Dense purple and crimson hues lead to an intensely perfumed nose of violet, black fruit, herb and spice aromas. The palate is medium to full-bodied, supple and silky in texture, featuring wonderfully integrated tannins and plush oak. Pure and precise fruit flavours lead the wine to a lengthy finish.
Syrah is an excellent food wine, particularly when paired with dishes featuring spice, duck or venison. Drink now or hold for up to 8 years when the wine will develop further complexity.
The 2018 Hawkes Bay vintage followed on from officially one of the warmest summers on record, which gave red varietals in particular superb conditions for ripening. The white harvest commenced
early in March with pressure from rain, however, the majority of the later ripening reds were harvested in excellent condition under welcome blue skies. Fruit was picked and gently destemmed without
crushing into open-top fermenters for fermentation with daily plunging to extract flavour, colour and tannin. Once pressed the wine was matured in 228L French oak barriques of which 18% were new,
for 14 months prior to blending and bottling.
