January 14th 2020 #lastnightswines #savage #mullineux #boyd
Last night we decided to have a bit of a Syrah Faceoff. The wines included were...
Duncan Savage " The Girls Next Door " Syrah 2017
Mullineux Schist Syrah 2017
Boyd Big ranch Vineyard Syrah 2014
Duncan Savage " The Girls Next Door " Syrah 2017
"A very delicious wine. Unique, elegant, great acidity, immense length! Smooth silky tannins. Typically very French in nature. If there was a 4.25 I’d give it that! "
Mullineux Schist Syrah 2017
"Besides the fact that it needs 2-3 hours to open up, it’s a fantastic wine! "
Boyd Big ranch Vineyard Syrah 2014
"It may not be complex but it’s an easy drinker the second you open it. No need for it to open up. Just pop the cork and enjoy."
We drank our wines with some delicious beef fillet, spinach salad & mashed potatoes. The meal pairing with the wine beautifully. Initially, I just opened the Savage & the Mullineux Schist. But wasn't sure to how long they needed to air so opened the Boyd so we had something to drink early on.
The 2014 Boyd Syrah from Oak Knoll in Napa Valley made by Stan Boyd at Big Ranch is a super easy drinker. Open it and you can drink it immediately. It's not overly "meaty" like say K-Syrah from Washington.
I know from previous experience with the Mullineux Schist Syrah from The Swartland region of the Western Cape in South Africa that it needs a few hours in a decanter to just mellow out. It's sharp & meaty when you first open it and very tight. If you have a sensitive palate it can be almost unpleasant when you open it. My palate, however, isn't that sensitive so that an issue for me. Its an excellent wine but it just needs those 2 hours or more. It's really quite amazing at 5 hours...
Moving on to the SAVAGE - The Girl Next Door. I've been waiting a few months now to open this one up. Duncan Savage makes this wine in very small amounts. In fact, I heard there were only 700 bottles of this vintage made. We really liked it as soon as we opened it and it showed even better after being opened for 2 hours. It went superbly with the steaks.
Duncan Savage, who established such a high reputation for himself making the wines of that singular Noordhoek property Cape Point Vineyards, now gets to roam the entire Cape Winelands in search of grapes for his own label and though he insists he wants to focus more on “regionality” in the future, he has to date typically not bound himself to use any one particular site. As a result, his wines seem to be at the very forefront of unlocking the true potential of modern South Africa.
From a Noordhoek Syrah vineyard planted by Savage. 50% whole-bunch fermentation and 13.5% alcohol. An utterly captivating nose of red fruit, lilies, herbs, white pepper, coriander, and other spice. The palate is extraordinarily pure, fresh and lithe. Such composure, such length, this is a wine of real beauty. Only 760 bottles made so get your skates on.