Bruce Jack Heritage Collection Clean Slate Shiraz 2020

The Clean Slate Shiraz 2020 comes from a 0.45ha vineyard on Bruce Jack’s Overberg farm The Drift planted on, you guessed it, slate as well as granite at 420m above sea level. Winemaking involved 15% whole-bunch fermentation before 18 months in a mix of French and American oak, 20% new.

The nose shows black fruit, cinnamon, vanilla and white pepper while the palate is rich and smooth textured – plenty of fruit depth, bright but well integrated acidity and silky tannins. It’s a big, luxurious wine, a style Jack has long favoured (alc: 14%). The back label advises that “cellared respectfully, (it) will develop gracefully for at least two decades after harvest” and you get the sense it won’t fall over for lack of substance. Price: R573 a bottle.

CE’s rating: 92/100.

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