2022 Savage, White, Western Cape, South Africa

75% Sauvignon Blanc, 25% Sémillon. 12 months in 500-litre barrels.

Now this is serious! A refined blend that recalls the sleekest, least-fat Pessac-Léognan. Great stuff! Apparently, the 2013 is still in great shape in 2023.

Drink 2023 - 2030

The 2022 White Blend Savage is whole bunch pressed, barrel-fermented and aged for ten months in 500L French oak, 20% new. The enticing bouquet offers white peach, beeswax and yellow plum; the Semillon is expressive despite being 25% of the blend. The palate is well-balanced, linear in style, with fine acidity considering the vintage with a citrus-fresh, quite sharp finish where the Sauvignon is boss. Excellent.

I dropped in to see winemaker Duncan Savage at his Cape Town winery, where he proudly showed me the top floor above the winery he recently acquired, freeing up a lot more space. 

“It was quite warm as a vintage,” he tells me. “The 2022s were picked at similar levels to normal, but there was more selection and sorting. We picked 11 tons between 40 people, and 12 people had to sort them carefully because of bird damage. The acids are slightly lower than usual. We meddle only where we need to meddle. Chenin Blanc can get rich and flabby; we must manage that. So, barrels are stored at around 10° Celsius rather than 16° Celsius to keep the whites as tight as possible.” 

This was a brilliant set of distinct wines from Savage, crowned by a stunning Touriga Naçional/Syrah blend under the “Are We There Yet?” moniker. The Savage Red, which utilises 40% whole clusters, is one of the best released yet, and I feel it’s superior to the white counterpart this year.

Drink 2024 - 2034

Composed of a blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Sémillon, the 2022 Proprietary White displays oak notes with fresh citrus that drive the wine's nose of wax melon and dusty lemon blossom essences. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers a delightful and complex mouthfeel with flavors of lemon meringue and pastry cream flavors with a kiss of oak before gliding to a delightfully long finish. Just under 10,000 bottles were produced after the wine spent 10 months in barrels.

Drink 2023 - 2034

Grapefruit, wild herbs, snow peas and lemon rind on the nose. Creamy yet bright and crunchy, with a medium body and fantastic flavour concentration. Pure, perfectly ripe and fresh. Sauvignon blanc and semillon. 

Drink or hold