Swanesang

Beef, Lamb, Game (deer, venison), Poultry

2021 as a vintage seemed to play out as promising from the start. Fair weather, no heatwaves and dry ripening conditions with notably cooler nights. During mid to late February we had slower ripening. This, for already smaller 2021 crop, meant the build up of deeper concentration. Both notable on the nose as well as palate, while fresh as always from cool maritime winds. In the Helderberg (as with most of Stellenbosch) finding a bushvine Syrah vineyard is like hen’s teeth. As my focus lies towards the small vacinity of Sinai Hill it is even more so scarse. But here lies one special 0,7 ha bushvine trained Syrah vineyard, on a farm called ‘Seelug’. These vines were planted in 1999 with help from my grandfather during his retirement and was one of the last, of many, vineyards he got to plant in his life. The clone is SH1A and the roots are settled in well drained decomposed granite duplex soils, with abundance koffieklip layer further down in the subsoil. The closest Syrah in Stellenbosch from the Atlantic Ocean, at 3.5km. I am grateful to be granted full decision making in viticulture at Seelug (my philosophies are rooted in working mindful with nature to uplift soil health and increase vine vitality).

Aged on its fine lees for 12 months in older 400 L barrels as well as 225’s. No new oak. MLF spontaneously in barrel. Bottled Unfiltered and Unfined.

In the cellar I favour the purity of the vineyard itself and keep it captured as uncompromised as possible. Having my winery nestled close to Sinai Hill, it is practical enough to get healthy handharvested grapes into the winery fresh off the vine in the morning. Swanesang undergoes a long natural fermentation in open top fermenters. No additions here or manupiltaions of the pure grapes, except carefully judged SO2. Partial wholebunch (80%) in a slow natural fermentation with submerged caps. Fermentation more an ‘infusion’ process than ‘extracting’. Occasional pumpovers. Basket pressed to barrel.

Bernhard Bredell: Why the name “Scions of Sinai”? Scion = In plant biology referring to the top part of a plant/vine that exists above the ground. We say “The Scion cultivar of that vine is Chenin blanc and the rootstock cultivar is Richter 99″. In old English literature the word “Scion” also refers to “the descendant of…”. Making it applicable to refer to myself as a “scion” from Sinai Hill as well as the vines. Plural “Scions”. Pronounced: SIGH-ENS. Sinai = Referring to Sinai Hill not the famous biblical mountain but the folk name for the foothill in the lower Helderberg region of Stellenbosch where the Bredell’s have farmed with old dryland bushvines for many generations. Luckily some of them are still rooted and a great part of them owned by my cousin Pieter Bredell (also 7th generation Bredell). Pronounced: SIN-EYE. It’s me and these couple of old bushvines… together we are by definition the Scions of Sinai. The descendants of Sinai Hill.