Mills Reef Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 $24.95 Green peppercorn, violet and blueberry aromatics stand shoulder to shoulder with bright plum and cherry flavours and then they hold hands and do the Gay Gordons (remember primary school folk-dancing?) with smooth, fine-grained oak and skin tannins accentuated by beautifully balanced acidity. Nicely made. http://www.millsreef.co.nz
syrah
Squawking Magpie Stoned Crow Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2014
Squawking Magpie Stoned Crow Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2014 $49.95 Well dip me in pepper and call me spicy! This Gimblett Gravels pioneer just blasts past the competition when it comes to solid syrah. How? For starters the peppercorn, violets, blueberries, cherry and tobacco notes, earthy shadows and layers of leather mean it delivers on the … Read More
Elephant Hill Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2017
Elephant Hill Reserve Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2017 $54 If anyone knows how to make exceptional syrah, it’s Steve Skinner. He’s been shepherding Elephant Hill’s fruit from their Bridge Pa, Gimblett Gravels and home vineyard at Te Awanga into the bottle for many many years and his skill is on show here. Blueberry, black pepper, dried … Read More
Kennedy Point Organic Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018
Kennedy Point Organic Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 $29 I love the way the pohutukawa trees on the label look as though they’re dancing a tango. Very apt considering the meaty, gravy-boat notes in this organic, Bridge Pa-grown glass of goodness tend to sashay across the palate rather perfectly. Determined to preserve its original character, winemaker … Read More
Goldie Estate Waiheke Island Syrah 2016
Goldie Estate Waiheke Island Syrah 2016 $44 Heinrich Storm not only has the most fierce name in all of New Zealand winemaking, he’s also young, bouncy and ferociously talented on the syrah front. Four years on since vintage and this delicious thing is beginning to move on from the trot and break into a canter … Read More
Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018
Maison Noire Home Block Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 $35 Grown on the limestone-laden soils of the Waimarama Road, this syrah has its own distinct personality and it’s not a massively peppery one. Flying in the face of what we consider ‘classic’ Hawke’s Bay syrah, the Home Block is intensely floral and fruit-driven, laced with baking … Read More
Ash Ridge Premium Hawke’s Bay Ruby Syrah 2019
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 … Read More
Vidal Soler Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018
Vidal Soler Gimblett Gravels Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 $34.99 Reviewd in dish Magazine July/Aug 2020 and paired with Beef Cheeks with Parmesan Polenta The Vidal Soler Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 ($34.99) is the glossiest, most gorgeously fruit-saturated and spice-soaked thing to pair with this beef cheek recipe. Is it because of its lifted, pepper punchiness, … Read More
Cypress Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018
Cypress Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 $26 The 2018 vintage of what’s become a huge favourite of mine, is absolutely saturated with ripe plum, blackberry, blueberry and that all-important, syrah-staple, buckets of cracked pepper. There’s a lovely layer of charred oak, black olive and a sniff of soy, meaning its everything I’m looking for in great … Read More
Te Awanga Estate Quarter Acre Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018
Te Awanga Estate Quarter Acre Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2018 $49.99 I’m convinced Rod McDonald, winemaker and owner of Te Awanga Estate, actually has syrah running through is veins instead of blood. He’s so intuitive with each vintage, it’s like he and those grapes have telepathic connections that work to create deliciousness in the bottle every … Read More