Often referenced as the best Syrah coming out of the continent. 2021 Porseleinberg Syrah (Swartland) — From Callie Louw’s brutally rocky blue-schist slopes, this is whole-bunch Syrah fermented in concrete with a submerged-cap regime and minimal pump-overs, then matured ~12 months in large foudres (≈95%) with a small concrete-egg component (≈5%). 13.9% alc; TA 4.7 g/L; pH 4.1. It’s taut, savoury and mineral-charged: black raspberry and mulberry layered with cracked pepper, dried herbs and a distinctly stony, saline line, all carried by fine, sinewy tannins and impressive length.
Porseleinberg Syrah 2021
A single-estate Syrah project on the schistous slopes of Porseleinberg in the Swartland, farmed dry and largely as bushvines with high-density plantings. Vineyard work is low-input (no herbicides, cover crops, hand harvest). In the cellar it’s whole-bunch ferments in concrete with a submerged-cap regime, very gentle extraction, and maturation in large old foudres plus a small concrete-egg component—no new barrique. The house style is savoury, tightly wound and intensely mineral, with sinewy tannins doing the framing rather than oak.
Swartland is a warm, dry Mediterranean zone north of Cape Town, moderated by Atlantic breezes and marked by low rainfall and constant summer winds—ideal for dry-farmed, low-yielding vines. Soils swing from decomposed granite (Paardeberg) to shale/schist and iron-rich koffieklip around Riebeek and Porseleinberg. Syrah here tends to be spicy and structured: black fruit, pepper and a ferrous, saline edge from the schist; more lift and florals from granite. The region champions minimal-input farming and restrained oak, delivering wines with texture, freshness and strong site expression.
