1997 Boekenhoutskloof
Syrah&nbsp;&nbsp;

BY NEAL MARTIN |&nbsp;SEPTEMBER 11, 2023Warning:
This Cellar Favorite has a tragic ending.&nbsp;

Rewind to
the mid-nineties, South Africa is basking in the afterglow of the dissolution
of apartheid dissolution and Nelson Mandela’s election as President. After
decades of selling wine domestically, South Africa’s wine industry is suddenly
exposed to a competitive, global market, often under governmental control. Among
a vast ocean of turbo-charged Bordeaux blends, the 1997 Syrah from Boekenhoutskloof
is sui generis and becomes one of the Cape’s most iconic, mythical wines.

A bit
of background because apocryphal stories abound. For this, I am indebted to its
creator, winemaker Marc Kent. Though he now resides and makes wine in Portugal,
Kent remains Boekenhoutskloof’s managing partner and, according to current head
winemaker Gottfried Mokke, frequently commutes between the two countries, ensuring
it remains one of the nation’s best estates. Though the farm dates back to the
18th century, winemaking was only introduced in the mid-Nineties. Since
their own vineyards were just being planted, Boekenhoetskloof relied on
contracted fruit. “The 1997 was my first vintage of Syrah and my first proper
vintage altogether,” Kent tells me. “In 1996, I crushed only eight tons of
Cabernet Sauvignon.”

I ask
Kent the origin of the 1997 Syrah as I had heard different stories and wanted
information from the horse’s mouth.

“The
vineyard was on a farm named Vine Lodge Farm, owned by Derek Delson. It was on
the Helderberg side of the N2, as you leave Somerset West toward Sir Lowry’s
Pass. The vines were all a massal selection and were previously being delivered
to Koelenhof Co-op. It was 90% de-stemmed without crushing, included 10% whole
bunches, and 20% of the stalks were added into the fermenter. It was a wild
ferment with no acidification and all [transferred] into second-fill French barriques
for the malolactic and élevage.”<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1694195284517-syrah+1997_copy.jpg">What
was the inspiration for the wine? 

“At the
time, the reference for South Africa was big, over-oaked, normally American-oaked
monsters, made in the style of the big Barossa wines that were popular then. After
visits to Jean-Louis Chave, Chave having just returned from U.C. Davis, Robert
Michel [owner of Le Geynale vineyard in Cornas now partly farmed by his nephew,
Vincent Paris] and Gérard Jaboulet, I tried to produce a wine more aligned with
their ways. I produced 500 cases. To date, it is still the only wine that I
have ever produced where every barrel was assembled into the final blend.”

Did Kent
realize the quality of his wine, and what was the initial reaction?

“I had
so little experience, but [I remember that] the cellar reeked of white pepper
notes. It was [like a] Hermitage or rather Crozes-Hermitage, I thought like
Graillot at the time. I thought it was pretty good. I did everything my
lecturers said I shouldn’t. The late Prof. Joel van Wyk, on his only visit to
Boekenhoutskloof, said it was a ‘time bomb’. [Probably because it had a high pH
of 4.1]. We have never entered shows or competitions, and so a Platter five-star
was the only early endorsement when less than two dozen were awarded. The
biggest customer was Richard Kelley MW, who used it as his wedding wine. He had
his wedding in a marquee on the car park at Boekenhoutskloof.”

I was
fortunate to taste this legendary wine at a private dinner during my last trip
to the Cape. The cork was not saturated, but it was very crumbly. Fortunately,
and I don’t want to boast, I’m extremely good at pulling them out, even if it took
10 to 15 minutes equipped with just a waiter’s friend.

The
1997 Syrah totally lives up to expectations. Showing modest bricking on the
rim, it has a resolutely Old World bouquet that emits a warm glow of lush red
strawberry and raspberry fruit, Provençal herbs, rosemary, leather and sage. The
aromatics, after 26 years, remain defined and pure, maybe with just the faintest
touch of Brettanomyces. It could easily pass as a Northern Rhône. The palate is
exquisitely balanced with a velvety, sensual texture, fine tannins and a kind
of melted quality that makes it irresistible. A faint hint of garrigue on the
finish begs another sip. Simply magnificent. A soulful Syrah with plenty of
life ahead. 96/Drink 2023-2036.

I
mentioned that this Cellar Favorite has a sad ending. Kent describes its fate…

“I went
to check the budding in September 1997 in anticipation of the 1998 harvest. The
vineyard had been ‘pruned’ with a D8 [a bulldozer]. I was absolutely gutted. I
scrounged a few cuttings from some random vines on what had become a building
site that May and grafted them out on Boekenhoutskloof’s ‘Phoenix’ vineyard.
The virus-ridden material was never able to fully ripen in much cooler, wetter
conditions. It has indeed become an industrial park/strip mall.”© 2023, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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