Eighth Wonder Lively Grove 2011

We recently tried a wine called Lively Grove made with the varietal Pinotage. The wine is from Eighth Wonder in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Created in 1920, Pinotage is a hybrid of Pinot Noir and Cinsault that is indigenous to the Western Cape region. The bottle indicates that Pinotage was dubbed “Red Gold” by the Masters of Wine visiting South Africa in the 1990’s.
The pour is deep cherry-red in color. The nose is a bright and powerful bouquet of black cherry and strawberry. The fragrance is followed by dark berry flavors in a medium bodied mouth feel. The fruit is balanced with some minerality. For the finish, oak and a hint of vanilla finally say hello as the wine is saying goodbye.
At $10, we feel like we got a good run for our money and will probably try it again.