Gabriëlskloof 'Whole Bunch' Syrah 2022

This could possibly contend for favourite bottle in the shop at time of writing (February '23). If you pop into the shop on the right day, you may even see Jake wearing a t-shirt with the bottle label on it... It's not in the Light & Bright red style section by accident. This is young, crunchy, bright, fresh Syrah - made in a very modern style. So vibrant - the juice jumps out the glass. Cherry, blueberries and raspberries lead the attack, but are backed up reassuringly by violets and rose petals. Much of the same on the palate, but the wine finishes with a lovely, pleasing spice. Great, bright acidity and a nice savouriness lifts the wine. This is bright, racy and perfectly served with just a slight chill.

"Whole Bunch" refers to a specific wine making technique employed here. It's the practice of not destemming grapes for the fermentation process. Whole bunches, stems and all, go directly into the fermentation vessel. Generally, wines that have undergone whole bunch fermentation are more lively, juicy, aromatic, fresher, and often give a bit of grippy, crunchy greenness to the wine, having taken on structure from the grape stems. Often producers choose to ferment just a portion of their grapes in this way and blend a finished wine. In this case, the wine is 100% whole bunch fermented.

This a a traditional winemaking technique (most commonly used and popularised in Pinot Noir from Burgundy that its making a bit of a trendy comeback, and is used worldwide. 

Gabriëlskloof is a beautiful wine estate located near Bot River in the Overberg region east of Cape Town. It was purchased in 2001 by Bernhard Heyns, who had been on the lookout for the ideal place to plant vines. Peter-Allan Finlayson of Crystallum, Bernhard’s son in law, took over as winemaker from the 2015 vintage. We're not alone in professing to be fans of his undisputed winemaking genius. Peter-Allan is now Cellar Master and oversees general management of the property, while the young and no less talented Nina Muller was promoted to winemaker. The farm has 178 hectares, with 68 hectares planted with vines. The climate is cool with maritime influences coming from Walker Bay. The vineyards are farmed sustainably with the support of full-time vineyard consultant Rosa Kruger. Their aim is to move to certified organic farming in the future.