Seriously Cool Cinsault
£12.89
£17.19 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Out of Stock
Cinsault is the Cape's quiet revolution, light on its feet, savoury, food-friendly, and finally getting the attention it deserves. This Helderberg bottling comes from old bush vines whispering distance from False Bay, and delivers bright cherry fruit, a twist of black pepper and a fynbos-scented finish. Seriously drinkable, seriously good value.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
UK wide delivery
Expert curated
Our Verdict
We keep coming back to this one. South African Cinsault has become one of the most interesting corners of the Cape, and Boutinot's Seriously Cool is the bottle we hand to anyone who wants to understand why, without committing to the £30 versions further up the shelf. Old Helderberg bush vines, wild-yeast fermentation and a featherlight touch in the cellar give you something genuinely soulful at a midweek price. Lightly chill it, pour generously, and watch a dinner table go quiet for the right reasons. Stock comes and goes quickly on this one.
Tasting Notes
Bright cherry and cranberry lead on the nose, lifted by a savoury whisper of fynbos and a twist of black pepper. The palate is medium-bodied and translucent rather than heavy, with juicy red fruit running across taut, refreshing acidity. Tannins are fine and powdery, present enough to give structure, soft enough to drink without food. The finish is long, warm and gently spiced, with a dried-herb edge that keeps you reaching back for the glass.
Fresh Cherry Lift
Crunchy red cherry and cranberry sit at the heart of this wine, giving it juicy brightness and an easygoing, thirst-quenching character.
Fynbos & Wild Herbs
A savoury, scrubby note of Cape fynbos and dried herbs adds intrigue and stops the fruit becoming sweet or simple.
Black Pepper Spice
Subtle cracked pepper lifts the nose and follows through on the finish, the kind of gentle spice that begs for grilled food.
About This Wine
If you've been waiting for a red that drinks like a great Beaujolais but tastes unmistakably of the Cape, your wait is over. Cinsault was once dismissed as a workhorse blending grape in South Africa, these days, it's one of the most exciting categories coming out of the country, and this is your easy way in.
The fruit comes from 50- to 60-year-old bush vines tucked into the Helderberg hills above False Bay, where ocean breezes and fynbos-covered slopes draw out a long, slow ripening. Yields are kept deliberately low, the grapes are hand-harvested and whole-bunch fermented in big wooden vats, and the wild yeasts on the berries do the work, no shortcuts, no heavy hand. Eight months in older 600-litre French oak barrels rounds everything off without ever masking the fruit.
In the glass, expect fresh cherry and cranberry, a flick of black pepper, dried herbs and that distinctive savoury, scrubland lift the Cape does so well. Tannins are soft, the acidity is taut and lively, and the finish goes on for ages. Pour it slightly chilled and it shines alongside roast chicken, charcuterie boards, grilled lamb chops, or a Tuesday-night pizza with friends.
A proper crowd-pleaser with substance underneath, and exactly the kind of bottle that turns sceptics into Cinsault converts. We ship right across the UK, usually within a couple of working days, and it makes a brilliant introductory gift for anyone curious about modern South African wine.
Food Pairing
This is a versatile food wine that punches above its weight at the table. The bright acidity cuts through fat while the gentle tannins step aside for delicate proteins. Try it slightly chilled with charcuterie on a summer evening, alongside roast chicken on a Sunday, or with anything that comes off a smoking barbecue. It also handles spice better than most reds.
- —Herb-roasted chicken with crispy potatoes
- —Charcuterie board with saucisson and cornichons
- —Grilled lamb koftas with tzatziki
- —Duck breast with cherry sauce
- —Mushroom and thyme tagliatelle
How to Serve
Temperature
Slightly cooler than typical room temperature. Twenty minutes in the fridge before pouring brings the fruit into focus.
Decanting
No need to decant, but a quick 20-minute pour into a carafe wakes up the aromatics nicely. Heavy-handed decanting will only blow off the delicate cherry and fynbos notes that make this wine special.
Glass
A medium Burgundy bowl suits this best, enough room for the perfumed nose without overwhelming its lighter frame.
Cellaring
Store on its side somewhere dark and cool, ideally 12-14°C. Keep no longer than two to three years to catch it at its fruit-driven best.
Ageing & Cellaring
Built for early drinking, pour it now while the cherry fruit is singing. There's enough structure from the old-vine fruit and oak ageing to hold for two or three years if you'd rather wait, but this isn't a wine that demands cellaring. Drink it young, drink it often.
The Land
Bush vines between fifty and sixty years old, planted on Helderberg slopes within reach of False Bay's cooling breezes. Yields are kept to a tiny four tonnes per hectare, these old vines simply don't give more, which concentrates flavour while the ocean proximity holds onto natural acidity and stretches ripening into a long, even finish.
The Winemaking
Whole bunches go into large wooden fermenters, where wild yeasts living on the grape skins kick fermentation off from inside the berry, no cultured yeast, no shortcuts. After a few days of this intracellular start, the cap is gently foot-punched twice a day to coax flavour out without bruising the fruit. The wine spends at least thirty days on skins, then drains by gravity into second and third-fill 600-litre French oak barrels, where it finishes malolactic and rests for eight months. No fining, no tartaric, no enzymes, just sulphur and patience.
About the Producer
Boutinot
Paul Boutinot spent years searching the world for a site that could make wine on his terms. He found it on the Schapenberg, a windswept ridge above Somerset West looking out over False Bay and the Atlantic. From day one Waterkloof was farmed organically, with biodynamic conversion following soon after. Cattle, sheep and goats roam the estate producing compost and grazing cover crops, and draught horses do the work tractors usually do, keeping the soil loose and alive. Cellarmaster Nadia Barnard, who joined at the very beginning and now runs the cellar, takes those naturally balanced grapes and gives them as little intervention as possible. It's farming as philosophy, and you can taste it.