Tumbleweed Big Sky Syrah

£12.79

£17.05 per litre · incl. 20% VAT

In Stock

Cool-climate Syrah with the volume turned down and the detail turned up. Bright raspberry and cranberry, a twist of black pepper, floral lift and a whisper of something earthy underneath. Silky, fresh and properly food-friendly, the kind of South African red that surprises you on the first sip and keeps you pouring.

Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.

Region

Swartland, South Africa

Grape

Syrah

Oak

Fermentation on the skins lasted for 14- 21 days before being pressed with basket press to barrel. The wine underwent 100% malolactic conversion in barrel, rounding out the palate

Drinking Window

Drink on release and over the next 3-4 years. Decant briefly when young to open the aromatics; serve at 16-18Â°C.

UK wide delivery

Expert curated

Sourced direct

Our Verdict

We taste a lot of South African Syrah, and what kept bringing us back to the Tumbleweed was its sheer drinkability, there's pepper and perfume here that you usually only find in bottles costing twice as much. It's the one we'd hand to anyone curious about cool-climate Cape Syrah without the steep entry price. Perfect for the wine lover who's bored of big, jammy reds and wants something with a pulse. Stocks rotate quickly on this one, and if you enjoy it, the rest of Bruce Jack's Tumbleweed range is well worth a look.

Tasting Notes

Lifted and aromatic from the first pour, bright red berries, a whisper of violets, and that unmistakable Syrah pepper drifting up from the glass. The palate is silky rather than weighty, with juicy raspberry and cranberry doing the heavy lifting, threaded with cracked white pepper and a savoury, earthy undertow that keeps things grown-up. There's polish here, but nothing heavy. The finish lingers, refreshed by cool-climate acidity rather than weighed down by oak.

Bright Red Berries

Juicy raspberry and tart cranberry sit at the heart of this wine, giving it lift, freshness and immediate drinkability.

Cracked Pepper

Classic Syrah white pepper drifts through the nose and palate, that cool-climate spice signature that tells you exactly what grape you're drinking.

Floral Lift

Subtle violet and dried-flower aromatics give the nose elegance, softening the savoury edges and adding perfume to the red fruit core.

Earthy Undertow

A savoury, almost smoky earthiness sits beneath the fruit, hinting at the granite and shale soils where these vines grow.

About This Wine

Some Syrahs shout. This one talks, and once you lean in, you don't want to stop listening. Sourced largely from the Overberg on the Cape South Coast, with a touch of Piekenierskloof in the blend, this is Syrah grown where the wind never really stops and the nights cool the vines down after long sunny days. The result is a wine with the perfume of the cool climate and the generosity of the African sun, all in the same glass.

Expect bright red fruit, raspberry, cranberry, a flicker of red plum, woven through with floral lift, cracked black pepper and a subtle earthy edge that hints at the schist, granite and iron-rich soils underneath the vines. The palate is silky rather than chunky, polished rather than plush, with a refreshing line of acidity that keeps everything moving. A small portion of whole-bunch carbonic Shiraz blended in adds an extra layer of fragrance and lift.

This is a brilliant midweek red that punches well above its price. Pour it with a herb-crusted lamb rump, a sticky duck leg, mushroom risotto, or a Friday-night pizza loaded with chorizo and rocket. Lightly chilled on a warm evening, it's a revelation.

Delivered to your door anywhere in the UK, and a smart, easy-to-love bottle to take to a dinner party when you want to bring something a bit different.

Food Pairing

Versatile at the table thanks to its silky weight and bright acidity. Brilliant with a Sunday roast of herb-rubbed lamb, or a midweek sausage and lentil casserole. The peppery edge loves anything off the grill, try it with merguez, duck breast, or a charred ribeye. Equally happy alongside a mushroom risotto or a board of aged hard cheeses.

—Herb-roasted lamb with rosemary and garlic
—Grilled duck breast with blackberry jus
—Sausage, lentil and red wine casserole
—Charred ribeye with peppercorn butter
—Wild mushroom and thyme risotto

How to Serve

Temperature

Cool room temperature. Twenty minutes in the fridge before serving will sharpen the aromatics on a warm evening.

Decanting

A quick decant of 20-30 minutes helps the floral and peppery aromatics unfurl, but it isn't essential, the wine is approachable straight from the bottle and won't need lengthy aeration.

Glass

A medium-bowled Burgundy or all-purpose red glass concentrates the perfumed nose and showcases the pepper and red-fruit lift.

Cellaring

Store on its side in a cool, dark spot at 12-14°C if keeping for a year or two, but there's no need to lay this one down long term.

Behind the Wine

The Syrah vineyards sit between 400 and 520 metres above sea level in the Overberg and Piekenierskloof, where warm days are tempered by genuinely cool nights drifting in off the Cape South Coast. That diurnal swing is the whole game here, it lets the grapes ripen slowly, holding onto natural acidity while the flavours build. The result in the glass is that lifted, peppery freshness and bright red fruit character, rather than the heavier, jammier style you might expect from a warm-country Syrah.

Ageing Potential

Built for early drinking, pour it now and over the next three to four years. The fruit is at its most vivid in youth, though a little bottle age will soften the pepper and let the earthier, savoury notes step forward. No need to cellar; this wine rewards the curious drinker, not the patient one.

The Land

The vineyards sit on a patchwork of soils, uplifted, eroded sandstone alongside decomposed granite, quartz and limestone, with iron-rich clay and shale woven through. Each component contributes something different: the stony soils bring lift and perfume, the clay anchors the wine with depth and structure. That geological complexity is what gives the fruit its layered, multi-dimensional character.

The Winemaking

Hand-sorted berries are destemmed into open-top fermenters, with daily hand punch-downs to coax colour and flavour from the skins over 14 to 21 days. A gentle basket press sends the wine straight to barrel, where it completes malolactic fermentation, a small detail that quietly rounds out the palate. Maturation runs to 18 months across 228, 300 and 500-litre barrels, with around 28% new oak. A splash of whole-bunch carbonic Syrah, roughly 7%, is blended in to lift the perfume and add a juicy top note.

The Swartland Region

Swartland, 'the black land' in Afrikaans, named for the renosterbos that darkens after rain, rolls out north of Cape Town across the hills around Malmesbury and Riebeek-Kasteel. It's hot, dry, and stubbornly characterful: a place of old bush vines, granite and koffieklip soils, and a community of growers who've made it the most quietly thrilling corner of South African wine. Concentration, freshness, and a wild streak you don't find elsewhere, that's Swartland in a glass.

About the Producer

Bruce Jack

Bruce Jack runs a small, tight-knit team out of South Africa, with head winemakers Bruce himself and Marlize Beyers working side by side for more than two decades. Between them they've made wine across several continents, but the through-line has always been authenticity, wines that taste of where they come from, made by people who actually know the vineyards. The 'Off the Charts' range, which the Tumbleweed wines belong to, is their love letter to South Africa's classic grape and region pairings, with labels nodding to the Basotho blanket and the wide, untamed landscapes of the Cape. Bruce Jack has appeared four years running in Drinks International's World's Most Admired Wine Brands, recognition the team has quietly earned, bottle by bottle.

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