4 ½ Stars 2025 John Platter’s South African Wine Guide Tribute to long time grower Billy ‘Guillermo’ Hughes, 21 (94 pts) includes splash syrah, has scented black fruit-pastille flavours woven with fine chalky tannins. Natural ferment, ageing in mostly older oak.90 pts Tim Atkin MW 2023 Jeremy Borg combines components from both shale and granite soils to produce his juicy, intense Swartland Pinotage, maturing the result in French and American oak. Smooth, sappy and floral, it has bramble and summer berry flavours, hint of toast and coconut and some stony zip. 2023-2790 pts Wine Advocate June 2025 The Painted Wolf 2021 Swartland Guillermo Pinotage opens to a combination of earthy aromas and fruity ones. The earthy side is very clean and fragrant with flinty soil and iris root, and the fruity side leans into currant berries, grilled watermelon and tart pomegranate. I recommend drinking this wine while those aromas are still young and fresh. The grapes are picked off of old unirrigated bush vines that produce low yields. The wine ages in French and American oak, with 20% new wood. Production is 14,000 bottles. 2024-2029
