Set in the Swartland, owned by Boekenhoutskloof, the Porseleinberg Syrah is independently made by Callie. If ever a man embodied a wine, it must be Mr. Louw. Having painstakingly restored a vintage 1940s Heidelberg press which he uses to print his own labels, he says in an interview: “I do my own labels, I make my own wine, I grow my own grapes, it’s all good.” The ease of that statement belies the effort that has gone into the production of these immaculate, white labeled bottles of Rhône-style Syrah.
Swartland Independent Producers
As a member of the Swartland Independent Producers, Porseleinberg is a proud, pure expression of its terroir. Callie explains that the rocky land is in fact a great advantage, allowing the vines to establish deep, intricate root networks paired with near perfect drainage conditions. Grapes from this piece of land have been used by a number of ‘rock-star’ winemakers, most notably for the first botteling of Eben Sadie’s sought-after Columella, ‘an African Star’. As such, there is not much in the way of intricate winemaking techniques, Callie says: “The winemaking side of things is an opportunity to see how well you have farmed.” Hence his choice of ‘farmer’, not ‘winemaker’.
Our Allocation
Given the conditions the production of Porseleinberg is very small. Each distributor is given a limited allocation of wine, which is only awarded on visiting the farm. Your wine labels are then hand-printed and customised with an authentication seal and collector’s number. We are not overly excited to part with any of them, but are willing to part with at least SOME of them. A labour of love and something we’d very much suggest you hold on to. Of the 2016 vintage Tim Atkin rated it a stellar 96 points and commented: "If ever a South African wine tasted of specific place it is Porseleinberg, the Cape's answer to Cornas in terms of its dense, compact structure, but with a personality that is all its own: wild, savoury and unruly with tannins that can be demanding in their youth. Fermented with 100% whole bunches and aged in a combination of concrete eggs and foudres, it's ripe, but not overly so, with notes of garrigue and tangerine and a stony, compact finish. 2022-35." Which, if you were to go by THAT, the 2017 would very much be a sure thing, no?
