Savage Are We There Yet 2025

Malgas Red Blend | Touriga Nacional & Syrah | Duncan Savage The Savage Are We There Yet 2025 is one of Duncan Savage’s more unusual reds, produced from Touriga Nacional and Syrah grown near Malgas in the Cape South Coast. And yes, there is actually a reason for the name: the vineyard is roughly a three-hour drive from Cape Town, which is apparently long enough for even a grown winemaker to start asking the question. The fruit comes from two parcels on David Trafford’s Sijnn property near Malgas, an isolated site where vines grow in distinctive pebble and shale soils. Stylistically, this sits somewhere between the Rhône and Portugal. Syrah brings dark fruit, pepper and savoury spice, while Touriga Nacional adds perfume, violets, structure and some seriously enthusiastic tannins. It's darker and more muscular than wines like Follow The Line, but still has the freshness and restraint that make Duncan Savage's wines so recognisable. Tasting Notes Colour: Deep ruby to purple with a dark, youthful core. Nose: Perfumed and slightly wild, with blackberry, blueberry, plum and black cherry joined by violets, fynbos, cracked pepper and dried herbs. Underneath the fruit sits a savoury combination of black olive, earth and subtle coastal salinity. Palate: Dark-fruited and concentrated, but not remotely clumsy. Blackberry, plum and blueberry are wrapped around bright acidity and firm, crunchy tannins, with pepper, herbs and savoury spice adding complexity. Touriga Nacional brings the muscle; Syrah brings the swagger. Duncan Savage somehow keeps both of them under control. Finish: Long, dry and savoury, with lingering black fruit, violets, pepper, herbs and a distinctive oyster-shell-like saline character that has been noted in recent releases from this vineyard. Technical Details Producer: Savage Wines Winemaker: Duncan Savage Wine: Are We There Yet Vintage: 2025 Country: South Africa Region: Malgas, Cape South Coast Varieties: Touriga Nacional & Syrah Vineyard Source: Two parcels on the Sijnn property Soils: Pebble & shale Fermentation: Partial whole-bunch fermentation Pressing: Basket pressed Maturation: Seasoned 500L French oak barrels Style: Dry red blend Bottle Size: 750ml ABV: 13% Closure: Cork Vineyard & Winemaking Malgas is a fairly unusual place to make fine wine. The vineyards are remote, rugged and planted into pebble and shale soils, very different from the granite and sandstone sites associated with many of Savage's other wines. Touriga Nacional is particularly important here. Best known as one of the great varieties of Portugal and Port production, it brings intense colour, floral perfume and substantial tannin. Combine that with Syrah and you get a wine with plenty of structure but also pepper, fruit and aromatic lift. Savage keeps the cellar work relatively simple. Recent vintages have seen partial whole-bunch fermentation, gentle extraction, basket pressing and maturation in older 500-litre French oak barrels rather than flashy new oak. Because when your vineyard is this interesting, drowning it in vanilla-flavoured timber would be a bit rude. Cellaring Potential This is probably the Savage wine where the phrase "give it some time" matters most. Touriga Nacional naturally brings substantial tannin, and recent vintages have been structured for bottle development. Tim Atkin gave the 2023 a drinking window of 2026–2032, while reviews of the 2024 similarly suggest that patience will be rewarded. You can absolutely drink the 2025 young — just give it a good decant. But a few years in the cellar should allow those tannins to relax and the fruit, floral and savoury elements to knit together. Food Pairing Serve at around 16–18°C and give a young bottle at least 30–60 minutes in a decanter. This wants proper food: lamb chops, slow-cooked lamb shoulder, venison, steak, braised beef, charcuterie or anything smoky coming off the braai. The peppery Syrah and firm Touriga tannins are particularly good with fatty, charred meat. Probably not the wine for your garden salad. Buyer’s & Collector’s Note Are We There Yet is one of the more fascinating wines in the Savage range. While Girl Next Door showcases coastal Syrah and Follow The Line explores old-vine Cinsault, this heads off to the remote vineyards of Malgas and combines Rhône-style Syrah with Portuguese Touriga Nacional. It's darker, firmer and more structured than many of Savage's other reds, but crucially it still has the freshness, perfume and moderate-handed winemaking that define Duncan Savage's style. The recent scores — including 96 points from Christian Eedes for the 2024 and 95 from Tim Atkin for the 2023 — suggest this is increasingly becoming one of the serious wines in the Savage portfolio. And after a three-hour drive to get to the vineyard, you'd certainly hope so.