2020 Boekenhoutskloof Porseleinberg Syrah, Swartland

There are few more sought-after South African wines synonymous with serious quality than the Syrah from Boekenhoutskloof owned Swartland property, Porseleinberg. Producing just one wine from the inhospitable, rugged, windblown vineyards planted on harsh blue schist soils at the top of the mountain, farmer winemaker Callie intends to make a wine with sense of place and time. As he says - this place is hardcore - with almost no top soil, and perilously sharp rocks protruding from the steep slopes.  One of the most distinctive things about the Porseleinberg Syrah is its unusual label, which is created by hand on an Original Heidelberg press, the smallest motorised printer ever produced by this iconic company. Since the 2018 vintage, he has adopted one of the key winemaking techniques he took from his time working at Domaine Jamet - of submerging the cap (the solid mass of grape skin, stems and seeds that naturally float to the top during the fermentation,) a traditional method widely used in Europe in the 19th century, and by California's Ridge Vineyards since the '50s. It's this that has perhaps altered the style of Porseleinberg from the early vintages with their hard-as-nail tannins that took 10 years to come around, to the hauntingly beautiful perfumed style of today.