It’s been a long time since we’ve featured a classic wine from South Africa; I’ve got no excuses, but what I can say is that two recent tastings focused entirely on the wines from this exciting region showed me the error of my ways. It’s an understatement to say that I was blown away by the quality and range, and I can think of no better producer to re-introduce these enigmatic wines than Craven. Mick and Jeanine Craven met in a cellar right here in California, and after stints in Europe, Australia, and South America they returned to Jeanine's home in South Africa to begin pursuing their winemaking dreams. They source excellent parcels and use a light hand in the cellar to showcase their belief in the special terroir of Stellenbosch, and perhaps the most clear–and delicious–example of this is today’s elegant, spicy, perfectly balanced Syrah. It’s tempting to compare it to top tier Northern Rhône wines, but in deference to the Cravens vision this bottle is a pure, soaring tribute to the terroir at the tip of the African continent. It’s very limited, don’t miss out!
NOTE* This is a pre-arrival offer, we expect the wine to arrive and be ready to ship by mid February.
Way back in 2007 two fledgling winemakers met while working harvest together in Sonoma (basically in our backyard!). Jeanine was from South Africa, Mick was from Australia, and their willingness to travel far and wide to pursue their passion for wine and viticulture immediately brought them together. They spent the next four years travelling and learning as much as they could from some of the world’s best wine regions before they decided that Jeanine’s home country was where they would set up shop. South Africa in general, and Stellenbosch specifically offered them the perfect combination of established vineyards, diverse terroir, and mild weather that allows them to pursue their passion for single vineyard, single varietal, naturally made wines.
The relatively dry, sunny, and mild year round weather in Stellenbosch allows vineyard managers and owners to farm without the use of pesticides, herbicides, and other chemical treatments without the risks that might exist in many other winemaking regions. This is the foundation for what the Cravens do: They source top single vineyards that are planted to the most adapted grape variety for that terroir and then shepherd that fruit into wines that are both ripe and fresh, textured and structured, and focused on true balance. For their Syrah they chose the “Firs Vineyard” in the Devon Valley subzone of Stellenbosch. Here the combination of deep shale and iron rich clay pairs with the warm, dry summers to produce rich, concentrated fruit. But keeping in mind that goal of “balance,” Mick and Jeanine pick on the early side and use 100% whole cluster fermentation. Those whole clusters are gently foot stomped, then fermented with native yeasts in steel tanks before being racked into square cement tanks for 10 months of aging.
The resulting wine is a Syrah lover's dream come true: with deep, dark, sultry fruit flavors sharing space with savory, spicy notes and a long, mineral drenched finish. Serve it at cellar temperature in a large Bordeaux stem after a quick splash decant and you’ll get warm, radiant notes of wild blueberries, black raspberries, Damson plum skin, mulberries, star anise, white pepper, smoked meat, and olive tapenade. The medium weight body is silk and smooth, but framed by ripe tannin and plenty of crisp, sunny acidity. If you need comparisons I’d go with a Saint-Joseph or Croze-Hermitage from top producers like Faury, Chave, and Graillot. But there is a sunny, juicy personality that is clearly distinct and serves to highlight the special terroir of Stellenbosch that the Cravens love. It’s also an excellent value, so I highly recommend grabbing three to six bottles to enjoy over the following months/years.
