SA Syrah: 2017 proves the hype is justified

Whereas the Cape Bordeaux Red Blend tradition is well established – Welgemeend released its first vintage in 1979, followed by Meerlust Rubicon in 1980 and Kanonkop Paul Sauer in 1981 – the modern Syrah phenomenon is much younger. Boekenhoutskloof released its first Syrah in 1997 and Mullineux in 2008, with the first Single Terroir wines following in 2010. The variety’s age-worthiness is therefore still something of an open question.

To explore it, private collector and Winemag.co.za reader Ryan Coetzee selected 14 South African wines from the much-celebrated 2017 vintage, along with two international benchmarks. The wines were tasted blind in flights of four.

Flight One
Mullineux Iron 2017
Boekenhoutskloof 2017
Porseleinberg 2017
Van Loggerenburg Graft 2017

Flight Two
Boschkloof Epilogue 2017
Cederberg Shiraz 2017
Mullineux Granite 2017
Hartenburg Gravel Hill 2017

Flight Three
Mullineux Schist 2017
Lismore Estate Reserve 2017
Reyneke Reserve 2017
Savage Red 2017

Flight Four
Stark-Conde Three Pines 2017
Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz 2017
JL Chave L’Hermitage 2018
Leeuwenkuil Heritage 2017

Here’s how I rated the wines:

98
Mullineux Iron 2017
Reyneke Reserve 2017
Leeuwenkuil Heritage 2017

97
Mullineux Granite 2017
Porseleinberg 2017

96
Hartenberg Gravel Hill 2017
Lismore Estate Reserve 2017

95
Boekenhoutskloof 2017

94
Cederberg Shiraz 2017
JL Chave L’Hermitage 2018

93
Savage Red 2017

91
Mullineux Schist 2017
Van Loggerenburg Graft 2017

90
Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz 2017

CORKED
Boschkloof Epilogue 2017
Stark-Conde Three Pines 2017

What does this tasting say about South African Syrah at just under 10 years old? First, there can be no question that it can compete with the best in the world: three local wines scored 98. The Chave L’Hermitage 2018 was imposing, with plenty to like, still very youthful, while the Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz 2017 from Eden Valley, Australia appeared rather too advanced, with distinctly odd aromas and flavours.

Indeed, the results lend weight to the view that Syrah is South Africa’s strongest red variety. Swartland predictably fared well, but Reyneke and Hartenberg brought Stellenbosch into the mix, while Lismore represented Greyton.

South African quality is high, but the quality relative to price is almost laughably good. According to Wine-Searcher, the most recent global average price of the Chave is R6,970 and the Henschke R2,765. By comparison, Brice & Burnett are currently offering the following wines on brokerage:

Boekenhoutskloof 2017 – R975
Cederberg 2017 – R500
Hartenberg Gravel Hill 2017 – R1,425
Lismore Estate Reserve 2017 – R1,075
Porseleinberg 2017 – R1,450
Reyneke Reserve Red 2017 – R950

The performance of the three Mullineux wines is also instructive. I tend to prefer the Granite and Schist on release, but here Iron triumphed. Clearly, terroir isn’t a hierarchy: different sites can produce different kinds of excellence, and one isn’t automatically “better” than another.

How are these wines drinking now? I’m very glad to report that the best are hugely pleasurable already, while still having plenty of life ahead, thanks to excellent fruit concentration and tannic structure. Cederberg was something of a stylistic outlier, unsurprising given its particular provenance, while Savage and Mullineux Schist appeared to be holding rather than developing further. In fairness to Van Loggerenberg, this vintage of Graft was 55% Cinsault and 45% Syrah; subsequent vintages are likely to mature more convincingly.

In closing, perhaps the killer question this tasting poses is: why isn’t Leeuwenkuil more talked about? The 2017 showed epically well and its performance was clearly no flash in the pan. The current-release 2022 scored 97 and was the best overall wine in this year’s Prescient Fund Services Report.