I don’t know about you, but I reckon Cape Syrah might be our most exciting category of red wine. The first-generation labels are really nailing it, producing aromatic expressions that have a youthful drinkability, spice, my kind of fruit and a balance that suggests longevity. They are often called modern expressions here in the Cape, yet the stylistic thread has clearly transitioned to the Old World and the Northern Rhone, and away from the decadent Shiraz wines made famous by Australia.
Scour the pages of Tim Atkin MW’s latest SA Report, or Neal Martin’s recent write up for Vinous, and it is Syrah dominating the headline scores. The likes of Rall, Damascene, Van Loggerenberg, Lismore, Mullineux, Boschkloof and Hartenberg. The list goes on.
Reading through the notes, and there are frequent comparisons made to the Northern Rhone and the likes of Cornas and Côte-Rôtie. Tim Atkin goes as far as mentioning an individual producer; “this tastes like a wine that was influenced by the Domaine Jamet's Côte-Rôties” in his praise of the Mullineux Schist Roundstone ’23.
Another Swartland gem that certainly did draw influence from Jamet is Porseleinberg. Outgoing farmer and winemaker, Callie Louw notes that it was a visit to Jamet that introduced him to the ‘sub-merged cap method’ in fermenting Syrah. He set about engineering a solution at the winery ahead of the 2018 harvest. The result was a kind of Porseleinberg 2.0, displaying more perfume and finesse. “I put all my chips in” says Callie, in comments to Greg Sherwood MW.
The pay-off was immediate, earning the Porseleinberg 2018 a first 100pts via Tim Atkin and a frenzy of new fans. A feat achieved once again in the latest report for the 2023 vintage.
Another to have achieved 100pts on Syrah with the Tim Atkin report of 2023 is Reenen Borman at Boschkloof for the Epilogue Syrah 2021. On the Jamet Côte-Rôtie; “Still one of my favourite wines,” says Reenen. “It’s always been a wine of inspiration for me, because it’s one of those Syrah’s that’s stylistically never changed. It’s always pure and true to what the Jamet style is.. it’s a concentrated, elegant style of Syrah, with loads of interesting aromatics and texture in the best vintages. We actually had a recent 10-year vertical of the Jamet and it was spectacular.”
It's a thrill to source the Jamet wines for South Africa and you can shop the line-up here at Port2Port.
They are a must-have for fans of Syrah, whilst the whites should not be overlooked.
Domaine Jamet
“Without question, the hottest ticket in Côte-Rôtie over the last few years has been Domaine Jean-Paul, Corinne and Loïc Jamet’s wines. Prices are going through the roof on the secondary market, especially at auction. The Jamets carry no blame for that aside from the fact that they have been making some of the best wines in France for some time now, which, naturally, has drawn plenty of attention.” Vinous.com
Jamet own an enviable 9.5ha of precious Côte-Rôtie terroir, with this bottling an assemblage of 20 parcels within the appellation. It was a challenging year for disease pressure owing to unseasonal rains, a vintage where the top producers really excelled, combatting with experience and uncompromising vineyard work. Still, rigorous grape sorting was required, so volumes of 2021 are low.
It’s a vintage where the spell of ripe vintages was broken however, with the 2021 tightly coiled and playing more on finesse, florals and trademark salinity over dense fruit character. It’s vital and elegant to drink, with a good 10-20 years of promise.
Côtes-du-Rhône Syrah 2022 – R 720
Away from the ‘roasted slope’ of the Côte-Rôtie, the warm vintage of 2022 is when the vineyards of Ampuis supplying the Côtes-du-Rhône Syrah thrive. The vintage brought small and concentrated berries, offering up soaring varietal characters. Complete and confident, the 2022 retains the signature freshness and drinkability.
Condrieu Vernillon 2022 – R 1,789
Condrieu is a small and terraced Northern Rhone appellation, today home to around 200ha of vineyard and exclusively labelled from Viognier. It’s a varietal that has bounced back steadily from the 1960s low of just 8ha, as dedicated vigneron successfully raised the bar and built back its profile.
Wines like this serve as a reminder to the heights the varietal can reach and Loïc Jamet continues to refine the domaine expression, with the wine now vinified 100% in amphorae; Loïc noting stainless steel left the wine too closed, and old oak vessels yielding a wine too broad shouldered.
Grippy and textural in 2022, it packs so much in, whilst retaining an athletic, tension driven frame that gives top Condrieu its point of difference in Viognier.
Côtes-du-Rhône Blanc 2022 – R 720
A blend of predominantly Marsanne and Viognier, supported by Roussanne and Grenache Blanc. Taut and layered in feel, and very much of a place. Pure and cool green orchard fruit on display here, whilst mouthwatering on the palate, with a nice interplay of honey and citrus, and just a lick of bitters on the finish. Has me dialling in some Thai food..
