Three vineyards at differing altitudes that are planted into granite, schist, and Malmesbury shale unite to express a vivid snapshot of a textbook Swartland Syrah!

96 Vinous
The 2022 Syrah from Swartland comes from mostly shale and schist soils, 25% on granite soils, using 75% whole cluster fruit (the shale using submerged cap during fermentation). Aged in 2,000-liter Austrian oak, this leans more towards red berries, with touches of flint and white pepper with a hint of garrigues coming through with aeration. The medium-bodied palate has finely sculpted tannins. Theres a lovely symmetry and focus here, a gentle but insistent grip with the whole bunches imparting irresistible peppery notes towards the finish. Superb. – By Neal Martin on August 2023

Our Tasting Note: Medium+ ruby core, purple flecks, lighter ruby edges. A medium+ nose, with dark red fruit notes of fresh cherry, currants, and black raspberry, purple florals, violets and lavender, some olive notes, mild and mixed spices enhance the complexity. Medium bodied, med/med+ tannins, mouthwatering med+ acidity, a med+ and persistent palate, should only gain in the cellar. Long and complex on the finish.

Vineyards: There are three vineyards supplying the fruit for this wine. The first bush vine block is situated on the foothills of the Paardeberg, on Jakkalsfontein farm; deeply rooted in ancient free-draining decomposed granite soils. This parcel makes up 25% of the blend, bringing perfume, spice and purity. The second vineyard is an echalas vineyard planted at high altitude on the schist-covered western slopes of the Kasteelberg. The final vineyard, which makes up the largest portion of the wine, is also from the western foothills of the Kasteelberg at an altitude of 340m ASL. This slope consists of an outcrop of schist that faces southeast, and shows plenty of structure and depth of fruit. The Damascene team planted another 2ha of vines on this site in 2023.

Winemaking: This Swartland Syrah has a concentration that is typical of low-yielding vineyards planted in Mediterranean climatic conditions. In light of this, we used whole berry-fermentation to make sure we lost none of the natural elegance promised by the site. Roughly 75% of the fruit was fermented as whole clusters, and fermentation took place in a combination of tulip-shaped concrete fermenters and 1000-litre conical oak vats. Pump-overs occurred no more than twice a day during peak fermentation, and we employed submerged cap fermentation on all fruit that came from vines rooted in schist soils. This technique helps to ensure a broader mouthfeel and better tannin integration. Both primary fermentation and malolactic conversion took place spontaneously, and the wine was then matured on its gross lees in 2000-litre Austrian oak vats for 11 months. No racking took place during this time. The wine was bottled without fining to ensure a more complex and authentic expression of Syrah.