Cinsault is a red grape variety which tends to produce red wines of soft structure, often quite scented in their youth, but with a surprising ability to take bottle age. It is clearly an old variety; DNA analysis suggests that it hails from the Languedoc area of southern France, yet it long ago spread its wings and colonised parts of Spain and southern Italy. When it moved to South Africa, Cinsault was crossed with Pinot Noir to create the Cape's own Pinotage grape.
