Winemaker Notes
The adapted natural resilience of the dry land SCHIST Syrah on Roundstone, has resulted in this wine showing pure freshness and superb concentration. The aromas show beautiful hints of Bergamot orange, fragrant dark African violets and nutmeg and the palate is lead by well-structured and harmonious Shist-derived firm tannins .
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The meatiest and most concentrated of the three single-vineyard syrahs, this has notes of bacon fat, peppercorns, black olives and brambleberries. It’s medium- to full-bodied, broad and firm, with fine and chewy tannins. Still tightly wound. From a vineyard planted in 1988. 100% crushed whole-cluster fermentation. Try from 2026.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Farmed with regenerative organic methods, this is the vineyard closest to the Mullineux winery. The 2022 Swartland Schist Syrah has a pinch of tannins followed by herbal notes of grilled rosemary and oregano. At its core, the wine shows damson plum, blackberry and red peppercorns. Fruit is physically smaller in the Schist vineyard, resulting in extra concentration and richness. Despite that richer fruit profile, this Syrah reveals impressive balance and staying power. It is the most powerful of the three Syrahs presented in this series, and it could be the wine with the most interesting aging trajectory.
Rating: 95+ -
Vinous
The 2022 Syrah Schist comes from shallower soils than the Iron with smaller canopies and clusters. It was crushed whole-cluster like the other single vineyards but yielded a higher skin-to-juice ratio as the berries are smaller and the skins thicker. This has a lifted, more fruit-driven bouquet with raspberry, briar, white pepper and a touch of gravel. Smooth and poised, the palate is very harmonious on the entry and perhaps more nuanced and complex than the Iron and Granite cuvées toward the finish. It leaves a dusting of cracked black pepper on the aftertaste. Very persistent in the mouth, this is outstanding.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Literally meaning "the black land," Swartland takes its name from the endangered, indigenous "renosterbos" (translating to rhino bush), which used to be plentiful enough to turn the entire landscape a dark color certain during times of year. The district, attracting some of the most adventurous and least interventionist winemakers, excels in robust and full-bodied reds as well as quality fortified wines.