Eight Gates Syrah 2024 Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Eight Gates makes a small clutch of wines, each from a carefully chosen parcel and each in tiny numbers. Behind it are Carlo Suter, a Stellenbosch trained winemaker with a cabinetmaker’s feel for wood, and his old school friend Kolja Sturmer. Their barrels come from a family cooperage in the Italian Dolomites, adding texture more than overt oak flavour.

The fruit grows in the Jacob’s Ladder vineyard on Karibib Farm in the Polkadraai Hills, just outside Stellenbosch. Decomposed granite soils and a south westerly aspect facing False Bay let cooling ocean winds shape a lighter, more aromatic Syrah. Picked one March morning, half the bunches went into the ferment whole to draw out the site’s spice and scent. It is Syrah made for elegance, not power.

The 2024 growing season brought a cool, wet start followed by a warm, dry and windy summer, one of the earliest harvests in years. Disease pressure stayed low and the fruit ripened cleanly, giving whites and reds alike very good quality. For a coastal cooled site like this, the year’s freshness suited Syrah’s aromatic, more delicate style perfectly.

Expect red and black berries with striking floral notes of rose and lavender, and a lick of white pepper. The palate is light, linear and precise, more northern Rhone in spirit than sun baked, with silky texture and gentle grip. It finishes fresh and long. Serve it slightly cool, and it will drink well now or over the next few years. Lovely with grilled lamb, duck or roasted vegetables.

Christian Eedes at Winemag rated the 2024 Syrah 93 points, praising a palate that is poised and precise. Fans of cool climate, whole bunch Syrah, the kind that favours perfume over sheer weight, will find plenty to admire. With only 600 bottles made, it is a wine to seek out and to serve when you want something a little special.