Wine of the week: a commanding and enchanting syrah from South Africa

published 24 May 2019

2015 Kleinood, Tamboerskloof Syrah, Stellenbosch, South Africa£23, Great Western Wine, 01225-322810, greatwesternwine.co.uk; £19.60, qwines.co.uk

I am rather ashamed that I haven't written up this wine before in MoneyWeek because it has been a masterful creation for many years. In 2015 it eclipsed the amazing 2014 which I, personally, didn't think possible. While the '14 was controlled, calm, classy and complex, the 2015 vintage, which includes 5% mourvdre and 1% viognier in its makeup, is more densely packed and profound. Only two-thirds of the normal crop was harvested in this vintage and, while the cellar might not be as full as usual, the bottles are certainly stuffed with even more flavour than ever. Fifteen per cent new oak is used here and so the dramatic, mountainside fruit is allowed to express itself fully in this commanding, spicy, aromatically enchanting wine.

Talking of viognier, 2018 Tamboerskloof Viognier (£19.75, greatwesternwine.co.uk; £16.05, qwines.co.uk), with its cunning addition of 11% roussanne, is also an astounding wine and certainly the finest white I have tasted from this farm. The greengage theme makes it unlike any viognier I have tasted before. It is crisp and firm as well as sensual and provocative, and regular readers will know how fussy I am about this grape, so don't delay in securing both this wine and the incredible syrah. I urge you to visit the Kleinood website, too, and you will discover how much love and skill goes into the wines and olive oils made here.

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Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com)

Matthew Jukes has worked in the UK wine business for well over three decades and during this time has written 14 wine books.

Matthew regularly lectures, judges, speaks at wine conferences and runs masterclass tastings for both corporate and private clients all over the world. Matthew is also the creator of his ground-breaking initiative, the One Day Wine School, an indulgent day of tasting and learning first performed in 2006.

He has been the MoneyWeek wine correspondent since 2006 and has written a weekly column for the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine since 1999. His four highly-acclaimed, annual wine reports – the Burgundy En Primeur Report, the Bordeaux En Primeur Report, the Piemonte Report and the 100 Best Australian Wines – are published on his website, www.matthewjukes.com.

Matthew is one of the world’s leading experts on Australian wine and, with Brisbane-based wine writer Tyson Stelzer, runs an annual competition in Australia to find ‘The Great Australian Red’. He was made Honorary Australian of the Year in the UK at the 2012 Australia Day Foundation Gala dinner.

Matthew is a winner of the International Wine and Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy. His thoughts, recommendations and tastings notes are followed very closely by the wine world at large.