I first met Jeff Lindsay-Thorsen back in 2015, when I had a chance to taste through his wines at his garage winery in Woodinville, near Seattle. I was immediately impressed,…
Seven Syrahs
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…
Two lovely wines at The 10 Cases: Heitz and Gonon
Two lovely wines last night at the brilliant The 10 Cases. The first was a BYO that Gareth Birchley brought along (from Hedonism), and the second was off the list….
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…
Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand (3) Ash Ridge
In 2000, Chris Wilcock bought a peach orchard in the Bridge Pa district of Hawke’s Bay. At the time, he was working as a banker (he had spells in Switzerland,…
Two lovely Syrahs from Dard & Ribo
Dard & Ribo are one of the top producers of the Northern Rhône, but unless you hang in natural wine circles you probably won’t have heard of them. The hallmark…
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…
Cape Wine (4) some more very exciting wines: Rall, Leeu Passant, Loggerenberg, Kanonkop, Badenhorst
Some more thrilling wines tasted at Cape Wine. For me, these are very high ratings indeed! Leeu Passant Chardonnay 2016 Stellenbosch, South Africa Andrea Mullineux is trying to make this…