2021 Syrah

Boekenhoutskloof had witnessed almost biblical levels of rain earlier in 2023, some 700mm in three weeks according to winemaker Gottfried Mocke – difficult to believe upon arrival since the sun was shining. However, a sudden deluge was a timely reminder that it has one of the wettest microclimates in the Cape. “We have good infrastructure in place,” Mocke assures me, “so we were better prepared than before and didn’t have too much damage. After the drought [2016 to 2019 growing seasons], there is more emphasis on cover crops, and we take more care of our topsoils that are decomposed and frail. Soils are high in nitrogen but lack other things like magnesium, calcium and potassium. Cabernet Sauvignon is a very sensitive variety, and it is easy to obtain pyrazines if picked too early and then wait too long so that it becomes too ripe. There are foliage sprays to help photosynthesis now, and if I need to add nitrogen, then it is applied in organic form: mulch, fava beans etc. In 2021, I added some early-picked fruit to lend acidity, and because of this, I bottled a bit later.” This is a strong set of wines that straddle more commercially focused labels such as the phenomenally successful Chocolate Block brand, whose name is a bit of a misnomer since the wine itself is nowhere near as chocolaty as earlier vintages, the Swartland-sourced fruit predicting a wine that combines elegance with fruit intensity. In this vintage, I definitely prefer the Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon to its Franschhoek counterpart, though neither quite match their strongest cards: their Sémillon and Syrah.