Young Guns
Online-Only Auction, 17 - 28 November 2022
Young Guns | For the classicists and the geeks alike, an incredible collection
About the SessionWhat 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.
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
About this Item
Damascene is a partnership between celebrated Cape winemaker Jean Smit, previously the winemaker at Boekenhoutskloof and David Curl, former owner of Château Gaby in Canon-Fronsac, Bordeaux, now based at Moya Meaker in Elgin. Jean Smit is a rising star in SA winemaking and certainly a winemaker to watch. They seek out unique vineyards and sites across the Western Cape winelands and have created an exciting, pitch-perfect set of wines which are placed amongst the finest in SA. The debut wines were released in 2019, garnering much acclaim and excitement from both local and international wine critics.
Since the inaugural release, the Damascene Stellenbosch Syrah is sourced from the Bottelary and Polkadraai Hills – each site adding a building block to the wine. The vineyard on Polkadraai Hills was planted on a southeast slope in 1996, and contributes perfume and spice to the wine. While the structure and fruit intensity comes from a vineyard of low-yielding granitic soils in the Bottelary.
Critics Ratings
'A combination of Polkadraai and Bottelary grapes, winemaking involving multiple fermentations. A compelling nose of red and black berries, black pepper, fynbos, incense and wilted rose. The palate is rich and dense in the best way – intense but not weighty, this has great freshness and lovely ripe tannins in addition to impressive fruit. Super detail and energy, this immediately places among the best in the country.' - Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 97/100 (Sept 2019)
'The exciting Damascene project combines Syrah grapes from the Polkadraai and Bottelary to make this decomposed granite-based red. Intense, deeply coloured and smoky, with smooth, textured, palate-caressing tannins, blackberry fruit, some Asian spices and a long, stony finish. Up a point with another year in bottle, this is very promising from Rhône nut Jean Smit. 2021-26.' - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2020, 94/100
Provenance
Producer
Other lots that might interest you
