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Announcing the Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Award 2023 winners

In its fourth edition, the Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Awards, an exciting South African wine competition exclusively focused on Pinot Noir red wines, proudly announces the winners of its 2023 awards.

Richard Kershaw Wines Clonal Selection Elgin Pinot Noir 2020

It is broadly acknowledged that Richard Kershaw is possibly one of the geekiest winemakers on the South African wine scene! The award winning winemaker who also boasts a Master of Wine qualification, delves down into the most arcane levels of knowledge in pursuit of understanding the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of things.

Oak Valley Estate Groenlandberg Pinot Noir 2021

Oak Valley Estate Groenlandberg Pinot Noir 2021 is essentially a blend of the four wines which make up the critically acclaimed Oak Valley Tabula Rasa Pinot Noir series.

Iona Vineyards Kroon Pinot Noir 2019

Known as one of the coolest vineyard sites in Elgin, located as it is on the high-lying and appropriately named Highlands Road, Iona Vineyards is ideal for the production of award winning Pinot Noir.

Die Kat se Snor Pinot Noir 2019

Gerhard Smith, winemaker of Kat se Snor (The Cat's Whiskers) Pinot Noir 2019 is no newcomer to Pinot Noir accolades. His regular job is as winemaker at Creation Wines on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, winner of numerous Pinot Noir awards.

Chamonix Reserve Pinot Noir 2020

The Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Awards is thrilled to have a wine from the Franschhoek district in the 2022 line-up of winners, the first time that a wine from outside the Walker Bay and Elgin districts achieved this accolade.

Announcing the Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Award 2022 winners

Top Five Trust is proud to announce the winners of the third edition of the Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Awards, the exciting South African wine competition focusing exclusively on Pinot Noir red wines.

The best Pinot Noir wines in South Africa are ...

The Brew Cru Black Label Pinot Noir 2019

The Brew Cru is an adventure of three pals, chums, compadres, winemaking brothers-in-arms: Bertus Fourie, Johann Fourie and Jesse Balsimo, of Truvino in Minnesota in the United States.

The Black Label Pinot Noir is cerebral and mentally engaging, but also succulent and approachable with a rewarding spicy tail. A beautiful wine that is all too easy to drink and enjoy!

Richard Kershaw Wines The Smuggler's Boot Pinot Noir 2019

“I'm such a nerd!” Richard Kershaw admits with trademark good humour. It's why he adopted the nickname of Rikipedia for himself… he has a repository of knowledge and a curiosity to try new things, to learn more and to experiment like the proverbial mad scientist.

Kershaw's enthusiasm when talking about the Pinot Noir in particular is obvious. “The breathable plastic eggs have been the most interesting,” he said. “They add a certain dimension of freshness to the Pinot.”

La Vierge Wines Noir 2017

With two Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Award winners in the past two years, most folks would say that La Vierge Wines is firmly on the right track!

Elgin Vintners Pinot Noir 2020

It is an amazing achievement for Marinda Kruger-Claasen and her team to achieve a Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Award two years in a row!

“We have a deep connection with and understanding of our vineyards and terroir. We take meticulous care of our vineyards to produce grapes packed with flavour. This process takes a whole season and our role as vintners is to capture these flavours in every glass.”

Benguela Cove Vinography Pinot Noir 2019

The instrument on the Vinography Range label is called a sextant. It was used by ships navigating their way past the southern tip of Africa. The sextant is a play on the winemaker exploring and navigating the best way through the Benguela Cove terroir.

Announcing the Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Award 2021 winners

Top Five Trust is excited to announce the winners of the 2021 edition of the Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Awards. The competition was held on 3 August in Cape Town and saw 64 entries from 42 producers with wines from the 2013 to 2020 vintages inclusively.

The best Pinot Noir wines in South Africa are ...

Brew Cru Pinot Noir 2019

Brew Cru Pinot Noir 2019, a collaboration between winemakers Johann and Bertus Fourie and wine importer Jesse Balsimo, was selected in the exclusive top five of the inaugural 2020 Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir competition.

“We are dedicated to cool climate wines from the Cape South Coast. We source our grapes from maritime wine wards such as Elgin and Walker Bay, which are renowned for producing wines rivalling the wold’s finest and most distinctive.”

Richard Kershaw Wines Elgin Clonal Selection Pinot Noir 2017

Richard Kershaw founded Richard Kershaw Wines in 2012, with the aim to create clonally selected, site specific, cool-climate wines from appropriate noble grapes. One of only ten Masters of Wine who actively make wine, Richard is pursuing his dream in Elgin in the Overberg region of the Western Cape.

“The wine is so balanced, it shows excellent fruit purity, powdery tannins and vibrant acidity.”

La Vierge Wines Apogée Pinot Noir 2016

La Vierge Wines Apogée Pinot Noir 2016, produced in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge near Hermanus, was awarded a coveted position on the 2020 Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Awards list. An apogée is defined as the highest point, a climax or culmination. La Vierge Wines also describe the Apogée series as the very best expression of wine from their vineyards and efforts in the winery.

Elgin Vintners Pinot Noir 2019

Marinda Kruger-Claasen and the team at Elgin Vintners could not contain their excitement on hearing the news that the Elgin Vintners Pinot Noir 2019 placed in the top five of the inaugural Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Awards. “This is so exciting” says Kruger-Claassen, smiling from ear to ear.

Creation Wines Art of Pinot Noir 2018

With their immense knowledge and experience, JC and Carolyn of Creation Wines have been able to pay tribute to one of the oldest wine grape varieties in the world. This has culminated in a heavenly wine and one of the Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir 2020 winners, an extraordinary accomplishment for the farm.

“What makes us especially proud of this award is that the competition seeks to identify wines to serve as a benchmark for the development of distinctive South African Pinot Noir,” says Carolyn of their achievement.

Announcing the 2020 Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Wine Award winners

Top Five Trust and the South African Pinot Noir Association congratulate the winners of 2020 Mosaic Top 5 Pinot Noir Awards. The competition saw a staggering 109 entries from 64 producers with wines from the 2009 to 2020 vintages.

The best Pinot Noir wines in South Africa are ...

Harald Bresselschmidt – Food Magician

Harald Bresselschmidt, from Aubergine and Auslese restaurants, is arguably South Africa's foremost food and wine pairing specialist. He has that unique ability to make both the wine and the dish on your plate taste better together.

"I immediately recognised that Pinot Noir is the most food friendly red wine."

Harald also shares a recipe for a dish that he loves to serve with Pinot Noir.

Miguel Chan on South African Pinot Noir

Miguel Chan, Group Sommelier at Tsogo Sun says: “Pinot Noir is site sensitive, as such, it prefers either a continental climate with a long, cool growing season or alternatively a cold, maritime-influence climate.”

Pinot Noir Harvest Report - 2020

With the 2020 harvest described as one of the shortest and most intense picking seasons on record (ending rather serendipitously for most farms just prior to the national lockdown), it seems Mother Nature might have had more insight into what was in store for the rest of 2020 than anyone else.

Pinot Noir in South Africa

South African Pinot Noir wines are admired and loved by wine connoisseurs for their ability to age, complex aromas and flavours, and tremendous food-pairing versatility.