Syrah

Our Syrah grapes were hand-harvested into lug boxes and transported to Boekenhoutskloof in Franschhoek for vinification. Grapes were cooled in our cold room, then transferred to our tulip-shaped concrete tanks for fermentation. A combination of partially destemmed and whole-bunch (65%) clusters fermented spontaneously with minimal sulphur additions and no acidification. A soft delestage was performed 2–3 times per day.

Grapes for our Boekenhoutskloof Syrah are picked from select parcels of the finest Syrah grown at our Swartland farms, Porseleinberg (90%) and Goldmine (10%), close to the small town of Riebeek-Kasteel. The Porseleinberg vineyard was planted on an extremely hard and rocky bedrock of decomposed Mica-Schist; a unique ward-defining terroir within the appellation. The vineyards on Goldmine sit on the south-west slopes of the Kasteelberg and comprise of Brown Schist with deposits of Table Mountain sandstone, which is weathered and washed from the adjacent mountain. The delicate combination of these two properties allow for this expression of both concentrated and structured wines, made from this Rhône grape. The winter preceding the 2022 harvest was one of the wettest in the past five years, yet it maintained sufficient cold units to allow the vines to enter dormancy. Spring brought consistent budding alongside additional rainfall, which resulted in vigorous canopy growth and a relatively late veraison. By January, hot weather and heat spikes during ripening created a narrow window for harvest. This vintage will be remembered for its swiftness and intense pace.

Once maceration was complete, the skins were basket pressed and gravity-fed into traditional 2 500L Austrian oak foudres and 600L demi-muids for further ageing of up to 18 months.