Syrah ‘The Francophile’ The Liberator is a marvellous wine made from Syrah sourced from cooler granite soils on a south east facing slope in the Bottelary Hills. There is a lovely purity of fruit which is a mix of red and black berries. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and then aged for 12 months in a combination of concrete, stainless steel and seasoned barrels. It has a coolness and freshness which is quite lovely and displayed all the characteristic fruit without the oak interference.

The Liberator series of wines were created by Master of Wine Richard Kelley who felt sorry for parcels of top quality grapes that he witnessed being blended into mass produced wines. He did the honourable thing, bought them and then vinified them separately to create something better. The Francophile Chenin Blanc and Syrah are now produced each year from the same source in Bottelary Hills, Stellenbosch and made by Carl van der Merwe at De Morgenzon winery.