Olifantsberg Syrah 2021
£17.45
The wine
Syrah grown on the slopes of the Olifantsberg in the Breedekloof, farmed sustainably with minimal intervention in the cellar. The mountain site keeps the alcohol moderate and the aromatics lifted: dark fruit with a savoury, peppery edge and firm but unforced structure.
Syrah on the shale slopes of the Elephant Mountain, at an altitude that keeps a warm inland valley in check. The style is northern Rhône rather than Australian: pepper, violet and savoury dark fruit, with the alcohol moderate and the tannin fine. Whole-bunch fermentation contributes the aromatic lift.
The producer
Olifantsberg
View all Olifantsberg winesOlifantsberg lies on the slopes of the Elephant Mountain in the Breedekloof, an inland valley in the Western Cape that has long supplied fruit to others and only recently begun making its name in its own right.
The estate's holdings climb the mountainside on decomposed shale and sandstone, and altitude is what makes the site work: the Breedekloof floor is hot, but these vineyards sit high enough to catch cooler air and hold their acidity. Winemaker Elizma Visser has built the range around Rhone varieties and old-vine Chenin Blanc, which is an unusual combination and a well-judged one for this ground.
South Africa's old Chenin plantings are among its greatest assets, dry-farmed bush vines that crop very little and give real concentration, and the Cape has more Chenin than the Loire itself. The Soul of the Mountain wines are the flagship pair, named The Matriarch and The Bull, and they are made only in vintages that warrant them.
