Jasper Wickens and his viticulturist wife, Franziska Wickens, live and make wine on her family farm, Waterval (Waterfall), in the very heart of the Swartland. Neighbouring some of South Africa’s most sought-after Swartland producers in the Siebritskloof Valley on the northern side of the Paardeberg, they are in the proverbial thick of it with people like Adi Badenhorst, Jasper’s previous employer on Kalmoesfontein, Eben Sadie on Rotsvas, and David & Nadia Sadie.
The Paardeberg, with its 500-million-year-old magma and the resulting domes of granite and microclimates, makes for an intriguing winegrowing terroir. The different soil types, specifically decomposed granite, offer a freshness unique to the Valley to both whites and reds – something the whole wine-drinking world has started cottoning on to. With an unusually cool and slow ripening vintage like 2021, Jasper Wickens has produced some of his most profound wines yet.
At a recent tasting, I caught up with famous wine critic Dr Jamie Goode from the Wineanorak.com and shared a bottle of the latest release Swerwer 2021 Shiraz from Jasper. We were all suitably impressed.
JC Wickens Swerwer Shiraz 2021, WO Swartland, 13.5% Abv.
The Swartland is a warm, dry grape growing environment which makes this beautiful new release Shiraz 2021 from Jasper Wickens all the more remarkable. A bright vibrant ruby red colour, the expressive aromatics simply burst out of the glass, teasing the senses with incredibly intense, pure floral aromatics of violets, cherry blossom and rose petals that melt into pristine notes of sweet red cherries, tart red plums together with hints of cranberry and wild strawberry. The subtle notions of white pepper and salty red liquorice follow to the exquisitely elegant tight-knit palate that displays wonderful freshness and energy, drawing on the cooler vintage conditions of 2021 to offer up such impressive purity and precision matched by a deft pinpoint structure. The finish is delightfully cool, mineral and restrained delivering a deliciously focused raspberry and cherry fruited saline persistence that will definitely lure you back again and again for another sip. A truly noteworthy expression of Swerwer Shiraz. Drink on release and over the next 6 to 8+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The JC Wickens Swerwer wines are imported and distributed in the UK by South African specialist merchant Museum Wines.