Porseleinberg Syrah Swartland 2021

Description

Porseleinberg has emerged as one of the great wines of the Swartland, the product of a ghastly unique site. It is a hellishly difficult location to grow vines. Situated high up in the Pardeberg range the land here is pure, rocky schist. Stony, exposed to cool winds, and very steep with little water the vines here work devilishly hard to produce a tiny yield of grapes. A 5-hectare vineyard, this is the jewel in the crown of the Boekenhoutskloof stable (makers of Chocolate Block), and the first release was in 2010. Over the past years this wine has become a distinctively consistent feature of the Syrah movement in South Africa. While the varietal aromas are familiar, the vineyard gives this incredble structure - a a pure and refined focus of tannins and bright, crunchy acidity. Enjoyed recently it needs several hours decanting if enjoyed in its youth and will evolve wonderfully in the cellar.

97pts. The 2021 Porseleinberg is whole bunch fermented and aged for 12 months in foudres. I gave my glass plenty of aeration. Chatting with winemaker Callie Louw, this wine can be closed, this being the rst time I had tasted it at the remote Swartland estate. It has a compelling bouquet with fabulous delineation, a mélange of, say, one-third red and two-thirds black fruit, hints of iron lings and reecting its soils, slate-like scents. Obstinately backward, after 10 minutes, it positively blossoms in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, with ligree tannins framing the mineral-rich black fruit. Plenty of extract is interwoven, but perhaps unlike the vintages of old, Louw's winemaking sense means that it's not immediately tangible. A discrete build in the mouth reveals hidden layers as it sashays towards its crunchy nish and then delivers a dash of cracked black pepper on the aftertaste. Outstanding…but what else do we expect? Neal Martin, Vinous