Keermont Syrah 2012

Keermont Syrah 2012

Tuesday afternoon this week offered up a perfect opportunity to taste the latest offering from Alex Starey, winemaker at Keermont Vineyards in Stellenbosch.

Gavin Pittaway from Panama Jacks was the appointment, and I visited the famed harbour- side seafood restaurant with a few new vintages to try and persuade his selections for the new wine list. Its no secret that Panama Jacks put out one of the best damn wine lists in town, adjusting their selections twice a year.

Syrah at Keermont

Grapes come from 2 single- vineyard plantings at the top of the Blaauwklippen Valley. The Steepside Vineyard is planted on a buttress on the Helderberg Mountains and is north- facing. Some of the vines are planted in the, 'Echalas' method of tethering the vine to a pole, and soils are granitic. These vineyards produce wine with power, spice and slight herbal/ fynbos aromas. This vintage sees a splash of Mourvedre being added to the wine. This is also part of the Steepside single- vineyard designation.

The next component of the wine is from the Topside Vineyard, South and West- facing on the Stellenbosch Mountain range. Topside Syrah is more refined and aromatic, with a more delicate tannin structure. I think that the fact that conditions at Topside are cooler add much to these character traits.

The Wine Itself

All grapes were harvested by hand. The small Keermont A- Team of not more than 10 get the job done, and different parcels of grapes are harvested according to ripeness. Steepside grapes come in first.

Fermentation takes place in open fermentors, and maturation follows in old 500- litre barrels for about 20 months.

There's no filtration before bottling, which further enhances flavours of what is a lovely natural, clean, terroir- driven wine. 

Composition in the blend is 53% Steepside Syrah,  42% Topside Syrah, and  5% Steepside Mourvedre.

Smashing reviews by amongst others Tim Atkin MW, the Wine Cellar team, and a 5- Star nod from Decanter Magazine had all been noted prior to tasting the wine.

Tasting Note

My lunch- time tasters on Tuesday loved the wine, and it was finished rather quickly. Keermont Syrah is a rich, ripe wine without being jammy. Fruit, tannin, alcohol and acidity intricately balance in a round, velvety mouth- feel.

Compared with the previous vintage, I did appreciate that this wine was tighter in tannin structure- perhaps due to a cooler vintage, and having a dash of Mourvedre added.

I loved the honesty of flavour, purity of fruit and spice- nuances which kept me returning to my glass, and finishing mine more slowly than everyone else.

Its a class act, and I think there is going to be alot positive chatter in the wine trade around this wine.