burned by clumsier examples in the past. Warwick has resisted the temptation to make this big and smoky; instead it's all about bright fruit, easy tannins and genuine drinkability. At under twelve pounds it's a properly clever buy. Perfect for Pinotage sceptics, midweek meals, and anyone wanting a soft introduction to Stellenbosch before stepping up to Warwick's flagship reds.
Tasting Notes
The nose lifts with rose petal, fresh redcurrant and a tumble of strawberry and red cherry, with a wisp of spice in the background. The palate stays bright and lively, finely textured tannins frame red cherry, strawberry and ripe plum, while a savoury thread of rooibos tea and bitter chocolate adds intrigue. The finish is dry and clean, with cedarwood and a touch of oak spice keeping everything elegant rather than heavy.
About This Wine
If you've ever been put off Pinotage by something heavy or rustic, this is the bottle that changes your mind. Warwick Estate has long been one of the Cape's most respected family-run names, and their First Lady range is the friendly front door to everything they do, a wine built around freshness, fruit, and that distinctive Pinotage character without any of the heaviness. The nose lifts out of the glass with red cherry, fresh strawberry, rose petal and a wisp of spice. The palate follows suit: bright and lively, with finely powdery tannins carrying flavours of ripe plum, red cherry and a gentle savoury note that hints at rooibos tea and cedar. The finish is dry, clean, and quietly persistent, much more refined than the £12 price tag suggests. Warwick sits on the granite slopes of the Simonsberg mountain in Stellenbosch, where cool breezes off False Bay temper the African sun and give the grapes time to develop perfume as well as ripeness. The First Lady label honours Norma Ratcliffe, who became one of the first women to make wine commercially in South Africa when she planted vines here in the 1960s. Pour it with a Sunday roast lamb, a charred-edge burger from the barbecue, or a midweek mushroom risotto, it's that versatile. We ship across the UK, and it makes a thoughtful gift for anyone curious about South African wine or sending a taste of the Cape to someone who misses home.
Food Pairing
This is mid-week food wine in the best sense, bright enough for charcuterie and a wedge of mature Cheddar, structured enough for a Sunday roast. Try it with grilled lamb chops, a sticky bowl of bolognese, or a smoky braai-style chicken thigh. The rooibos and cedar notes also love duck breast with a cherry or plum reduction.
- —Grilled lamb chops with rosemary
- —Slow-cooked beef and tomato bolognese
- —Smoky barbecued chicken thighs
- —Duck breast with cherry reduction
- —Mature Cheddar with quince paste
How to Serve
Decanting
Decanting isn't essential, but 30 to 45 minutes in a decanter or open bottle lets the rose petal and red fruit aromatics lift and the powdery tannins relax into the wine.
Ageing & Cellaring
Drinking beautifully now, with the fruit fresh and tannins already supple. If you'd rather hold a bottle or two, it has the structure to develop in the cellar for another three to five years, gaining savoury, earthy complexity as the primary cherry fruit settles down.
The Land
The Simonsberg's lower slopes are built on decomposed granite, well-drained, mineral-rich soils that suit red varieties especially well. Combined with the moderating breezes from False Bay, the site lets Pinotage ripen fully while holding on to freshness and lift.
The Winemaking
Hand-picked at optimal ripeness, the fruit is destemmed straight into tank for a short, careful maceration, four to seven days on the skins depending on how the tannins are shaping up, with gentle pump-overs three or four times a day to coax out colour and flavour without overextracting. Malolactic fermentation happens in tank, softening the acidity and locking in that supple, juicy texture. A whisper of oak spice rounds things off, but the focus stays squarely on bright, lifted Pinotage fruit.