Winemaker Notes
2022 was a warmer vintage yielding a Savage Red with a touch more generosity. Plums, lavender, cola, violets and the characteristic Langverwagt white pepper. The palate remains taught and focused compliments of the granitic soil tannin. A wine that will drink well over the next 10 years.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A firm, fragrant and savory syrah that exudes aromas of sage, white peppercorns, brambleberries and licorice. It’s medium-bodied with a tight tannin frame. Peppery and focused. From granitic soils close to Polkadraai area. Try from 2025.
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Vinous
The 2022 Red Blend comes from the usual block in Polkadraai on a granitic belt in a wind-exposed site that Savage looks for. Unlike other cuvées, it spends two years aging—the first in old 500-liter barrels and the second in oval foudres and conical tanks. This has a wonderful bouquet with expressive brambly red fruit and light tertiary scents. The palate is medium-bodied with a pliant entry. Liberally sprinkled with white pepper and fennel toward the finish, this is very fine, very sophisticated and very harmonious.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This wine was initially a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault and Touriga Nacional, but Duncan Savage decided to separate the pieces. "Your plan has to be loose," he says. Now 100% Syrah from Stellenbosch since the 2017 vintage, the wine boasts the richness and concentration of poor granite soils with little organic matter. "The vineyards are terrible to look at because we don't want vigor," he says. The Savage Wines 2022 Savage Red has dark fruit, baked plum and white pepper. The aromas are on the ripe side. Fruit sorting is done mostly in the vineyard, and the Syrah is 50% to 70% whole bunch. "We love to work with whole bunch," says Duncan Savage, "but destemming happens because we need space in the winery."
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
With an important wine renaissance in full swing, impressive red and white bargains abound in South Africa. The country has a particularly long and rich history with winemaking, especially considering its status as part of the “New World.” In the mid-17th century, the lusciously sweet dessert wines of Constantia were highly prized by the European aristocracy. Since then, the South African wine industry has experienced some setbacks due to the phylloxera infestation of the late 1800s and political difficulties throughout the following century.
Today, however, South Africa is increasingly responsible for high-demand, high-quality wines—a blessing to put the country back on the international wine map. Wine production is mainly situated around Cape Town, where the climate is generally warm to hot. But the Benguela Current from Antarctica provides brisk ocean breezes necessary for steady ripening of grapes. Similarly, cooler, high-elevation vineyard sites throughout South Africa offer similar, favorable growing conditions.
South Africa’s wine zones are divided into region, then smaller districts and finally wards, but the country’s wine styles are differentiated more by grape variety than by region. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s “signature” grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. When Pinotage is blended with other red varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir (all commonly vinified alone as well), it is often labeled as a “Cape Blend.” Chenin Blanc (locally known as “Steen”) dominates white wine production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc following close behind.