Latest 2020 releases from Lismore Estate, SA
Sam O'Keefe and her new assistant winemaker Adele Botha at their rebuilt winery
"As someone privileged with more than his fair share of rare and expensive Grand Cru Burgundy and First Growths, I can unhesitatingly state that the best of South Africa punches at the same weight...." Neal Martin, Vinous, Nov 2019
The release of Lismore Estate's 2020 vintage marks another amazing turn in winemaker Samantha O'Keefe's story, but this time a much happier and more inspiring one. Just when her wines had found international acclaim, a dramatic fire destroyed the winery, and Sam and her two sons narrowly escaped with their lives. That was in December 2019, but just 20 months on, the winery has been rebuilt and a new vintage has arrived.
Producer Profile
Lismore Estate, Greyton, SA
Owner and Winemaker Samantha O'Keefe was a TV executive in LA and a single mother of two, with no winemaking experience. She bought a remote mountain in South Africa in the early 2000s and planted a vineyard. In 2019, Neal Martin tasted the wines and ranked them with the greatest in the world. The story already read like a script for a TV drama, but then, just before Christmas 2019, we learnt that her home and winery had been destroyed in a devastating wildfire, which she and her staff narrowly escaped with their lives.
'TV drama' comparisons do not do justice to what is likely to have been a traumatic experience for Sam. A crowdfunding site was set up and other SA wineries lent barrels to make her 2020 vintage. Happily, most of the vines have escaped damage and Sam's 2018 vintage was already in bottle, stored in cellars away from the winery.
Self-taught as a winemaker, in a short space of time, Samantha created wines to vie with the very best in the world. Neal Martin compares the Reserve Chardonnay to Corton-Charlemagne, whilst on Jancisrobinson.com Julia Harding MW describes the Hermitage-like Syrah as 'mouth-wateringly good'.
For Martin these are among a new breed of wines "born in climactic knife-edge, dry-farmed vineyards, often from ancient vines, and with minimal intervention by talented and frequently young winemakers in the opening chapters of long careers."
| WHITE | 2020 | 5 cases | Lismore Estate - Barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc | 75cl | £120 per case of 6 | Lismore Estate Barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc 2020 / 5 cases / 75cl £120 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"The 2020 Sauvignon Blanc Barrel Fermented was from donated Stellenbosch, Helderberg, Elgin fruit and a little from Greyton (thus WO Western Cape). This was made in a similar style, oxidatively in barrels, at Almenkerk but obviously has a very different terroir expression than the usual Cape South Coast fruit. The fresh, saline, sea-spray-scented bouquet gradually unfurls with aeration in the glass. The palate is well balanced with a grassy, white asparagus and ginger-tinged opening, crisp acidity and a racy but composed finish where you would be hard pressed to detect the barrel ferment, it is so discreet. Superb. 92 points." Neal Martin, Jul '21 |
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| RED | 2020 | 5 cases | Lismore Estate - Syrah | 75cl | £160 per case of 6 | Lismore Estate Syrah 2020 / 5 cases / 75cl £160 per case of 6 |
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Tasting NotesA very restrained nose of cassis and hedgerow fruits with classic white pepper, violet and herbs, this is remarkably reminiscent of Cornas or top St-Josephs, cool and classical in style. It should be drinking well on landing and for the medium term, over the next decade. RKL |
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