Syrah 2020

2020 will go down in history as a special Marlborough vintage. Not only did it take place during the Covid troubles, but it is also widely regarded as one of the great Marlborough vintages. Perfect weather throughout meant good sized crops, ideal ripening conditions and virtually no disease pressure. The three months leading into harvest were dry and warm, finishing things off perfectly. Because we are lucky enough to have ample water supplies, we were able to keep our vines in pristine condition and harvest the grapes when they were in perfect condition. Carefully judged yields also meant the grapes came in with vibrant flavours.

Our Syrah vines were planted in 1990, making them some of the oldest in Marlborough, and they are still on their own roots. These vines naturally crop very low given their age and being on their own roots. When the fruit achieved ideal ripeness at 21.5 brix it was picked on 7 April 2020, long after all our other wines. It was destemmed and given a warm fermentation, before being aged for almost 11 months in French oak; one third new oak. It was bottled on 25 February 2021.

Velvet, carmine and ruby in colour, the nose abounds with dark berry fruits, vanilla, spice, herbs and enticing florals including dark roses and violets. The broad palate is elegant and mouth-coating with enticing black pepper, spice, cassis, dark plums and blueberries. It is a complex, smooth, mouth-filling wine with fine-grained tannins, well balanced acidity, restrained oak and moderate alcohol. It is deceptively powerful with further complexity still to evolve. The finish is long and smooth and perfectly poised. There is the promise of considerable aging potential and undoubtedly this wine will develop even greater complexity with time.

 Technical Notes

Alcohol: 11.9%, Acidity: 5.2, PH: 3.59, Residual Sugar: 0.

 Reviews

Sweetly fruited and beautifully fragrant with ripe plum, cherry, olive and roasted hazelnut aromas, it's succulent and supple in the mouth delivering elegant weight and silky flow. Rounded and soothing with a lingering delectable finish. At its best: now to 2026  91/100

Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, April 2022