Aces and Arrows Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021 $27 Stu Marfel is the group winemaker for Pernod-Ricard New Zealand and he’s opted to give his regional winemaking team a bit of freedom to get creative with the fruit they know best. Craig from Hawke’s Bay has opted to use his favourite grapes sourced from the Bridge … Read More
syrah
Omata Estate Russell Syrah 2020
Omata Estate Russell Syrah 2020 $52 Grown in one of New Zealand’s northernmost vineyards, this new release showcases all the excellent florals and lifted pepper and dark fruit characters that give Northland it’s reputation for ferociously good syrah. With violet and cherry intensity on the nose and its palate laced with soft pepper, blackberry, iodine … Read More
Maison Noire Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2022
Maison Noire Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2022 $35 Glossy-dark and inky in the glass, this new syrah from winemaker Guillaume Thomas has a distinct, pepper-soaked sarsparilla note on the nose, with black guava, tea leaf and tamarillo characters sashaying their way nostrilward also. To taste, it’s incredibly fresh and youthful, stitched together with peppercorn and … Read More
Brookfields Back Block Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2022
Brookfields Back Block Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2022 $22 From a challenging vintage comes a highly approachable, friendly, softly fruited, softly peppered syrah grown at Ohiti on the banks of the Ngaruroro River. Classic florals and blackcurrant characters lead to iron sands tannins and a suede-like mid-palate texture and finish. Brookfields
Obliix Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah Malbec Viognier 2022
Obliix Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah Malbec Viognier 2022 $30 New from Sir George Fistonich and his winemaking team headed by Michelle Richardson comes the Oblix/Obliix brand. This is a hugely floral syrah-dominant wine, fleshed out with 12% malbec and 8% viognier to create a light, bright, highly juicy and fantastically fresh red wine that … Read More
Hush Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021
Hush Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021 $38 While any tasting notes and technical details about this wine are sketchy, (due to it being a secret Decibel Wines collaboration project), you really don’t need to know anything except that it’s incredibly floral and vibrantly spiced on the nose, dark berries, classic pepper, it’s all here. The palate … Read More
Te Mata Hawke’s Bay Bullnose Syrah 2020
Te Mata Hawke’s Bay Bullnose Syrah 2020 $68-$80 One of New Zealand’s true icons, not just for Syrah but for wine in general. Grown in the iron-rich soils of the Bridge Pa Triangle, Te Mata’s Bullnose vineyard, is a 15-hectare site planted in 1990 and it’s home to former winemaker Peter Cowley and his family. … Read More
Moy Hall Martinborough Syrah 2020
Moy Hall Martinborough Syrah 2020 $90 While Martinborough is considered one of the greatest Pinot Noir regions in the world, yet the results that Phill and Carolyn McArthur are having with Viognier and Syrah, you could also say it’s a little spot of the Rhone at home. Co-fermented with a tiny splash of 3% viognier, … Read More
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021
Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2021 $24 A strong silver medal winner in the recent 2023 dish Magazine Syrah Tasting Panel, this wine is a rockstar because it roars with fresh, juicy spice-saturated layers on the nose and palate and boasts fine, earthy tannins and stylish, savoury firmness. I really like the pure blackcurrant and … Read More
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2021
Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2021 $39 2021 was a sensational year for Gimblett Gravels syrah due to it being cool, even and dry. Remember dry summers? Ah the memories. Each sniff erupts with classic florals and defined blueberry and black pepper notes which provide a ladder climbing down to a spice-saturated palate edged with … Read More