DAMASCENE
2022 Semillon Franschhoek
The 2022 Semillon from Franschhoek comes from vines planted in 1942 and 1962 on sandstone soils, aged 11 months in Austrian foudre. It has disarming purity on the nose with mineral-rich yellow fruit, nectarine, and a little lanolin coming through with aeration. The palate is beautifully balanced with a taut, clinical line of acidity (the pH here is lower than in Damascene's Chenin) with a liberal sprinkling of white pepper mixed with stem ginger on the finish. Excellent. It should age extremely well in bottle. Drinking range: 2024 - 2044 Rating: 94 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Aug 2023)
In Bond
75cl bottles (case of 6)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Damascene
Damascene is a seriously exciting new find for us in South Africa. Their maiden vintage here was 2018 and we were blown away by the results. 2019, their second vintage was sold out on release, read the press release HERE.
The highly acclaimed Jean Smit, previously winemaker at Boekenhoutskloof, has teamed up with David Curl, former owner of Bordeaux’s Chateau Gaby.
Their goal is to explore all across the South African winelands in search of exceptional sites. Sites that deliver an important moment of insight, and hence the name of the project. A Damascene moment of clarity, where we can all understand the greatness of these small, prized plots.
The vineyards are old and well established but small, so each of these brilliant wines is only released in very small quantities. We urge you to catch them while you can.