2014 Porseleinberg Swartland Syrah

Dense pitch black core with a deep dark red black hue. Pronounced spicy dark to black plum, black cherry and liquorice scents are overlaid by dried meats, scorched earth, smoky cedar and pepper notes. Bold upfront black cherry and liquorice fruits show excellent richness over a smoky cedar, earthy black olive and peppered meats backdrop. A touch of fennel also chimes in. Finishes dry with robust tannins imparting some grip. Medium to long smoky leather, scorched earth, dried meats and pepper aftertaste that’s very Northern Rhone like.
Cellar 5-6 years.
Alc. 13.5% 

Other Reviews….
Porseleinberg's 2014 Syrah has a very pure bouquet of blackberry, briary, hints of crushed violet and iris all with wonderful delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin. Compared to other vintages that I have tasted, this 2014 feels quite structured and perhaps a little more masculine than previous vintages, the schistous terroir expressive towards the mineral-driven finish. It constitutes one of the most intellectual wines from Porseleinberg that I have tasted, maybe less opulent than previous vintages, yet with great complexity and breeding. Drink 2019-2038.
96 points
Neal Martin – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate

(13.5% alcohol): Dark ruby-red. Knockout nose combines black fruits, black olive, pepper, violet and spices, plus a whiff of woodsmoke. Intensely flavored and utterly seamless, showing superb inner-mouth floral, peppery lift to its savory boysenberry and olive tapenade flavors. Finishes with fine-grained tannins and lovely peppery, violety lift and length. This was partly aged in an old foudre, while the last vintage of this wine I tasted (the 2012) was done entirely in concrete, but there's more richness here without any loss of precision. Once again, the moderate alcohol level of Swartland fruit enables this wine to maintain its definition and grip. I would hold this beauty for at least a couple years but it won't hurt your teeth now. Drink 2019-2027.
94 points
Stephen Tanzer - Vinous

This is loaded with layers of warm boysenberry, raspberry and blackberry confiture, stretching out over a well-embedded iron note and picking up anise, violet and juniper details along the way. Dense, lithe and seriously long. Impressive. Syrah. Best from 2017 through 2025.
95 points
James Molesworth - Wine Spectator (September 2016)