Last week my wife Isabell and I became proud parents of our first child, a baby boy. To celebrate this grand occasion – not to mention Bell being able to have wine again – we decided to open a unique bottle we have been saving for a while now: a 2004 Gilga Syrah from South Africa. Before getting into a review I wanted to point out why this wine stood out to me in the first place. Simply put – I don’t think, before this, I had ever come across a syrah from South Africa. I’ve had several great sauvignon blancs from South Africa, but never a syrah, so I was intrigued to say the least.

I’ve had great California and Washington syrahs, as well as the Australia cousin, shiraz, but after having this South African syrah from Gilga I have to say it tops them all! I like a touch of spiciness in syrah, but the Gilga managed to pull off both a touch of spice as well as excellent finesse. Tasting notes: great earthiness – real terroir of the Stellenbosch wine region – and a black currant sweetness to balance.

Odds are you are going to be hard pressed to find this specific wine in your local shop, but I would keep an eye out for it. This was as an outstanding $29 wine that ranks easily with $50+ wines. If you don’t see Gilga take a shot at any other South African syrah you might come across. Ask your local wine shop about this varietal from South Africa or if your are really ambitious, look up some importers or winesearcher.com and see how you can track down this type of wine… it’s worth it!