Syrah

Meat dishes with rich, deep flavours will pair well with this wine.

Perched on a northeastern-facing slope of Stellenbosch Mountain, these Syrah vines enjoy uninterrupted views across the valley and out toward Table Mountain. The vineyard remains carefully isolated to protect it from neighboring leaf roll infections and has been meticulously farmed to produce fruit of purity and power. The decomposed red-brown granitic soils typical of this part of Stellenbosch provide a perfect foundation for Syrah - well-drained, low in fertility, and able to express minerality and texture with remarkable precision. This 2023 vintage was produced exclusively from clone SH7C, the celebrated Australian clone known for its lush, fruit-forward personality. Unlike the dual-clone combination used in earlier vintages, this release focuses purely on the expressive, opulent side of Syrah - generous red and black fruits, supple tannins, and aromatic intensity. Winter 2022 was cold and wet - a "normal" that's no longer truly normal in our ever-changing climate. With a major El Niño system in the northern hemisphere, we anticipated unpredictability, yet the season proved one of classic timing and balance. The 2023 growing season unfolded evenly. Following an unusually wet spring (September 2023 being the wettest in 50 years) , vine growth was vigorous but well-managed. As summer arrived, warm and dry conditions took hold, ensuring steady ripening and healthy fruit. The resulting crop displayed excellent natural acidity, deep colour, and generous fruit concentration - hallmarks of a near-perfect Syrah year. Harvest took place in late February 2023, with grapes arriving cool and pristine at the cellar.

After pressing, the wine was racked to neutral and third-fill French oak barrels, where it matured gracefully for 24 months. The long élevage refined the tannins into a silk-like texture, integrated the fruit, and allowed natural micro-oxidation to polish the wine s aromatic layers.

From the outset, the intention remained to craft a Syrah of balance and poise - a "golden mean" between the traditional, fruit-laden South African Shiraz style and the lean, peppery Syrah expression favoured by the modern movement. For the 2023 vintage, we introduced 30% whole-bunch fermentation, leveraging stems to amplify aromatic lift and structural tension. Additionally, 20% of the de-stemmed stalks were added back into the ferment, providing a controlled measure of stalk spice and enhancing phenolic grip. Fermentation took place in small open-top fermenters, with gentle extraction through regular punch-downs and a carefully managed oxygen regime. The inclusion of stalks contributed both white and black pepper nuances, restoring spice complexity often subdued in clone SH7C.

Pilgrim Wines is a unique wine company, dedicated to inspire, teach and surprise. We are a small family-owned business with a passion for wine making. Well-known Winemaker Henry Kotzé (former Morgenster and now at the iconic Mulderbosch) carefully crafts the wines for owner and Viticulturist wife Riëtte Kotzé’s Pilgrim Wines brand. We do not have our own vineyards, at the moment we source our grapes from small pockets of vineyards that we have come across in our everyday paths. These distinct parcels of land, happen to be in our home-grown Stellenbosch area and the amazing Voor Paardeberg regions. We partner with like minded ethical growers and believe in leaving nothing but footprints for the next generation. We focus on innovative methods with tried and tested cultivars, as well as experimental styles with unorthodox, unfamiliar cultivars. We like to discover the new and untried pathways in the journey of grape to bottle.