Reserve Syrah 2016 NZ

Tasting notes

Moderate colour depth with a range of berry aromas – especially blackberry with hints of blackberry flower. A ‘pretty’ nose with the French oak in a nice balance alongside the fruit.

Some cigar-like complexities already starting to develop. A reasonably strong attack of fruit with gentle mid-palate tannins and a light seam of acidity. A long, clean finish.

Style notes

• A significant departure from the typical big, dark Hawke’s Bay Syrah styles (typically from the Gimblett Gravels and Ngatarawa Triangle areas), ours is often described as more of a Northern Rhone style – more feminine and ‘pretty’ rather than highly structured. A great Syrah style to match with food.
• Our Syrah vineyard is the highest elevation Syrah vineyard in Hawke’s Bay. This elevation, in combination with the limestone sub-soil we believe tips the wine style more toward the softer Northern Rhone direction.
• This terroir means the typical Syrah ‘pepper’ notes express in the wine more as white pepper than the (more normal) black pepper.
• Barrel aged for 18 months in French oak, approximately 40% new.
• Un-fined and unfiltered.
• Estate bottled, hand-labelled and individually hand-numbered, 1264 bottles produced.