2023 Atlas Swift Shelter Tempranillo

Atlas Swift is the winery where the premium wines of Martin & Welma Smith from Franschhoek are made. Martin is the winemaker and became known for his work for Pasarene. Their specialty is terroir-driven wines, and this is also the reference to Atlas, which refers to the various maps, or terroirs, where the vines grow. The Shelter Chardonnay is a true terroir wine, meaning that soil, location, and certainly also the climatic conditions of a particular vintage determine the wine. (Fortunately) there is no attempt to make it uniform.

The Atlas Swift Tempranillo is a beautiful and unique wine, but it is produced in very small quantities. The vineyard is located in the Cederberg Mountains. Only the healthiest berries from hand-harvested grapes were placed in small, open-topped fermenters, where they were fermented on the skins. During fermentation, pump-overs were performed twice daily to extract the ripe, round tannins and the maximum amount of color pigment. To ensure the fruit remains the primary focus, the wine was aged in 3rd and 4th fill French oak barrels to minimize the influence of oak-derived characters.

The Atlas Swift Shelter has layered aromas of black cherries, dried figs, cocoa, tar, and cedarwood, and with a little swirling, we also smell dill and rose petals. The tannins give the wine a muscular backbone. The palate is fruit-driven, with soft flavors of red berries, dried apricots, and aniseed. A deliciously juicy wine with lingering notes of ripe red berries on the finish. Pairs well with: roasted or grilled meat dishes with plenty of flavor and herbs. Aged Gouda cheese.

FACT: In the tab: Attachment, you'll find the official fact sheet for this fine wine. We'll automatically send it to you when you order this wine. The wine is stored in our climate-controlled Wine Warehouse, and if you pick it up, you'll also receive a nice discount. You'll see your discount immediately when you choose "Pick up" at the checkout page. We're located right next to the Rijksweg with ample parking. Click here for our address.

About Atlas Swift

ATLAS: In Greek mythology, Atlas sided with the Titans when they fought the Olympians during the Titanomachy, a series of battles between these two generations that lasted ten years. When the Titans were defeated, many were imprisoned in Tartarus, a deep abyss used as a dungeon of torment and a prison for the Titans. However, Zeus, leader of the Olympians and god of thunder and the sky, condemned Atlas to stand at the western edge of the Earth and hold up the heavens on his shoulders for eternity. A common misconception today is that Atlas was forced to hold up the Earth on his shoulders, but in classical art, Atlas is depicted holding the heavenly bodies, not the globe. This was reinforced in the 16th century by the developing use of "atlas" to describe a body of terrestrial maps. For Atlas Swift, the use of the word Atlas is an ode to the Titan of endurance. We also recognize that the responsibility rests on our shoulders to protect the character of the land in which the grapes grow. Atlas also refers to the various maps, or terroirs, where our vineyards grow.

SWIFT: Swifts belong to a family of high-flying birds called Apodidae, and are among the fastest birds in the world. Martin & Welma Smith's wine journey is like that of a swift – while they may not always propel us at the speed of light (making good wine requires patience), they are constantly on the move, exploring the many atlases of the Cape Winelands and its diverse terroirs.

In 2019, Martin and Welma Smith's dreams became reality when the first vintage of Atlas Swift was born. All our wines are vinified the same way, the only difference being the origin of the grapes, and they are produced in very limited quantities due to the constraints of their provenance.