Porseleinberg Syrah has firmly established itself in the top tier of South Africa's red wine production, with winemaker Callie Louw pushing the quality of this Côte-Rôtie-like wine year on year to critical acclaim. This is Farr Vintners' favourite red wine from the continent by some margin; a complex, ageworthy and personality-driven Syrah: think Jamet (where Callie trained) with a touch more throttle.
Callie - Tim Atkin's South African Winemaker of the Year in 2024 - guided the Farr Vintners team through a 13 wine vertical of this incredible wine going back to the very first vintage before showing the latest release - 2022. This was an outstanding tasting, showing the depth and potential of the wines but also their growth in complexity and precision as Callie evolves and learns what this site needs. An extreme, remote vineyard in the Pardeberg mountain range, its name translates as "Porcelain Mountain". Exposed to moderating winds, the vineyard sits on schist soils that produce low-yielding, structured Syrah for those willing to put in the painstaking hours it takes to farm.
2022 was the first year since 2015 that had above average rainfall. Despite a wetter and cooler start, the drawn-out growing season saw several heat waves that stunted the development of sugars and protracted the harvest. The resulting wine has a moderate 13.3% alcohol, giving the wine a deft sense of balance and beautiful, complex perfume. Tim Atkin MW gives it 99 points, calling it a "world-class" and "refined wine from a brutal site", crowning it his joint Wine of the Year in his 2024 South African report. Neal Martin gives it 96, describing a "spellbinding Syrah" which "will be worth the wait".
Callie's recent transition to using submerged cap fermentations and continued use of whole bunch with no maturation in new oak lends the 2022 a supreme focus, wild flair and disarming drinkability. As with every Porseleinberg it will improve further in bottle, but is another knockout vintage for this wine. Released at £525 per 12, it remains excellent value for one of the best classically-styled Syrahs produced anywhere in the world.
Available for delivery at the end of October.
Produced in the teeth of what Callie Louw calls a "crazy year", with lots of winter rain and one of the hottest Januaries ever, this is the latest in a series of world-class Syrahs from the brilliant Callie Louw. Fermented and aged in foudres and 15% concrete, using the submerged cap technique that has transformed the style here, this has 95% whole bunches, fynbos and Mediterranean herb aromas, sculpted, detailed tannins and layers of plum, blackberry and raspberry and impressive freshness for a wine with a pH of 4.1. A refined wine from a brutal site.
2025-40
The latest vintage of Porseleinberg is a knockout. A hot, dry end to the growing season shut down the vines and gave this wine a resulting 13.3% alcohol - the lowest ever from this site. The result is spectacular. Mid-deep ruby in colour, the nose is open, expressive and already very complex. Fragrant with notes of garrigue, the layers of sage, rosemary and thyme intertwine with red cherry and berry fruit, together with just a hint of dried flowers. The palate is just as expressive, precise but with a wild edge of fruit and herb. Spicy and complex, satiny on entry, the purity of the mid-palate fruit is matched by the flair of spice, herb and iron-like layers underneath brought out by the chalky tannins that give this wine its sense of place. Very long with a complex and fine-boned tannic lift on finish, this is an outstanding wine that you could approach now but will doubtless improve in bottle for over a decade. Brilliant.
