2022 Savage Red

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." This wine spends two to three weeks on the skins. It then goes into 500-liter barrel for one year and in foudre for another year.