Blackwater Cultellus Syrah MMXII (2012)
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Francois Haasbroek who makes Blackwater Wine spent several celebrated years championing the cause at Waterford. He now consults with a few well- known wineries including Muratie, Bloemendal and Marianne. While he was working at Waterford he began a project making his own wine in rented cellar space near Joostenberg, Stellenbosch. Blackwater wines came into being in 2010.
With an outset of dry tannin and good acidity, the wines aren't full bodied and weighty, but rather fresh and vibrant across both the white and red ranges. Single vineyard wines are characteristically harvested earlier than many other farmers so that more acidity can be harnessed. Grapes for blends are picked at different times, adding extra complexity to these wines too.
Mostly older barrels are used to age the red wines, and maturation can last from 14- 28 months. Some of the barrels are really old, giving a neutral flavour- so its really more about fruit, acidity and grape tannin in the wine. This leaves wines much lighter in appearance due to the precipitation of colour. Wines aged for longer periods tend to lack pronounced aromatics as well. For Francois its all about the palate.
Fruit is sourced from the best vineyard sites across the winelands in Ashton, Durbanville, Darling, Stellenbosch, the Swartland and Elgin. There's even some Carignan being sourced from a secret location, the whereabouts being guarded by 'Omerta', a mafia vow of silence.
The Cultellus Syrah comes from the Kasteelberg in the Swartland near Riebeeck Kasteel,
from a single vineyard with Schist soils.
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| Schist Soils. Other notable areas in the world for these types of soils are Faugeres in France and Priorat in Spain. |
Schist is a laminated, crystalline rock based soil that
retains heat well and is rich in minerals but poor in other nutrients. In the vineyard the rocks and stones look like little knives.
Grapes usually ripen well, and due to the lack of nutrients the roots will have to grow quite deep, imparting a mineral quality to the wine often described as 'graphite'. Syrah wines are usually supple (soft tannin), bold and fine textured.
Having tasted a few South African Rhone varietal wines from Schist soils, I also find a characteristic sweet black cherry note as a main fruit descriptor.
The vines are all trellised and un- irrigated.
Cultellus is a derivative of the Latin word Culter meaning knife. It means a small knife or dagger, referring to the appearance of the schist soils where it is grown.
Amazingly, the Cultellus Syrah is harvested around 2 weeks earlier than many other Syrah vineyards grown nearby such as the famous Mullineux Schist Syrah vineyard next door to it. This is evident in the wine's low alcohol of 13.4%.
Just 3 old 500l barrels are made of this wine, and the wine is naturally fermented. After a 4 week fermentation the wine goes into the large- format barrels and is aged for 24 months.
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| Blackwater is a reference to tannic cape mountain water which is stained almost black with plant tannin after heavy rainfall. |
In line with Francois' desired flavour profile, I found the wine to be noticeably fresh with a delicate acidity and soft, dry tannins. There were no loud Syrah aromatics on the wine at all, but just a whiff of graphite, fresh berry and earth.
Its still tight and holding alot back. Its going to be interesting to see what other complexities this intriguing wine will add to the current Maraschino cherry, tar (in a good way) and sweet spice notes I picked up on the palate.
Blackwater Cultellus Syrah is available at a discerning merchant near you or on the website here: Blackwater Wine. Or just post a comment and I'll get in touch with you.
