BOEKENHOUTSKLOOF 'Porseleinberg' Syrah - Swartland 2021 Bottle (los)

Description

The Boekenhoutskloof farm, first established in 1776, was purchased in 1993 by a group of seven investors led by Tim Rands, the founder of Vinimark, a large South African wine marketing and distribution company. Rands brought in Marc Kent as winemaker in 1996. Kent, just 26, had previously been on track to become a pilot in the South African Air Force (his only wine experience was as a waiter at the Black Marlin restaurant near Cape Point). Undeterred, he somehow managed to kick-off with a bang as the 1996 vintage received much acclaim. What could have been seen as beginner's luck was swiftly shown to be real skill with subsequent vintages, and now marks one of the benchmark South African wines.

THE WINE ADVOCATE 95 points/100
Drink Date: 2024 - 2036 - Ripe yet still firm, the 2021 Syrah is fresh and savory with a delightfully floral element that sways with spicy and dark red-fruited essences. Medium-bodied, the palate is balanced, fresh and firmly structured with gripping tannins and an elegant mineral tension. The wine ends with a ripe and spicy finish. 47,000 bottles were produced after resting 12 months in foudre before bottle aging for 16 months. Between the 2020 and the 2021, the 2021 is the one you want. Just give it another year in bottle, and enjoy through the middle of the next decade. Reviewed by: Anthony Mueller

JAMES SUCKLING ***** 97 Points/100
18 Oct, 2023 – What an intense nose of charcuterie, grilled herbs, iron, black berry fruit and cracked pepper. Flavor explosion on the palate, too, with a full body, yet so much freshness with an underlying iron and peppercorn character. Firm, yet fine tannins. Even better from 2025.

VINOUS 97 points/100
Drinking window: 2026 - 2045
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 first 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 filings and reflecting its soils, slate-like scents. Obstinately backward, after 10 minutes, it positively blossoms in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, with filigree 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 finish and then delivers a dash of cracked black pepper on the aftertaste. Outstanding…but what else do we expect?
Neal Martin. Tasting date: August 2023