Cassis, blackberry and cherry. White pepper, ground herbs and the strong floral perfume of crushed violets. Light and elegant, but structured with fresh acidity.

40% Whole bunch ferment in small open vats. 60% destemmed and fermented in a 5000 ltr wooden fermenter with gentle pigeage (punch down of the cap) throughout. Pressed in a traditonal wooden basket press and racked into a 3000 litre oak vat for 9 months.

Review:

The 2014 Syrah is 40% whole bunch fermented and matured in older, small barrel and then transferred into 3,000-liter fermenters for six months to capture the aromatics. It has a fascinating nose, very floral and expressive, with cranberry, rose petals, marmalade and white fennel that you would swear comes from some old Rhône. Fabulous. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, a little tighter than the aromatics, and brimming over with character. There is fruit here, but the smorgasbord of Provençal white fennel, sage and fynbos is all over the place. This is one of the best Syrahs I have encountered from South Africa. 

Samantha O'Keefe is living the dream. That's not to say things have been easy for the ex-Californian on the outskirts of Greyton. You know what they say about how to make a small fortune in wine. The competition is fierce when you start out. I mean, how do you distinguish yourself from the crowd? One way is to splash lots of money on marketing. Another is to price your wine at a silly price in the hope of persuading people that it must be good. Of course, you can just make bloody good wine, which is the route that Samantha wisely took. 

I still remember meeting her for the first time at a busy tasting in London. I remarked how good I thought her wines were. I felt as it was the first time her wines had been complemented, a third party validation that she was doing things the right way and it was paying off in the quality of her wines. And since then, over the last two or three years, it's been great to see both Lismore and Samantha gain more and more recognition. Her recent releases, which I tasted at the Cape Show with Samantha, continue to furrow that path of cool-climate white and reds. Perhaps in the past I have focused more on the white. On this occasion, I was blown away by her 2014 Syrah that was galvanized by the 40% whole bunch ferment, manifesting a truly complex Syrah, one of the best you will find. - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 94 Points