Young Guns

Online-Only Auction, 17 - 28 November 2022

Young Guns | For the classicists and the geeks alike, an incredible collection
About the Session

What is a Young Gun?

A talented winemaker who pushes the boundaries, breaks the rules and creates cutting-edge wines with personality and energy. Young Guns either work, or have worked for notable estates, but also produce unique wines under their own labels. They are dynamic, working together in pushing the envelope and promoting brand SA. They are the winemakers who should be on your radar as they are making some of the most daring, innovative, and simply delicious wines in SA. They travel and taste extensively, drawing inspiration from the classics through to the more edgy, hip styles and techniques, from the profound and obscure wine regions of the world. And then they apply their own creative interpretations on home soil, often searching for unique vineyard sites, cultivars and old vines. The results are most often small in numbers and high in demand, selling out on release. They are the rising stars, the future icons and ultimately, tomorrow’s investment wines.


Sold for

ZAR 3 518
Lot 14
  • Blankbottle; Little William Syrah; 2018; 6 (1 x 6); 750ml


Lot Estimate
ZAR 3 000 - 4 500
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
ZAR 3 518

About this Item

2018 Little William Syrah
6 (1 x 6) 750ml

Pieter Walser is one of the world’s most innovative winemakers and produces some of South Africa’s most coveted wines that you’ve probably never tasted. Pieter crafts unique wine blends, picking about 35 grape varieties from 60 vineyards around the Cape. Each bottling is a unique and delicious snapshot of the vintage and vineyards and expresses BLANKbottle’s one-of-a-kind vinous vision. Each wine is bottled and labelled according to the story behind it and half will never make a re-appearance. The main aim of BLANKbottle wines is to provide an honest, personal taste with no preconceived expectations that come with certain vintages or styles.

Winemaker's Comments:
'The 2018 vintage of Little William is most probably our best to date. An awesome, super elegant wine. We fermented all the grapes 100% whole bunch. This means that we chucked whole clusters of grapes into the tank, not removing stems/stalks, retaining as much of the terroir/vineyard as possible. I gave my feet a good-old (soapless) scrub and then trampled the grapes, squashing only the berries. The juice underwent spontaneous fermentation and was left on the skins for 3 weeks - pressed into older French oak barrels and aged for a year. For those of you who likes Pinot Noir-styled wines, this is the closest Syrah to this you’ll find - at extreme height above sea-level - Wine of Origin: Ceres Plateau
.’ – Pieter Walser

Provenance

Producer

Critics Ratings

‘Little William is right up there with my favourite Cape Syrahs. Sourced from a vineyard at 800 metres on the Ceres Plateau, this is fermented with 100% whole bunches and is wonderfully sappy, savoury and white pepper-scented with a whisper of oak and delightful freshness. 2021-30.’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2019, 95/100

‘Beautifully leafy, sappy, ripe and intense with exotic crushed raspberry, cranberry with a fine grained palate of dried guava roll, marzipan and juicy red fruits. A thoroughly amiable wine.’ - Greg Sherwood MW, A Fine Wine Safari, 92+/100 (May 2019)

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