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.
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About this Item
Scion refers to the top life bearing parts of a plant/vine or can also mean ‘the descendant of’. Sinai refers to ‘Sinai Hill’ – a granite hill in the lower Helderberg region south of Stellenbosch towards False Bay. Bernhard Bredell used these words to create the name ‘Scions of Sinai’ which is also applicable given that he is a 7th generation (descendant) of Bredell wine farmers from this area. Scions of Sinai Wines focus on curating some uniquely uncompromised wines with an obsessive attention to detail for terroir influences and a deep passion for heritage.
The lot consists of the following wines:
Scions of Sinai Swanesang 2017 (1 x 750ml)
Scions of Sinai Swanesang 2018 (1 x 750ml)
Scions of Sinai Swanesang 2019 (1 x 750ml)
Scions of Sinai Swanesang 2020 (1 x 750ml)
Scions of Sinai Swanesang 2021 (2 x 750ml)
Winemaker's comments:
'Syrah has for long been part of the lower coastal Helderberg area. Apart from the old Port wines, I grew up around a lot of Syrah in the winery of my father. Today there is only one farm with bushvine Syrah left here in the Southern Stellenbosch area. Standing as the 'Swansong' tribute to a few other great bushvine Syrah's that have succumb to uprooting in recent decades.
2017 was the maiden vintage for Swanesang. This was from a single vineyard next door to this farm and was sadly uprooted in 2018 by new farmers in the area. Certainly 2017 was and always will be uniquely scarse, a true Swanesang moment for that single vineyard. I kept going with the name Swanesang for the new vineyard, as a tribute.
The 2018 vintage was the only non single vineyard expression. As I used two vineyards in this area to try find the right fit. They worked well together and 2018 has since then in fact become a highlight vintage. From there, my aim was to choose and stick to expressing a single vineyard from a small site and the now, since 2019, registered Single Vineyard Swanesang bushvine has become the focus. Making 2019, 2020 and 2021 the first 3 vintages solely from the same Single Vineyard as described above - and if we take good care, will be for many vintages to come.
Excitingly, 2022 sees the first introduction of a Concrete large format ageing component. Binding purity with a healthy reduction for an excitingly leaner and complex long follow.' - Bernhard Bredell
Critics Ratings
2017
‘Bernhard Bredell has worked a harvest with Alain Graillot in Crozes-Hermitage, so he's learnt about Syrah from one of the best. This wouldn't look out of place in the northern Rhône, unfurling violet, iodine and white pepper aromas in the glass. Complex, spicy and appealingly feral. 2020-27.’ - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2019, 94/100
2018
'The last two hectares of dry-farmed Syrah on the Helderberg, planted by Bernhard Bredell's grandfather in 1995, were pulled out in 2017, so this Swanesang comes from a new source on the mountain. Rich, dense and Cornas-like, it's another remarkable Syrah from this talented young winemaker, with pepper spice and grip from 30% whole bunches and meaty, stony complexity. 2021-30.’ - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2019, 95/100
2019
‘Most focused of the reds, with smallest wholebunch/stem portion (55%) and purest fruit. 2019 from Syrah bushvines shows red and black fruit, fynbos and white pepper complexity. Fine-boned, with enthralling acid-tannin tension, invigorating finish. New to the guide, as all.’ – Platter’s SA Wine Guide 2021, 5* (95 pts)
‘The 2019 Swanesang comes from a 0.8-hectare parcel on decomposed granite soils planted in 1999. Here, vines are usually bush vines, but Bredell has trained them to grow upright. Blended with 60% stems, there is just a slight reduction on the nose, though with aeration it reveals enticing brambly red fruit, sous-bois, fennel and white pepper scents. The palate is medium-bodied with an almost pastille-like purity on the entry that belies the structure and backbone. Mainly red fruit here, white pepper and sage, it has impressive precision and freshness on the Rhône-inspired finish.’ – Neal Martin, Vinous, 95/100 (Sept 2022)
2020
‘From Shiraz on decomposed granite. 2020 as focused and pure as 2019 (5 stars, 95 pts), with similar red and black fruit intensity, fynbos and white pepper complexity. Broadest shoulders in the line-up (13.5% alcohol), good build, with arresting acid-tannin tension, cassis persistence.’ – Platter’s SA Wine Guide 2022, 4.5* (93 pts)
‘Youthful, focused and compact, this is still a very young wine with evident whole bunch influence, notes of fynbos, hot stones and fresh earth, grippy, savoury tannins and a core of damson, plum and black cherry fruit. One to tuck away. 2023-27.’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2021, 92/100
2021
‘The 2021 Swanesang includes 85% stem addition, higher than the 2019, with 11 months on the lees. It was the first vintage where Bredell had to do some suckering. I had to wait two or three minutes because of the reduction, but wow, it is worth the wait. It unfurls with exquisite red fruit, a hint of blueberry, pressed violet and light garrigues scents. There is something sensual about the aromatics here. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, pure black and red fruit, an insistent grip with a complex white pepper and thyme infused finish. You will find it difficult to find a more soulful and importantly delicious Syrah from the Cape.’ – Neal Martin, Vinous, 97/100 (Sept 2022)
‘A 0.7-hectare plot of high-density vines in Firgrove, all planted with the SH1 clone, is the origin of this impressive Syrah from the talented Bernhard Bredell. Grippy and slightly reductive, with firmish tannins, ample grip and density and spicy hibiscus and dark berry flavours. 2023-29.’ - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2022, 92/100
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