Ash Ridge Premium Hawke’s Bay Ruby Syrah 2019 375ml $29 
Oh the colour!!! Wow. It is a riot of crimson, ruby, magenta and garnet-gilded gorgeousness! Bold, peppery, Bridge Pa-grown syrah has been finely fortified to 20% and nursed into a 375ml bottle. This is good. A larger bottle would have been dangerous, for me at least. While it’s unmistakably syrah on the nose, all earthy, peppery and violet-edged, on the palate the fruit saturation really sings. Plums, boysenberries, blueberries and sackloads of spice make this a warming little lovely for any occasion. If you were a slab of fruit and nut chocolate, I’d be very afraid.
