2020 Harry Hartman Somesay Syrah

Some say Shiraz, some say Syrah. At Harry Hartman they don't really care what you call it as long as it has the great quality that is possible with a Syrah or Shiraz, hence the beautiful title of the wine which is in full Somesay Syrah some say shiraz. The grapes are selected from locations in the Western Cape, from the Cederberg to Stellenbosch, and blended to create a wine that Hartman believes best expresses this special variety as the Syrah is a grape par excellence that can express a terroir very well. The first part of the fruit comes from the Cederberg at 900 meters above sea level. The soils are a combination of sandstone and ferricrete laterite. The rest of the vineyards coming from the Polkadraai Hills, Devon Valley and Bottelary Hill regions in Stellenbosch are dominated by decomposed granite.

Numerous batches are fermented separately to ensure the complexity of this wine, with a fraction of the whole bunch per tank ranging from 30-100%. Both stainless steel oak foudres are used 2-3 times a day for fermentation with a pigeage. All fermentations take place with spontaneous fermentation with natural yeast. The malolactic fermentation also happened spontaneously. The Some Say Syrah (and some say shiraz) aged for 11 months in a combination of used French oak barrique and foudres. The result is a beautifully made red wine with a nice balance between fruit, oak and acidity and with great aging potential. The wine has complex aromas of currants, dried figs, cranberry, dark fruit, raspberry, smoke, chocolate, cedar and plum. This is one of the best Syrah we've tasted recently from South Africa with a leaning towards the Hermitage style.

In the glass, the wine has a ruby ​​red finish with a purple edged nose. In the nose we smell floral notes with a graceful touch of dried lavender, hints of white pepper, olive, violet, dried figs, potpourri and some licorice and secondary we smell after some time and waltz some smoky notes, dark chocolate, vanilla, hints of cloves, cedarwood, pastries, shortbread. In the mouth the wine is medium bodied. Very elegant, dry and still a bit youthful, at first quite firm tannins but with time they melt wonderfully. In the aftertaste we tasted some rosemary and the Somesay Syrah has a very nice aftertaste. The wine will benefit from being decanted beforehand.