2022 Savage Red
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
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.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The 2022 Red Blend comes from the usual block in Polkadraai on a granitic belt in a wind-exposed site that Savage looks for. Unlike other cuvées, it spends two years aging—the first in old 500-liter barrels and the second in oval foudres and conical tanks. This has a wonderful bouquet with expressive brambly red fruit and light tertiary scents. The palate is medium-bodied with a pliant entry. Liberally sprinkled with white pepper and fennel toward the finish, this is very fine, very sophisticated and very harmonious.
75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Sémillon. 12 months in 500-litre barrels. Now this is serious! A refined blend that recalls the sleekest, least-fat Pessac-Léognan. Great stuff! Apparently the 2013 is still in great shape in 2023. (JR)