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 the Swartland Revolution in 2011, and it went down really well. I also recently reviewed his Gamay, La Souteronne, here. He’s based in the northern Ardèche, and this Syrah is made from his own and purchased grapes grown on granitic soils. It’s naturally made with a semi-carbonic (whole bunch) fermentation at low temperatures followed by ageing in used oak. Total SO2 level is around 25 mg/l, which is low.

What I love about this wine is that it is complex, yet smashable and low in alcohol (11.7%). It is also affordable. Picking early has resulted in a very supple, open wine with lovely aromatics and some delicious savouriness. It’s not a perfect wine, but it is perfectly imperfect.

Hervé Souhaut Syrah 2016 IGP Ardèche, France
This is supple and smashable. Meaty, spicy and bloody with peppery red berry fruits, fine herbs and some supple sappy green hints. Deliciously savoury and a bit reductive, and really repays decanting. This is a lovely wine that got finished pretty quickly. 93/100

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