Savage Girl Next Door 2025

Savage Girl Next Door is made by Duncan Savage of Savage Wines from tiny, windswept vineyards on the Cape Peninsula. The wine brings together fruit from two coastal parcels: the original 0.38-hectare vineyard near Fish Hoek, planted on sandy gravel soils, and a smaller southwest-facing parcel in Noordhoek on sandstone. Both sites lie within a few kilometres of the cold Atlantic Ocean, and that maritime influence is central to the wine's character. Savage Wines takes a restrained approach in the cellar, allowing these unusual coastal vineyards to speak clearly. The grapes are cooled overnight before spontaneous fermentation in open-top fermenters and conical foudres. Around 50% of the fruit is retained as whole bunches and remains on the skins for approximately two weeks before being basket pressed. The wine is then matured for around ten months in foudre and seasoned 500-litre French oak barrels. The result is a Cape Town Syrah that favours freshness, savoury complexity and fine structure over heavy extraction or obvious oak.

Colour: Deep ruby red with a youthful purple edge.
Nose: Perfumed aromas of violets, dark cherry and plum lead into notes of black olive, white pepper and subtle wild herbs. There is a distinctive coastal character in the background, with a suggestion of sea spray and savoury spice.
Palate: Medium-bodied and tightly structured, with dark cherry, plum and blackberry flavours carried by fresh acidity and fine, grippy tannins. The whole-bunch component adds a subtle herbal and spicy complexity, while the cool maritime origin gives the wine a distinctly savoury, saline quality. It has concentration without feeling heavy.
Finish: Long, fresh and savoury, with black olive, pepper, dark fruit and a lingering saline note.