Porseleinberg 2022

Porseleinberg 2023

£75.95
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Porseleinberg is home to a groundbreaking Cape Syrah that exemplifies the essence of terroir-driven, authentic wine. The extremely rugged and dry schistous mountain doesn’t invite easy viticulture, but of course extreme terroir produces extreme wine!This revolutionary long-term project by Marc Kent of Boekenhoutskloof brought in Callie Louw as the farmer and custodian of this special vineyard. At home on his John Deere tractor, Callie is also the winemaker, producing a richly tannic and yet ethereal wine that is more akin to Cornas or Hermitage.
  • Country - South Africa
  • Region - Swartland
  • Grape - Syrah
  • Food Match - Beef & Steak, Cote De Boeuf, Venison
  • Vintage - 2023
  • Alcohol - 13.3%
  • Size - 75cl

100 points, Tim Atkin - "The 2023 growing season was "dry and difficult", according to Callie Louw, at least in this wild and starkly beautiful corner of the Swartland, but you wouldn’t know it from the quality  of this superlative Syrah. Picked late, right up to March 8th, it has the concentration and intensity of a small crop. Fermented with 90% whole clusters, with 70% of the wine using the submerged cap technique, it's one of the most sublime Porseleinbergs yet, pairing aromas of incense, thyme and black pepper with firm, age-worthy tannins, blackberry, red berry and liquorice flavours and a stony, mineral core. Truly world class. 2027-35" - 100 points, Tim Atkin


Porseleinberg 2023 is a Syrah of striking purity and finesse, opening with vivid aromas of red cherry, raspberry and blackberry, lifted by violet, fennel and a crack of black pepper. The palate is taut and focused, with fine, chalky tannins framing layers of bright red fruit, darker berry tones and a savoury thread of herbs, spice and crushed stone. Concentrated yet elegant, it carries through to a long, mineral-tinged finish that shows both the rugged Swartland terroir and the wine’s capacity to age gracefully.


It was a challenging year, with only 308 mm of rain and a very dry growing season. December brought 64mm, which helped a bit, but it came too late to make a significant difference.

On the upside, the dry conditions during the growing season meant low disease pressure. However, berry set was poor, and we were looking at a small yield from early on.

January wasn't as hot as it was in 2022. We kicked off harvest on February 14th and wrapped up by March 8th. Bunches and berries were small and concentrated, with an average yield of around 4 tonnes per hectare.

Toward the end of the season, we noticed some oidium on the stems of the final picks, so we removed the stems and placed the berries straight into the tanks. Fermentation was split: 70% under submerged cap, 30% done conventionally with some pump-overs. We used 85% whole bunch and 15%
destemmed fruit. Maturation lasted 12 months-90% in foudre, 10% in concrete.