A few days ago I wrote about a blind tasting of South African Syrah. These are the other Syrahs we tasted blind, alongside the South Africans. There was no logic…
South African Syrah: blind tasting nine of the best
Chris Groenewald was in town, bringing nine South African Syrahs with him. So a crowd of us gathered over lunch at The Drapers Arms to taste and drink. These are…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (9) Trinity Hill’s Homage Syrah
Trinity Hill planted their first Syrah in the Gimblett Gravels in 1995, using cuttings from Stonecroft, a clone known as Mass Selection. The first vintage was 1997. The current releases…
Cape Wine (5) more highlights, including Craven, Alheit, Savage, Testalonga, JH Meyer
Some more stunners from Cape Wine. Craven The Firs Vineyard Syrah 2017 Devon Valley, South Africa 12.5% alcohol. From a heavy clay outcrop: the clay gives some black fruit bass…
Hervé Souhaut Syrah 2016: seductive, smashable
I’ve been an admirer of the wines of Hervé Souhaut for a while. I remember taking his Syrah as one of my three wines when I was taking part in…
Interesting Marlborough: Fromm, single-vineyard pioneers
Fromm is an important winery for Marlborough, because they were one of the first to champion single vineyards in the region. They are also unusual in that in a white…
Novum, an exciting new producer from Marlborough
Scratch below the surface and there’s lots of interesting stuff going on in Marlborough. Here’s an example. Will and Rachel Hoare have just launched their new label, Novum, which focuses…
A couple from Hawke’s Bay: Craggy Range and Sacred Hill
These impressed the other evening. Craggy Range Te Kahu 2014 Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 13.5% alcohol. 68% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Franc. This is…
Koomilya, the ‘new Wendouree’
Komilya is the exciting new vineyard-based project from one of the McLaren Vale’s stars, SC Pannell. I don’t like to hype wines, but this is one of the most exciting discoveries…