Swerver “Red Blend”

Swartland , South africa  |  2019

Young winemaker Jasper (or JC) Wicken’s origin story in the wine world starts off pretty typical: he caught the wine bug in his youth, worked a harvest for a popular winery, decided to go to university for viticulture. From there he worked a stint at a Napa Valley winery and decided to move back to his homeland and pursue his winemaking endeavors more seriously.

This is where things start to change for Jasper and planted the roots for what would become the style of winemaking that would set the standard for his career. Upon his return to South Africa he decided to focus his attention on the Swartland region and dove head first working under Adi Badenhörst who is known throughout the country for being the godfather of proper viticulture and cellar mastering.

Under Adi’s tutelage, Jasper (who had just come from more of a methodical cookie-cutter style of winemaking) was then thrust into the realm of artesinal, minimal-intervention winemaking placing ultimate focus on the health of the vineyard’s soil and less focus on human influence in the cellar. Immediately after his stint with Adi, Jasper found South Africa’s most lauded farmer/winemaker Eben Sadie who then improved Jasper’s techniques further by introducing him to old bush-vines and the need to get one’s hands dirty to make great wine.

It was because of these two powerhouse winemakers that Jasper got to truly find his path forward and since 2012, alongside his wife Franziska, has been making some of the most stunning and price-friendly Swartland wines under the label Swerver. This cuvée is an unoaked blend of primarily red-fruited Grenache and Cinsault (consisting of 90% of the blend) with then 10% of Tinto Barroca that adds a rich black-fruited and smoky depth to its bright herby-strawberry-rhubarb base. This is a great wine in its youth but will develop fantastically with a few more years of age.