Swartland Founders Pinotage
£10.99
£14.65 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Out of Stock
Pinotage doesn't have to be a heavyweight. This Swartland red is the easy-going side of South Africa's own grape: soft, juicy, full of forest-fruit charm and just enough structure to keep things interesting. If you've been put off by bold, smoky Pinotage in the past, start here. A friendly weeknight bottle that overdelivers for the money.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
UK wide delivery
Expert curated
Our Verdict
We rate this as one of the smartest introductions to Pinotage on our shelves. So many examples shout; this one simply gets on with being delicious, and that takes real skill at this price. We keep recommending it to customers who think they don't like Pinotage, and it quietly wins them over every time. It is the bottle to reach for on a Tuesday with a bowl of pasta, no occasion required. If you enjoy it and want to explore the grape's bolder, smokier side next, we can happily point you towards a Stellenbosch example from our South African range.
Tasting Notes
Soft, juicy and easy to like. The nose leads with ripe forest fruits: bramble, blackberry and a little dark cherry, all bright rather than jammy. The palate follows through with the same supple red and black fruit, kept fresh by a lively seam of acidity that stops it feeling heavy. Tannins are present but well behaved, giving just enough structure to carry the fruit without drying the finish. It closes clean and fruit-driven, which is exactly why it slips down so easily over a midweek dinner.
About This Wine
Here's the thing about Pinotage: most people only know the big, brooding version. This one shows you the other side, and it might just change your mind. Made from South Africa's signature grape, born when a Stellenbosch professor crossed Pinot Noir and Cinsault back in 1925, the Swartland Founders is all about approachability. Expect juicy ripe forest fruits, blackberry and dark cherry, with a fresh streak of acidity that keeps it lively and well-judged tannins that give it shape without weighing it down. It is unoaked and built for early drinking, so there's no need to wait. Pour it now, lightly cool at around 13 to 14 degrees. The Swartland sits about 70km north of Cape Town, a warm, wild stretch of the Western Cape cooled by Atlantic breezes. That mix of sunshine and sea air is exactly why these grapes deliver small berries with big, generous flavour. This is a midweek hero. It loves a simple tomato pasta, a margherita or pepperoni pizza, or a board of cured meats while you wait for the oven. It is also a smart, low-risk gift for anyone curious about South African reds, and we deliver across the UK, straight to the door. Honest, characterful, and easy to love.
Food Pairing
This is built for relaxed, fruit-friendly food. It loves a tomato-rich pasta, a margherita or pepperoni pizza fresh from the oven, or a simple spaghetti bolognese on a weeknight. The bright acidity cuts cleanly through tomato and melted cheese, while the soft tannins sit happily alongside grilled sausages or a Friday-night burger. Easy company for easy cooking.
- —Margherita or pepperoni pizza
- —Spaghetti bolognese
- —Tomato and basil penne arrabbiata
- —Grilled pork sausages with mash
- —Homemade beef burgers
How to Serve
Decanting
No decanting needed. This is a soft, ready-to-drink style with gentle tannins, so it shows its juicy fruit happily straight from the bottle into the glass.
Behind the Wine
Swartland is one of the Cape's warmer, drier corners, and that sunshine is exactly what gives this Pinotage its generous, ripe-fruited character. But it is not all heat. Cool breezes rolling in off the Atlantic temper the days and stretch out ripening, holding on to the bright, refreshing acidity you taste alongside the juicy berry fruit. The grapes come off hillside farms with a patchwork of microclimates, and that variety of sites is what builds the wine's full flavour while keeping it soft and easy to drink.
Ageing Potential
Drink this one young. It is an unoaked, fruit-forward style made for immediate enjoyment, at its best within a year or two of buying when the bramble fruit is at its freshest. There is nothing to gain from cellaring; open it and enjoy it.
The Land
The fruit comes from vineyards spread across the hills around Malmesbury, where diverse soils and a mosaic of microclimates each leave their mark. Cool Atlantic breezes wash over the sites while the nearby mountains shape the ripening, together giving the grapes both fullness of flavour and that refreshing line of acidity.
The Winemaking
This is Pinotage made for pleasure rather than patience. There is no heavy oak getting in the way here, just clean, fruit-forward winemaking that keeps those forest-berry flavours front and centre. The tannins are handled gently, structured enough to give the wine shape but soft enough to drink straightaway. The result is bright, juicy and approachable, a wine built to be enjoyed young and fresh rather than tucked away in a cellar.
About the Producer
Swartland Winery
Swartland Winery has been a quiet workhorse of the Western Cape for over seventy years. It started life as a cooperative cellar, farmers pooling their fruit, sharing the work, building something bigger than any single grower could manage alone. That cooperative spirit still runs through the place, even after it restructured into a private wine company with three business units under one roof. Today, from its base just outside Malmesbury, the winery turns out around fifty-one different styles across red, white, sparkling and fortified. The Founders range sits at the everyday end of the lineup: lifestyle wines designed for the dinner table, not the cellar, but made with the same attention as the single-vineyard bottlings further up the range.