Syrah 83%, Mourvèdre 9%, Cinsault 6%, Viognier 2%

Light and spicy syrah, mourvèdre and viognier blend from Sam Lambson of Minimalist. Produced using off-cuts from his Minimalist range the syrah was originally destined to be sold as bulk, likely at a significant financial loss. Still only 27 and putting the finishing touches to his own winery in Gardens, Cape Town, we, along with the help of Richard Kelley MW of Liberator fame, sourced some viognier from Miles Mossop and mourvèdre from Demorgenzon to flesh-out the slightly austere syrah. The result is a triumph and offered at an unbeatable price allowing Sam to cover his costs.

So, with a bit of on the ground detective work from our Cape Crusader, a blend was worked on in October 2024, utilising equally redundant parcels sourced from both De Morgenzon and Miles Mossop.

DMZ Mourvèdre helped to fill out the rather hollow mid-palate of the Syrah, whilst the Cinsault from Miles added a sweet fragrance. The addition of a couple of ‘buckets full’ of Viognier did the same but also gave an unexpected texture to the final blend.

Described here as being a Méridional blend, it’s a term coined by the French for wines of the south, notably the Southern Rhône, where blended wines are commonplace. Something that distinguishes them from the mostly mono-varietal wines of the Septentrional north.