Highlights: Van Loggerenberg Wines Graft 2017 Stellenbosch, South Africa

This is a cracking wine. I bought a six-pack of it after tasting it at Cape Wine in September 2018, and this is the first bottle I’ve opened since. It’s a blend of Syrah and Cinsault, and the two marry together well. There’s a cool-climate Syrah character, combined with the freshness and red fruit character from the Cinsault. Such a lovely, fresh, drinkable wine, but there’s also complexity here.

Van Loggerenberg Wines Graft 2017 Stellenbosch, South Africa
13.5% alcohol. This is so good. It’s a blend of 55% Cinsault with 45% Syrah and the two work together so well. The Cinsualt adds freshness and red fruits – it’s just so well adapted to warm climates – while the Syrah does its vivid, floral, peppery thing. Lot of black pepper and cherry fruit here with nice savoury, gravelly grip and good tannins. It’s very drinkable, but also quite structured with nice intensity and depth. A really beautiful wine that reminds me a bit of Hawke’s Bay Syrah in its style, but it also has Northern Rhône focus, too. 95/100

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