2008 Luddite Vineyards Shiraz

The 2008 Shiraz comes from three vineyards in the Bot River and in Stellenbosch and sees 18 months in 95% French and 5% Hungarian oak of which 30% was new. It bowls you over with its smorgasbord of blackberry and mulberry fruit, then with continued aeration, India ink and lemon rind. The aromatics seem to be so full of energy, yet the aromas are contained and aimed directly at your senses. The palate is medium-bodied with a sweet vibrant entry. Yes, there is a payload of cassis and blackberry fruit, but simultaneously there is that piercing acidity that lends it freshness and tension. This is a gorgeous Shiraz that I suspect will age with style over the next decade. Niels Verburg crafts some of South Africa’s wines and his tongue-in-cheek label entitled Luddite is well worth seeking out. Only sold through auction.