Some wines try to impress you. This one just gets on with it. From DeMorgenzon, perched high in the Stellenboschkloof Valley where the morning sun arrives first, comes a Syrah that punches well above its price tag, and has a backstory you won't forget in a hurry.
The estate is famous for piping Baroque music through its vineyards and cellars, around the clock, on the theory that sound waves nudge the vines toward better health. Eccentric? Perhaps. But there's nothing eccentric about what ends up in the glass. A deep, purple-cored Syrah with 3% Viognier woven in for lift, grown on weathered granite soils that give the wine its natural exuberance.
On the nose: ripe red plum and dark berry, a flicker of white pepper, and floral whispers of violet and lavender sitting just behind the fruit. The palate follows through with darker fruit, sweet baking spice, cinnamon, clove, a touch of vanilla, and tannins that frame everything without ever pushing too hard. Twelve months across French oak barrels, large foudres and cement tanks gives it shape without heaviness.
Pour it with a lamb shank, a pepper-crusted ribeye, or slow-braised oxtail. It's also a brilliant gift for anyone curious about what Stellenbosch can do beyond Cabernet, delivered to your door anywhere in the UK.
