Boekenhoutskloof Syrah: Good Wine But Needs Some Time...

A while back I was sent a shipment of Syrah for a Hospice du Rhône online tasting (yes, this wine was gratis, but I'm still going to tell you what I really think). I never got a confirmation that I was being sent wine for the event, so I didn't hurry to the FedEx to pick up the box. When I finally got down there and received the shipment, I had a horrifying moment of guilt -- I had missed the online gig by a day. Urgh.

The bright spot was that, in spite of the snafu, the organizers allowed me to keep these beautiful Syrahs that I've been making my way through. With this ridiculously frigid weather bracing Atlanta (didn't I move south for better weather?), Syrah is so warming and delicious that I'm happy I saved it a few weeks so I can really enjoy it.

Before moving on to the wine, I should probably explain what Hospice du Rhône is. It's a pretty cool organization that celebrates and elevates the profiles of producers who grow and make wine from the 22 varieties that go into Rhône wines. The organization has a big 3 day event every year for the public to educate folks on Rhône varieties through a grand tasting, which lots of international producers attend. If you love Rhône wines, get your ticket to Cali today, because it's in Paso Robles (South Central Cali) on April 29- May 1 this year.

Now, to this South African beauty of a Syrah. I have a special place in my heart for South Africa and South African wines. At the end of 2004 to 2005 (I spent New Year's there) I was lucky enough to go to this gorgeous place and explore wine country a bit (when I wasn't scaling rock face to get up the back side of Table Mountain and Lion's Head! Hiking is my other passion). I got to taste some wonderful wines, especially those from the Franschhoek area(where the wine below hails from), and got familiar with some of the stellar producers in the region. South Africa has a ton of potential and is worth trying if you haven't experimented yet!

The Boekenhoutskloof (AWESOME name, pronounced book-n-howeds-kloof) comes in a heavy bottle and is called Syrah. I bring up this second point because Shiraz and Syrah are the same grape, but producers use each term to indicate a style difference. Most South African producers want to be affiliated with Australian-style wines, so they use "Shiraz" on their labels. Interestingly, Boekenhoutskloof uses Syrah, which indicates to me that they were going for a more French style wine.I think they succeeded.

Here's the rundown:

The Wine: Boekenhoutskloof
Where It's From: Franschhoek, South Africa (near Capetown)
The Grapes: 100% Syrah
Vintage: 2006
Price: $40.00

Color: Um, just a little dark and opaque. Perhaps black would be a good description. The wine is intensely colored and although showing it's age with a brown edge, you can immediately tell that it was harvested in an area with a warm climate because of that dark color. Another giveaway -- the tears dripped so slowly down the sides of the glass, it was like honey. That indicates high alcohol, and the wine has almost 15% so my eyes did not deceive me.


Smell: I love Syrah because when it's good, the aromas just keep coming. Boekenhoutskloof
is layered and refined and complex. Rich dark berry, black plum, and raisins came first. Then coffee and mocha from the oak and a violet, dark flower perfume. There was a underlying mineral quality and a wet soil character that made this wine more Old World in style than New World. What an impressive nose! The only giveaway that this isn't from France -- you could smell the alcohol (Ok, time for a confession. Although I mostly drink wine, my dear friend and neighbor Lauri can vouch for the fact that I have a special place in my heart for Irish coffee. This wine smelled like coffee with whisky, Bailey's, and cream. Delicious.).

Taste: The wine delivered on the nose, which was great. It tasted like deep rich fruit, with more identifiable stuff on the palate than on the nose. Blackberry, dried cherry, prune, and cranberry were pronounced.

The secondary notes were interesting and yummy. The wine was like a main course and dessert in one. The entree featured a distinctive dark earth, bloody, meaty flavor. I'm a pescatarian but I just loved this character. It was raw and delicious. This was followed by a finish that was like dessert -- with coffee, mocha, espresso and chocolate hanging around and leaving a last impression. I guess you can drink a meal (even without that Jack La Lanne juicer liquifier thing that is always on infomercials).

Before I wrap on the taste, the texture is worth noting. On the positive side, I was surprised that I didn't taste the alcohol, which I expected to feel after smelling it and seeing in in the glass. That said, the wines seemed to lack acid to balance the tannin. Although I liked this wine, I found it fell flat on the finish. The flavors were there and the tannin strong, but without the acid the wine was just pretty good, not phenomenal.

With that criticism, though, I got to give the marketers some props -- on the wine note they acknowledge that the vintage is really tight, needs cellaring, and that it shines in secondary and tertiary, rather than primary, flavors. I couldn't agree more. Good for them for being honest and not trying to spin. We need more people like that in wine. It makes me want to buy more of their product and support them (if it's true that all they need is a few years in the cellar to bring this back to life!).

Food: Given the bloody quality of the wine (at the risk of sounding vampiric, I mean this in a positive way), I think a complementary pairing with rare steak is your best bet. This wine requires heavy stews and rich, dark flavors. Beef, mushroom, braised pork -- you get the gist.

Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink, but not now. It's a little pricey for the quality as it stands. If you buy this wine you will need to cellar it for 3-5 years. If you're willing to wait, it should be well worth it. I have a feeling that with some time, the tannins and delicious flavors that are in this wine now will develop into something heavenly!

Bonus picture: me atop Table Mountain after a LONG climb