FROM 112 TO 20: ABSA TOP 20 PINOTAGE FINALISTS REVEALED – 20 August 2026

Stellenbosch leads the 2026 shortlist, Durbanville makes a strong showing, and finalists stretch from Constantia to the Koo Plateau as the countdown begins to the Absa Top 10 Pinotage Awards on 27 August.

From 112 wines entered by 59 producers, just 20 remain in contention for the 2026 Absa Top 10 Pinotage honours and this year’s shortlist offers an interesting snapshot of the regions, vintages and styles currently shaping South African Pinotage.

Stellenbosch emerges as the strongest regional presence. Of the 112 wines entered, 39 carried Stellenbosch Wine of Origin, accounting for almost 35% of the total field. Nine of those wines have progressed to the Top 20, meaning Stellenbosch now represents 45% of the finalist line-up.

Durbanville has also made its presence felt. Thirteen Durbanville wines were entered in the competition, with four progressing to the Top 20, 20% of the finalist field.

Beyond these two leading regions, the shortlist tells a much broader geographical story. The twenty finalists represent nine Wine of Origin designations, with wines from Stellenbosch, Durbanville, Constantia, Swartland, Wellington, Malmesbury, the Koo Plateau, Cape Town and the broader Western Cape all still in contention.

That spread reflects an entry field that reached well beyond Pinotage’s better-known strongholds. The 2026 competition attracted wines carrying origins ranging from Bot River, Bottelary and Breedekloof to Citrusdal Mountain, Darling, Piekenierskloof, Robertson, Scherpenheuvel and Worcester.

Four wines put Beyerskloof firmly in the Top 20

Another notable feature of this year’s shortlist is the number of producers securing more than one finalist position.

Beyerskloof Wines leads with four wines in the Top 20: the 2022 and 2023 vintages of Beyerskloof Diesel Pinotage, the 2023 Beyerskloof Kriekbult Pinotage and the 2024 Beyerskloof Winemakers Reserve Pinotage.

Diemersdal follows with three finalists: the 2023 Diemersdal Pinotage Reserve, 2024 Diemersdal The Journal Pinotage and 2025 Diemersdal Pinotage, while Groot Phesantekraal has two wines in the final field.

Together, Beyerskloof, Diemersdal and Groot Phesantekraal account for nine of the twenty finalist positions. At the same time, another eleven producers each have one wine in the Top 20, creating a shortlist that combines concentrated producer representation with a broad field of contenders.

“When you start with 112 wines and get down to twenty, making this list already means something,” says Beyers Truter, Chairman of the Pinotage Association. “What I enjoy is seeing Pinotage coming from different places and through different hands. There isn’t only one way to make good Pinotage. These twenty wines have earned their place; now the difficult part is getting from twenty to ten.”

The 2024 vintage takes half the finalist positions

The twenty finalists span four consecutive vintages, from 2022 through to 2025.

The 2024 vintage is the most strongly represented, accounting for ten of the twenty wines. Six finalists are from 2023, three from 2025 and one from 2022.

The entry data also offers an interesting view of the styles producers chose to put forward this year.

Of the 112 Pinotages entered, 76 – almost 68% – were classified in the Full style category. A further 32 wines were entered as Medium, while only two were classified as Light and two as Medium/Full.

While the figures should not be read as a broader measure of consumer preference, they do show that fuller expressions remain firmly at the centre of the wines producers submitted to the competition in 2026.

Thank you to the 2026 Judging panel: Etienne Louw (panel convener), Wynand Lategan, Lucinda Heyns, Kiara Scott, Moses Magwaza.

2026 Absa Top 20 Pinotage Finalists

Twenty now. Ten next.

The Top 20 represents the final stage before the ten wines that will carry the 2026 Absa Top 10 Pinotage distinction are revealed.

The winners will be announced at the Absa Top 10 Pinotage Awards on 27 August 2026 at La Valle, Slanghoek, Rawsonville, where guests will also have the opportunity to taste the twenty finalist wines ahead of the formal awards announcement.

With only 20 wines remaining from an original field of 112, making the shortlist is already a significant achievement.

For now, there are twenty names on the list. On 27 August, that number becomes ten.

Contact brand@pinotage.co.za or visit pinotage.co.za

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