• French oak
• Raspberry & plum
• Cardamon spice
• Silky texture

"The refined 2018 vintage (5*) was grown in the Bridge Pa Triangle and in the Dartmoor Valley, hand-picked, and matured for 18 months in French oak barriques (partly new). Full-coloured, it is mouthfilling, fresh and supple, with strong plum and spice flavours, fresh acidity, and a finely poised finish. A very elegant style, it has obvious cellaring potential; best drinking 2025+" Michael Cooper, Buyers Guide Edition 2021

"Deep red colour with a good purple tint and a fragrant blackberry, dried herb and gently chocolaty bouquet. The wine is full-bodied and well-endowed with fine, supple but gently drying tannins. Very attractive aroma and flavour, with a charming fruit-sweet core. Long finish; beautiful texture. It's highly attractive now and should take some age very well. 2021 -2030" Huon Hooke, Real Review, May 2021

"Gently aromatic syrah with roasted chestnut, floral, violet, sweet herbs, raspberry, plum and spicy oak flavours. A supple, elegant wine with appealing sweet fruit and a silken texture. Should develop well with bottle age. 2020-2030" Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Sep 2020

"Deep, ruby-black core with a purple hue and some transparency, lighter ruby-red on the rim, youthful. The nose is elegantly complex, aromas of blackberries, balsamic strawberries underlying plums have an elegant core, unfolding oak spices of vanilla, cinnamon, along with cigar and a hint of game. Medium-full bodied, exuberant fruit nuances of plums, blackberries, red berries entwined with dark herbs, followed by vanilla, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg spices, along with smoky cigar aromatics. The palate has a pure brightness and persistence; poised and fragranced fruit carry dark herbs and oak spices in fine proportions. Lacy acidity integrated with supple, fine-grained tannin, lightly framed the wine with an elegant structure, lend a lifting, lasting finish. This is an elegantly fragranced Syrah with exuberant fruit, oak spice details and a supple fine-grained palate. Match with lamb and venison loins over the next 6+ years" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, Jan 2021

"MS Syrah clone fruit from free-draining sites in Bridge Pa and Dartmoor Valley, hand-picked and hand-sorted. Destemmed and then whole berries went to open fermenters 'with some foot stomping'. Aged 18 months in a mix of new and used French barriques. TA 6.2 g/l. Some black pepper evident on the nose and really aromatic interest with gentle texture. Very far from a 20th-century paradigm of exaggeration. Savoury and recognisably Syrah. Impressive persistence and not a trace of oak or obvious alcohol. When to drink 2020 – 2026" Jancis Robinson, Sep 2020

An elegant Syrah which combines both exotic and red fruits supported by a backbone of fine tannins. Pure fruited and fragrant, with blueberry and cardamon spice. This Syrah has lingering length and persistence of flavour, a hallmark of this variety. Beautifully fragrant and elegant, this Syrah exhibits stunning fruit purity combined with layers of complexity, silky texture and a backbone of fine tannins allowing the wine to age for 5-7 years and beyond.

The winemakers favoured MS Syrah clone sourced from the Bridge Pa Triangle and the Dartmoor Valley was hand harvested in the second week of April. Bridge Pa Triangle soils feature fine silt loam over red metal gravels and the Dartmoor Valley has elevated terraces of sandy loam over gravels. Both sites are free draining and low in nutrient status, excellent for ripening. Low yielding vines, open canopy management, managed irrigation and Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand farmed were common to both sites. The fruit ripened evenly at both sites - Bridge Pa producing riper more voluptuous fruit, while Dartmoor Valley produced pristine, bright fruited Syrah, truly cool climate.

The 2018 vintage began with a welcome frost-free spring, followed by a warm, dry Hawkes Bay summer with above average temperatures. March saw moderate rainfall and high humidity and then settled weather from early April resulted in a warm, dry finish to vintage.

The hand harvested Syrah was chilled overnight before processing the following day. Chilled bunches were hand sorted, then de-stemmed and the whole berries were transferred to open fermenters with some foot stomping. Some whole bunches were incorporated in the ferment. The berries were cold soaked before fermentation, with pumping over twice per day and pressed to barriques at the end of fermentation. The Syrah matured for 18 months in new and seasoned French oak barriques. Blended in November 2019 and bottled December 2019.