“This might be the finest wine that I have tasted from Lukas Van Loggerenberg.” - Neal Martin, 97 points

“World class.” - Tim Atkin MW, 96 points

When Chris Alheit introduces a new winemaker, who he says is one to look out for, then people necessarily sit up and take notice. That was what happened when Chris contacted his old friend and UK importer, Richard Kelley, with an email that simply said “Richard meet Lukas, Lukas meet Richard”. Richard caught the next plane out to The Cape and the rest is history. Within a few years, Lukas has become synonymous with South Africa’s ‘New Wave’ and both wine merchants and wine drinkers now have to fight for an allocation.

His ‘Graft’ Syrah from the Polkadraai Hills, just outside Stellenbosch, is a thing of great beauty, evoking wines like Cote Rotie and Hermitage with purple flower petals in its upper register, black cherry in its middle register and sweet spice in its lower register. It’s wonderfully authentic. There’s a wonderful inner perfume that suffuses the dark, mellifluous fruit, bringing exotic seduction to a grape than can taste monolithic in the wrong hands. It’s 100% whole bunch-fermented, which brings a sappy, juiciness to the wine, and aged for a year in a mix of Italian concrete and old French oak, which softens and sweetens the crunchy young berries. Can be drunk when young, as it has so much fruit, but it has decades ahead of it. 14% alc. Drink now-2042.

Press reviews:

Vinous (Neal Martin): “"The 2022 Graft is pure Syrah from Polkadraai Hills that is matured two-thirds in concrete, the remainder in second-fill barrels. "It's the easiest wine I make because of the quality of the vineyard," Van Loggerenberg mentions. It has a stunning crushed violet petal, mineral-driven bouquet that effortlessly subsumes the 100% whole bunch. The palate is supremely well-balanced and tensile, with touches of pink peppercorn and brine infusing the black fruit, leading to another, almost Cornas-like, pliant finish. This might be the finest wine that I have tasted from Lukas Van Loggerenberg (so far). Drink now-2050.“ 97 points

Greg Sherwood MW: “This pretty Syrah shows a deep broody aromatics with layers of rose water, lavender, violets, red plum, red cherry, and scented talc. The palate shows incredible intensity and fine chalky tannins with a power and precision, or as Lukas says, Cote Rotie meets Polkadraai Hills! A multi-layered, texturally stimulating Syrah that s incredibly perfumed, intense, and quite profound. One of Lukas s most sophisticated wines without doubt.” 97+ points

Tim Atkin MW: “ "A freak of a vineyard", is how Lukas van Loggerenberg describes Karibib, the source of several of the Cape's most exciting Syrahs, including this one. Fermented with whole bunches before ageing in a 70/30 combination of concrete and older barrels, Graft is a violet, lavender and paprika-scented red with a palate of damson, black olive and blackberry, dense, layered tannins and the grip and concentration to age. World class. Drink now-2032.” 96 points

JancisRobinson.com (Tamlyn Currin): “Smells of black pepper and wild strawberries. Intensely peppery but no shortage of super-fresh, resonant fruit. The tannins feel like old parchment, layer upon layer. It really presses into you, delicious concentration on the mid palate but really dancing on the nose and on the finish. Tremendous energy. Drink now-2032.” 17.5 points