Paul Cluver Pinot Noir 2009, Elgin (£14-15 SA Wines Online, Vivat Bacchus, High Timber Restaurant)
Big toasty oak is the first thing you notice, then raspberries, strawberries (both fresh and cooked) and plums, quite rich, ripe and tasty, but just a little too correct. B(+)

Newton Johnson Pinot Noir 2009, Upper Hemel En Aarde Valley (£18-£18.50 Bibendum, SA Wines Online, Wined Up Here)
A finer, more backward style, still with the juicy plum and red berry flavours, but there’s also some wildness and herbiness here, plus some savoury meaty character, and while there’s again a touch of smoky toasty oak, it’s not as dominant. Classy wine that unfurls over the course of several hours. S(-)

Bouchard Finlayson Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 2009, Walker Bay (£23.50-£25 SA Wines Online, Lea and Sandeman, Red Carnation Hotels, Vivat Bacchus)
Immediately appealing, with juicy, plush velvety blackberry & plum flavours, initially seems very tasty and intense if not hugely subtle, but develops well over the course of a day or so, retaining its silky allure and adding in more cerebral earthy notes. S