The Innocent Syrah again found ‘guilty’ of great value in Winemag Report
AT R94 A BOTTLE, ‘The Innocent’ Syrah 2018 from the Lammershoek (lambs’ corner) farm outside Malmesbury is the only wine among the Top 10 in Winemag’s 2020 Prescient Shiraz Report priced at under R100 – pulling off the same feat that its predecessor achieved in the publisher’s 2019 report on South African expressions of the variety. Two other standouts in 2020 include De Grendel Elim Shiraz 2018 and the Leeuwenkuil Heritage Syrah 2017, both of which were also winners in the Shiraz SA Challenge two weeks earlier.
WINEMAG FAVOURITES
Allée Bleue Shiraz 2018
R180pb ex-cellar, Franschhoek
Casa Simelia Syrah 2018
R240pb ex-cellar, Wellington
De Grendel Elim Shiraz 2018
R765pb (1.5 litre) ex-cellar, Panorama, Durbanville WR
Lammershoek Innocent Syrah 2018
R94pb ex-cellar, Malmesbury, Swartland
Leeuwenkuil Heritage Syrah 2017
R349pb approx retail (Swartland producer)
Painted Wolf Walker Bay Syrah 2018
R180pb ex-cellar, Paarl
Saxenburg Private Collection Syrah 2017
R250pb ex-cellar, Kuils River, Stellenbosch
Stark-Condé Stellenbosch Syrah 2017
R205pb ex-cellar, Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch
Tokara Reserve Collection Stellenbosch Syrah 2017
R330pb ex-cellar, Helshoogte, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch
Vrede en Lust Lady J Syrah 2017
R150pb ex-cellar, Simonsberg-Paarl (manor house pictured above)
There have always been two basic sub-groups of Shiraz, the first including wines that are lighter bodied and overtly peppery and the second made up of richer, fuller wines. The split between the two seems more pronounced than ever…