Gabriëlskloof Syrah on Shale 2022
£29.45
The wine
Violets, pepper and blueberries giving way to darker fruit and a black olive undertone.
Syrah on Shale is one of a pair bottled from different soils on the same farm, the comparison being the whole point of the exercise. Shale gives the darker, firmer and more structured of the two, where the sandstone bottling comes out lighter framed and more aromatic. Same variety, same hands, same vintage: only the ground changes. Gabriëlskloof sits in Bot River, a cool coastal ward in the Overberg east of Cape Town, farmed sustainably with the viticulturist Rosa Kruger.
The producer
Gabriëlskloof
View all Gabriëlskloof winesGabriëlskloof is a leading estate of Bot River, in South Africa's cool Cape South Coast. Set in the Walker Bay hinterland, it has become known for characterful, terroir-driven wines. Syrah and Chenin Blanc are among its calling cards.
The vineyards lie on shale and sandstone soils, cooled by ocean breezes off the nearby Atlantic. This maritime climate gives the wines freshness, structure and real definition. Farming is careful and increasingly natural.
The range spans crisp Sauvignon Blanc, textured Semillon and Chenin, a pretty Syrah rosé and a spectrum of single-soil Syrahs, alongside Cabernet Franc and a Bordeaux blend. Each expresses its site with clarity. There is real ambition here.
Gabriëlskloof's wines are fresh, characterful and beautifully made. They combine Cape ripeness with cool-climate freshness. One of the bright lights of the Cape South Coast.
