South Africa · Cape Town

Savage Wines

Duncan Savage’s Cape Town project draws on separate Western Cape parcels for wines with freshness, savoury detail and dry, structured finishes.

The producer

Savage Wines began with the 2011 vintage as Duncan Savage’s side project and became his full-time work in 2016, after 14 vintages at Cape Point. The cellar is in Salt River, Cape Town, while the fruit comes from purchased grapes and leased vineyards across the Western Cape rather than one estate.

That parcel-led model is vivid in Follow The Line 2024: a Cinsault-led red with co-fermented Syrah from 43-year-old dry-farmed vines on decomposed granite. Bright acidity, red fruit, savoury spice and fine tannin keep the wine moderate in body and dry on the finish.

Known for

Parcel-led Western Cape wines, especially Cinsault-led reds from old dry-farmed granite vines.

Notable facts

The story

The farm behind Follow The Line

When Duncan Savage considered buying the vineyard behind Follow The Line, the vines did not come on their own. Securing them meant buying a 450-hectare farm, much of it devoted to sheep. The scale and agricultural make-up of the holding did not fit Savage Wines, so the vineyard remained within the project’s network of separate parcels instead of becoming an owned estate. Follow The Line continued to depend on access to its particular Cinsault block: 43-year-old dry-farmed vines on decomposed granite, with Syrah co-fermented into the wine. The farm remained a sheep farm as well as a vineyard source, and the bottle remained tied to that one block.

From the atlas

Savage Wines

At A Glance

The Producer

Savage Wines is Duncan Savage’s name-led Cape Town project, begun as a side venture with the 2011 vintage. Its cellar is at 6 Spencer Road in Salt River, but the grapes do not come from a single estate surrounding the building. Savage works across separate Western Cape parcels, buying fruit and leasing vineyards, so each bottle begins with a particular block rather than an estate-wide blend.

That structure matters most in wines such as Follow The Line 2024. Its Cinsault-led fruit comes from old, dry-farmed vines on decomposed granite, while Syrah is co-fermented into the wine. The result is a red shaped less by cellar address than by the combination of grape, vine age and ground.

Place

Salt River is the working base; the Western Cape is the vineyard field. This separation allows Savage Wines to draw on sites suited to different grapes, but it also means the label changes with access to individual parcels. Follow The Line depends on one established Cinsault source, while Savage White is assembled as a white blend from selected Western Cape fruit.

The label therefore reads most clearly bottle by bottle. The grape tells part of the story, the parcel supplies the physical conditions, and the cellar turns that material into a finished wine with its own weight, acidity and finish.

Soil And Site

Follow The Line draws on 43-year-old dry-farmed vines rooted in decomposed granite. Old vines can produce smaller, more concentrated crops, while dry farming leaves the vine to work through natural rainfall rather than routine irrigation. In the glass, the supported result is red fruit with bright acidity, savoury spice, fine tannin and a dry finish rather than heavy, sweet fruit.

Savage has also begun planting one hectare on steep Karibib slopes. It is a small planting beside a much larger parcel network, but it marks a gradual move towards establishing a site under the project’s own care.

Story

Duncan Savage began Savage Wines while still working at Cape Point, where he spent 14 vintages. The first Savage vintage was 2011. In 2016 he left that role and made the label his full-time work, after an earlier period in which the wines had been made in other producers’ cellars.

The shift brought a dedicated Salt River winery, but not a conventional estate. Instead of buying a large property and filling its labels from one holding, Savage continued to work through separate sources: purchased grapes, leased blocks and newer leased land. That decision keeps the range tied to specific fruit and puts vineyard access at the centre of each vintage.

Vineyards And Cellar

Savage Wines does not own vineyards. Its farming relationship is therefore built through separate growers, leased land and careful selection of parcels, including blocks held on 25-year leases. This gives the cellar different raw materials to work with, from dry-farmed Cinsault to the components of Savage White.

The documented cellar approach includes whole-cluster use, oak, filtration and malolactic fermentation, applied where the wine calls for it rather than as a single recipe. For Follow The Line, co-fermenting Cinsault with Syrah brings red-fruit perfume and spice into the same ferment; its fine tannin and dry close keep the palate light on its feet.

Wines

The supported range has two useful poles. Follow The Line 2024 is a Cinsault-led red, with a small proportion of Syrah co-fermented into it. The old dry-farmed vines and granite source feed a wine of red fruit, savoury spice, bright acidity, fine tannin and a long dry finish.

Savage White 2024 provides the white-blend side of the range. Its documented composition, vinification and élevage make it a separate expression of Savage’s parcel sourcing: a wine built from chosen white-grape components rather than a white version of Follow The Line. Together, the bottles show a producer working through grape and site rather than a fixed estate hierarchy.

In The Glass

Follow The Line opens on red fruit and savoury spice rather than dark, dense fruit. The palate is lifted by bright acidity, then gathers fine tannin through the middle. Its old-vine Cinsault base keeps the body moderate; the co-fermented Syrah adds spice and extra savoury grip. The finish is long and dry, leaving the mouth refreshed rather than coated.

Savage White should be approached as a textural white blend, not as an aromatic category stamped on the whole range. Its separate blend and élevage place white-fruit character, acidity and texture at the centre of the bottle, where Follow The Line uses red fruit and tannin.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose Follow The Line 2024. It is a Cinsault-led red with Syrah co-fermented into the wine, sourced from 43-year-old dry-farmed vines on decomposed granite. Its bright acidity, red fruit, savoury spice and fine tannin make the parcel model tangible: old vines and dry farming supply the fruit, granite supplies the site context, and co-fermentation brings another shade of spice without turning the wine broad or heavy. Drink it for its dry, lingering finish and moderate body.

Anecdote

When Duncan Savage considered buying the vineyard behind Follow The Line, the vines did not come alone. To secure them, he would have needed to buy a 450-hectare farm, much of it devoted to sheep. That scale did not fit the wine project, so the vineyard remained part of Savage Wines’ parcel-based arrangement rather than becoming an owned estate. Follow The Line continued to rely on access to its particular Cinsault block: old, dry-farmed vines on decomposed granite, with Syrah co-fermented into the wine. The farm stayed larger than one bottle, and the bottle stayed tied to one piece of it.

Final Word

Savage Wines is worth seeking out for the way its bottles connect a Cape Town cellar to specific Western Cape parcels. Follow The Line makes that connection especially clear: Cinsault from old dry-farmed granite vines, lifted with Syrah, then carried by acidity, savoury spice and fine tannin to a dry finish.

Sources

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