Minimalist Wines, the exciting South African Syrah-focused winery of Sam Lambson
Website: https://www.minimalistwines.com/
I popped into Flint Wines to meet a South African winemaker that everyone is talking about. Sam Lambson is only 28, but he’s got 9 vintages under his belt with his winery Minimalist Wines, which focuses solely on one variety: Syrah.
It was a 1998 Jamet Côte Rôtie that turned him into a Syrah nut, and he’s of the belief that if there are two varieties that can lead the way for South African wine, they are Chenin Blanc and Syrah.
The first minimalist wine was made in 2018, when he was studying at Stellenbosch. He was just 21. UK wine importer Richard Kelley (now of Dreyfuss Ashby) came and tasted, and loved what he discovered. He bought half the first release, and this endorsement was a great encouragement to Sam.
For many years he was working in other peoples’ cellars, but two years ago moved into his own space, in Cape Town. It’s in Gardens, a gentrifying part of town, and he has a working winery in the city that people can come and visit.
It’s just Syrah here, from some special locations. First we have Cape Agulhas, on the Cape South Coast. Sam describes this cool climate area as a crazy, extreme, rural place with lots of wind. Syrah comes in late here: usually, he’ll start picking at the beginning of March, but it can cross into April.
Then there’s Elgin. They have a vineyard next to Rosie Gunn’s Syrah vineyard (Iona) with Cartreif soils. Elgin is also a cool-climate area, and Syrah only just gets ripe here.
Then there’s the Polkadraii Hills, in Stellenbosch. This is a hot spot for high-quality Syrah in South Africa. In 2024 there was a new parcel in Banghoek that has joined the roster.
Connect the Dots is a blended Syrah that brings all these regions into play. And then there are two single vineyard offerings, from Agulhas and Elgin.
Winemaking is the same for all of them. The grapes are hand-picked into kissies (small crates of 18 kg), stacked in a refrigerated truck, and brought to the winery. They are then unloaded, sorted, and end up in a concrete fermenter. In 2018 and 2019 Sam was 100% whole cluster, then he used a destemmer a bit until 2024, and since 2025 in the new winery he’s back to whole cluster. He doesn’t have a destemmer in the winery.
‘Stems tell part of the vintage story,’ he says. ‘They definitely tame the fruit on the warm Western Cape.’ He adds that while he’s working in the coolest bits of the Western Cape, ‘it’s still not Germany.’ Stems tame the warmth.
He’s a negociant, but also a farmer. Half of his parcels are on a long-term lease and he does the farming.
In the winery, Sam does as little as possible. And this approach extends to the vineyard. ‘We do as little as we possibly can, but if we need to use a fungicide to protect our crop, we will,’ he says. ‘We would love to be in a fully organic regenerative set up, but we are just not there yet. If we need to make amendments, we will.’
The wines are aged in a mix of concrete and used oak, and Sam says he’s favouring unlined concrete. ‘It’s much easier to keep clean that old oak.’ He’s not afraid to use sulfites, because ‘brett in Piemonte and brett in Agulhas taste the same.’ He also says that concrete helps with purity and tension.
Minimalist Connect The Dots Syrah 2023 Western Cape, South Africa
This was a difficult vintage: the one where the N2 was washed away. It was wet and cool so they picked earlier, and the wine has turned out really well. Vivid, juicy and peppery; light and elegant. Harmonious berry and cherry fruits with some silkiness. Very old world in style and showing slight development. 93/100
Minimalist Connect The Dots Syrah 2024 Western Cape, South Africa
Textured and fine with some density and nice peppery spiciness. Textured and fine, and quite salty with nice presence and density. There’s some nervousness to the fruit, which has grainy structure and good acidity. Such a stylish Syrah. 94/100
Minimalist Stars in the Dark Syrah 2025 Cape Agulhas, South Africa
13% alcohol. This vineyard is just 5 km from the sea. Wonderfully aromatic, peppery red fruits nose with real elegance. The palate is fresh with white pepper, juicy red fruits, some oregano and thyme herbiness, and some grippy tannins. This is a beautifully bright, layered, complex expression of Syrah. 95/100
Minimalist No Place Like Home Syrah 2025 Elgin, South Africa
Intense, vivid peppery nose with sleek but brooding black cherry fruit. The palate is concentrated and dense but still has freshness. Brooding blackberry and black cherry fruit with a slight salinity. Grainy, spicy and unfurled with good energy and precision. 95/100
Minimalist No Place Like Home Syrah 2024 Elgin, South Africa
Inviting floral aromatics with sweet cherry fruit. Very polished. So silky, sleek and refined on the palate with real elegance and precision. Fine and pure, this is floral and pepper and very refined. Different in style to 2025. 95/100
