Duncan Savage, Are we there yet, 2024

Damson, Violet, Garrigue Spice

Western Cape / Red / Touriga Nacional & Syrah / Organic

Perfectly ripe fruit is hand-harvested and sorted. Small, intact bunches are often fermented whole or with ~10% whole-bunch Syrah in open-top fermenters with indigenous yeasts; the ferments are kept relatively gentle, then the grapes are basket-pressed. The wine is matured in old 500L French oak barrels (c. 10–12 months) to gain texture without overwhelming the fruit, and is generally bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulphur. The result is a dense, savoury red showing damson and blackberry with violet perfume and a garrigue, mineral finish. 

Notes on the producer

Duncan Savage cut his teeth making acclaimed wines at Cape Point and launched Savage Wines as a side project in 2011, turning it into his full-time endeavour in 2016. He works with small, often old bush-vine parcels across exposed Cape sites, buying and leasing grapes from distinctive terroirs and vinifying with a low-intervention approach in an urban cellar in Salt River, Cape Town. The Malgas fruit for “Are We There Yet” comes from gravelly, river-pebble soils on the Sijnn property along the Breede River — a crunchy, rocky site planted to bush vines that lends power and mineral grip to the blend. Savage’s style — precise, terroir-driven fruit, spontaneous ferments, basket pressing and ageing in large, seasoned oak — has made these wines highly sought after.