18
Drink it now or cellar for up to 10 years. No need to decant. Created by Etienne Louw and Brenden Schwartz in 2015, Orpheus & The Raven is an innovative and creative South African wine project. The company has a fresh and modern approach that includes using labels to tell its story and vision and produces high-quality wines with artistic inspiration. Music also plays an important role, as Etienne is both a winemaker and a musician, and each wine comes with musical and food pairing suggestions. Like many of the Orpheus and The Raven wines, Swansong is also a wine based on a concept, in this case, the art of living in the present. Each year it is made with a different grape variety because the choice falls on vineyards that will then be uprooted after the harvest. Gewurztraminer grapes, grown on cool south-facing slopes in the Stellenbosch area, are mechanically harvested early in the morning to ensure freshness. After fermentation at low temperatures with selected yeasts, the finished wine rests for 9 months on the lees before being bottled and released onto the market. The Swansong Gewurztraminer has a bright color with intense golden tones. It is an aromatic wine with an inebriating bouquet distinguished by characteristic spicy and floral aromas typical of this grape variety with notes of lychee and Turkish delight. On the palate, it is elegant and complex with good fruit intensity and a soft and warm character. The finish is long and recalls delicate floral and fruity notes. It is the ideal wine for spicy recipes, especially Indian and Thai cuisine, and also goes very well with sushi.