The producer Duncan uses fruit from old vines with whole bunch fermentation, minimum intervention, and use of old wood, as well as amphorae for his reds, to create beautiful wines that reflect their terroir. Doing “as little as possible, as much as you can,” according to Duncan, is the key. All of his wines have the potential to age for a very long time, making them exciting new South African wines to watch.
The 2021 Girl Next Door comes from 3.8 hectares near the sea in Fishhoek. Here Savage needs to double-net the now dry-farmed vines to prevent them from birds stealing their portion of the fruit. You can detect the black berry fruit, dried mint, and mixed spices without even bringing the glass to your nose. It has a gorgeously deep, brooding bouquet that is full of bittersweet black berry fruits, earthy black currant, pithy black cherry, iron filings, black olive tapenade, and a chalky, dusty mineral lift. Compared to Savage’s other labels, this one has a considerably sweeter introduction on the medium-bodied palate. The tannins are densely fruited, deep, and wonderfully textured. There is a fine grip in the mouth, along with hints of cracked black pepper and pencil shavings, and a very long finish. Given the vines’ youth, this is incredibly deep and vigorous, pretty complex, and completely captivating.
Before drinking, wait a few years after release or age this exquisite beauty for 15 to 20 years.
Only slightly more than 700 bottles of this beauty were released, so we feel incredibly lucky to offer a small number of those to our customers.
Food pairing suggestion: Carbonnade Flamande.
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