2023 Swerwer - Shiraz Swartland (750ml)

Swerwer is the project of Jasper Wickens, whose name for the label means wanderer, evoking the itinerant life of a young winemaker chasing vintages around the world. Wickens began his career in 2009 alongside Adi Badenhorst at the Kalmoesfontein property in the Paardeberg, a formative experience during the early Swartland Revolution, before founding Swerwer in 2012. He later married Franziska Schreiber, whose family has farmed the Waterval property in the Paardeberg's Siebritskloof Valley for three generations, and the couple now produce their wines from that same farm using minimal intervention and no new oak.

The Shiraz vineyard sits deep inside a Paardeberg mountain valley, where the Waterval farm benefits from slightly higher rainfall and cooler temperatures than the surrounding Swartland. Vines grow in deep sandy granite soils interspersed with decomposing rock, and cool mornings followed by warm afternoon sun help concentrate flavor without stressing the fruit. Given the variety's small berries and delicate stems, the grapes are fermented entirely as whole bunches, a technique suited to Shiraz's naturally fragile structure.

The wine shows a deep purple black plum color, with lifted aromatics of red and black berries, violet, and lavender, complicated by cranberry, crushed gravel, and a savory hint of olive. The palate stays medium bodied, silky, and fresh, framed by fine chalky tannins. Pair it with grilled venison, lamb kebabs, or a peppery steak.