Domaine Damascene

Damascene is a project launched in 2018 by winemaker Jean Smit, who, after gaining experience in vineyards abroad, decided to return to South Africa. He acquired several high-quality vineyards around the Cape, some of which are among the oldest planted in South Africa. The wines are vinified in Elgin, where transfers are carried out exclusively by gravity and where the vats are designed to keep the cap of skins submerged, thus avoiding any unnecessary handling and allowing the wine to express itself naturally. The whites are pressed in whole bunches, then fermented and aged in 1,000-liter casks, while the reds are vinified from whole harvests and mainly aged in 2,000-liter casks. The philosophy behind Damascene is to tell the story, not of the owners or marketing trends, but of the vineyards themselves.