Boekenhoutskloof, Syrah, Swartland

2016 N Rhône (10 Greek Street) : Served blind. A bit candied, confected on the nose. Somewhat concentrated - stems? Is this Syrah? yes. Is this French? no. Revealed as South Africa - yes I can get it, it has some of that "international Syrah" character - a *bit* plusher than I like, but it's not clumsy, this is a well put together wine, certainly not my least favourite red of the dinner. This wine starts a discussion about Cape …

Dark fruit and black pepper. Smooth finish. Drinkable but not complex.

Still a bit young and buttoned up, but this has a bit of grandeur about it, a touch of the Hermitage.

Decanted two hours. Purple. Very little aroma to start. Dry tannins to start. Loosened up over the evening but still dry tannins on finish. Improvement with time so it needs more bottle time. Should improve

A good overall wine yet lacking a memorable and in a way distinct side. Good dark fruit, soft spice, well round on the palate but sort of tails off to no memory land after that , well at least at this age. 90 for now

Still quite primary so I expect this has plenty of life ahead the nose was full of blue berries, black berries, purple florals, dark pepper spice and hints of black olives, similar palate that is quite polished, with ripe integrated medium tannins , a bright acidic profile and a long juicy finish

Splendid, but a tad overpriced?

Majority Porseleinberg fruit; the nose is intense with violet, ripe blackberry, lavender and blueberry. As it opens, some clove, sage, bay leaf and meat stock add complexity. Medium to full-bodied, the entry has a crisp acidity accentuated by the white & black pepper, and spicy stalks and filled with ripe black fruits, garrigue, fennel bulb and lavender. There is a cherry stone sensation and grippy yet dense, puckering tannins that give an edge to the wine whilst the stems add …

This is outrageously young but I was testing for further purchase and it passed the test .Quite drinkable now but cries to be left alone.

I expected this to be heavy but it was nothing like - violets and blueberries on the nose, very lifted and mineral. Will definitely look out for it in the future.

Terroir-istes Local - Syrah, Swartland (Cape Town - Las Cases) : (Tasted Blind): Excel managed to delete my notes so only the score: 92

Dark fruit, notes of leather, spices, smoked meat. On the palate spicy with firm tannins, lots of generous fruit and good acidity. Well balanced, quite elegant with a long and persistent finish. 91-92+

Boekenhoutskloof Winemakers dinner. (@ Bottles; Sas van Gent, Netherlands) : Just a few notes; beautifully soft acidity and tannin. A lot of chocolate. Fully mature now.