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Swartland. “It’s a Swartland thing,” notes Sadie of Tinta Barocca (the South African spelling has only one ‘r’ and two ‘c’s). This variety arrived in South Africa from the Douro and has found an opportune home in the Western Cape. Historically, Tinta das Baroccas (as it was once labelled) has played a prominent role in Swartland’s red blends, and interest in the variety—particularly from old, dry-grown vineyards—has spiked in recent years.
This vineyard, planted in 1974 and located next to the old railway line (treinspoor), lies four kilometres west of Malmesbury on decomposed granite and sandstone. Sadie notes that while the very fragile, thin skin of Tinta Barocca is prone to sunburn, the site’s old bush vines keep the bunches sheltered from Swartland’s intense sun. He likens his Treinspoor to a sort of stylistic cross between Northern Rhône Syrah (black cherry/blackcurrant/grenadine fruit, iodine and nettles) and Piedmontese Nebbiolo (spice, flowers, acidity and tannins). “It has Piedmont-like tannins and Northern Rhône aromatics,” says Eben. Regardless, as you can read below, it’s an outstanding, idiosyncratic red. Eben notes that the 2024 “is one of the most lifted versions, and the purple hue also suggests a new definition of Tinta Barocca, or at least for us.”