Fruity and fresh

A new wine from the brilliant Minimalist Wines – hooray! Sam Lambson’s ‘winemaking as therapy’-Stars in the Dark has blown my mind every time I have tried it; a new wine is most welcome!

No Place Like Home 2021 Syrah is grown in the cool climate Elgin region (as opposed to the bleeding freezing region of Elim for Stars). I think similar rules will apply to this – precise expression of fruit and good freshness.

Let us hit the ground drinking!

No Plane Like Home by Minimalist Wines

No Place Like Home Syrah 2021, Minimalist Wines

I think I was right! Bright, fresh fruit that seems very precise and focussed rather than blowsy and all over the place. This is a good start.

There is plenty of presence of the Syrah spice box, but not so much, some but not much, of the pepper that seems to be the fingerprint of South African Syrah. The spice aromas of perfectly ripe Syrah are delicious and moreish. Sniff and sniff some more!

With the bright, fresh fruit, spice box and a slight hint of blackberry leaf there are suggestions of Crozes-Hermitage about this. Not the evil filth of Frey Thalabert, nor the small-scale poise of Graillot, but the ripe but vivacious Crozes of the late great Gerard Jaboulet. Wow, what a thing to say!

No Place Like Home 2021 is alive with energy and fruit, both in perfect tension and absolute balance. It is clean as a whistle, too, unlike Gerard’s efforts, and there is good dimension and complexity showing here. This is stuff for proper people!

I think the nose of No Place Like Home 2021 is deeply attractive. With echoes of the great Gerard J, whilst being clean, spicy and fruit driven, I do not think you could ask more from the nose of a cool climate Syrah at this price.

Something that shows more on the palate of No Place Like Home 2021 than on the nose is a strong stone/gravel character – maybe a hint of seashell. This is more complexity to a palate that has plenty going on as it is.

The fruit! The fruit! Sam Lambson gets his fruit just right! Ripe and full yet tense and firm. Quite delicious.

That fruit is as fresh as the slight green/leafiness that once again gives a shade of Crozes to this No Place Like Home 2021. This is a great thing of which to have an aspect, a feeling – and it is only an aspect/feeling; good Crozes is a wonderful thing.

The spice, with more pepper showing here, swirls with the fruit and gravel-character on a long and satisfying finish that leaves a sense of happiness and fulfilment on the palate after you have swallowed.

Really very good Syrah from South Africa, and a big change from the Swartland examples (lovely as they are). Snap it up!


Contact Greg Sherwood at Museum Wines to secure an allocation. There is precious little of this wonderful juice about and, as always, it is first come, first satisfied.