Remhoogte Wine Estate is family owned and runs and sits right on the slopes of Simonsberg, which is located in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
Some of the vines used by the estate were planted as far back as 1812, giving the winery a long, rich history in the region.
The majority of the vines from the original estate were uprooted back in the 1990s when the estate relocated from the lower-elevated valleys of the area to better-quality, high-altitude spots featuring better drainage and more suitable soil types.
Pruning, picking, and sorting of the grapes are handled by hand by the seven families who live on the property and work the fields, and great care is taken to sort out clusters that were overexposed in the vineyard.
While Remhoogte holds on to the highest-quality grapes produced, the estate sells off around half of the grapes to surrounding wineries as well.
Contents
Remhoogte Single Vineyard Syrah Review
All of the juice for this bottle is hand-selected from a single vineyard, then placed in French oak for the fermentation process.
About half of the clusters are de-stemmed, while the other half is fermented whole-cluster style, meaning that the stems are left with the grapes.
This adds higher levels of tannin and more phenolic compounds, making for a bigger, more intense wine.
Remhoogte Single Vineyard Syrah Summary
- Brand: Remhoogte
- Country: South Africa
- Region: Stellenbosch
- Wine Type: Red Wine
- Varietal: Syrah
- ABV: 14.9%
Appearance
The wine is a gorgeously deep ruby-red color in the glass and boasts monstrous legs when swirled around briefly in the glass.
Smell
This is a particularly powerful Syrah on the nose, somewhat reminiscent of Syrah from Cornas in the Rhone valley of France.
Plums, white pepper, wild cherries, and sweet tobacco leaves make up the bulk of the aromatics.
These more intense aromatics are accentuated by notes of scorched earth, blueberries, star anise, and cardamom.
Taste
The wine is big and grippy on the palate, with plenty of tannin and acidity. Flavors of blueberry, black cherries, and plum sauce are the first thing to wash over the tongue in waves.
There are savory, intense notes of cured meat, bacon fat, and bramble throughout, which I thoroughly enjoy in my Syrah.
More subtle notes of graphite, sassafras, and licorice are present here as well, though you may have to taste careful to tease them out among the bigger fruits and earthy characteristics.
What Does Remhoogte Single Vineyard Syrah Pair With?
Gamey meats, liberally spiced dishes, and roasted mushrooms all do fantastically well with this bottle.
Barbecued beef ribs with a liberal dry rub will also do well and can help to really bring out some of the more subtle nuances of the wine, depending on your spices of choice.
For cheeses, I would recommend harder cheeses with some good age to them. Smoked gouda is an excellent choice, as are more saline cheeses such as manchego, grana padano, and pecorino.
What Wines Are Similar to Remhoogte Single Vineyard Syrah?
If you are feeling particularly bold, I will reach for a bottle of Cornas after enjoying this.
Cornas is a region in the Rhone valley in France, just South of Lyon.
The wines there are made up of Syrah and are considered to be some of the biggest, meatiest, and most intense representations of the wine available.
You could also try out Petite Sirah! Though the names are similar, these are different grapes.
Petite Sirah tends to be a bit richer, with more robust tannin and notes of stewed black fruits.
One of my personal favorites to start with would be Stokes’ Ghost, which is produced over in Monterey in, California.
It has big tannin, loads of dark fruit, and a hefty body that’s sure to please.
Final Thoughts
I must admit that I am partial to wines from Stellenbosch in the first place, but this is a ringer.
It brings everything to the table that you could possibly want from an intense Syrah.