Kokako Farms Ohiti Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2014 $30 
While Hawke’s Bay syrah fans are geeking out over the Gimblett Gravels, I’m quietly having an Ohiti house party over here in Lorkinland. Winegrower Bruce Nimon is obsessed with finding great soils, and in between a cow paddock and an old stockman’s station is a little vineyard on Ohiti Valley Road that’s now turning out some of the most elegantly proportioned syrah that I’ve sipped in a long time. 2014 was a stonking vintage for Hawke’s Bay reds, so there’s very little to be found on the market now, however, a happy coincidence has meant that there’s a tiny amount still available. Now it’s maturing into a wine that’s moving from its initial berry purity to a wine boasting savoury layers, meaty, leathery characters and hints of white pepper. It has excellent length of flavour, and solid, gripping tannins. Osso buco? Oh, yeah!
