Damascene

Damascene is a wineproducer of wines from one the finest old vineyards across the Western Cape in South Africa. The company, located in Elgin, is a partnership between winemaker Jean Smith and entrepreneur David Carl, and its first vintage, from 2018, was immediately received with great enthousiasm by wine critics.

History

Jean Smith began his career working alongside Adi Badenhorst at Rustenberg, before broadening his experience by taking part in harvests at Wither Hills in New Zealand, in the Russian River and Napa valleys in California, and at Côte-Rôtie in the northern Rhône Valley in France, where he worked alongside Stéphane Ogier at Domaine Michel et Stéphane Ogier. It was this experience in the Rhône that largely shaped his views on the Syrah grape. He then became head winemaker at Boekenhoutskloof, one of South Africa’s most renowned estates.

In July 2017, David Carl, the former owner of Château Gaby in Canon-Fronsac, Bordeaux, rang Smith to discuss a project in Elgin. After a two-hour conversation, the idea had evolved into something greater: a project to produce wine from grapes grown on exceptional sites across South Africa. The name reflects the concept: a ‘Damascene moment’ is a sudden, transformative shift in understanding. The first wines were produced at Sir Lowry’s Pass before the project moved to its own cellar in Elgin in 2020.

Vineyards and terroir

Damascene produces wine from grapes from established vineyards with old vines from various regions. Important sites are La Chataigne in Franschhoek, on the banks of the Franschhoek River, one of South Africa’s oldest Semillon vineyards, planted in 1942. In Stellenbosch, the grapes for Cabernet Sauvignon come from three vineyards on the Helderberg, Botteler and Vlottenburg hills. Cabernet Franc is grown on two hilltop plots in Botteler, planted on extremely poor granite soils.

The Swertland Syrah is grown on three mountain vineyards with clay-sandstone, grey-wacke and granite soils, on vines planted as far back as 1972. The Sederberg Syrah comes from a vineyard at an altitude of 940 metres, just 8 kilometres from the Sederberg winery, on stony sandstone over laterite, planted in 2006.

Grape varieties and winemaking

Varieties used: Syrah, Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. A minimal intervention approach is adopted in the cellar, with ageing in oval Austrian foudres of 1,000 and 2,000 litres.

All wines are produced in small batches and released in limited quantities, with each vineyard listed separately on the label if the blend includes grapes from multiple plots.

Wines

The current range includes Syrah from Stellenbosch, Syrah from Swartland, Syrah from the Ceres Plateau, Chenin Blanc from Swartland, Sémillon from the La Chataigne vineyard, Cabernet Franc from Stellenbosch and Cabernet Sauvignon from Stellenbosch.

Each wine is produced in very small quantities and usually sells out immediately upon release.