Elephant Hill Reserve Hawke's Bay Syrah 2019

Description

Cherry, Hazelnut, Oak, Spice

"Sweetly fruited and complex, the inviting bouquet shows blackberry, smoked game, toasted spice and roasted hazelnut aromas, leading to a wonderfully weighted palate offering fleshy texture backed by layers of fine tannins, making it sturdy and robust with a sustained velvety finish. Gorgeously stylish and harmonious, with excellent structure and balance. At its best: now to 2031" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Aug 2024

"Ripe aromas of blackberry, boysenberry, maraschino cherry, and plum layered with toasty oak, barrel spice, nutmeg, and white pepper. The palate is dense with soft black fruits, supported by velvety tannins. Gentle acidity frames the rich fruit and oak-spice interplay, providing structure without overshadowing its elegance. Excellent concentration - powerful yet poised. Enjoy now or cellar 2030+" The Wine Writer

"A complete bouquet, a complete wine, vibrant and varietal with a bouquet of fresh black currant and barrel spices, roasted red skinned orchard fruits, tobacco and plum, violets and new leather, baking spices and wood smoke. Lovely weight and mouthfeel, dry with a core of fruit flavours that reflect the bouquet, a decent backbone of acidity, firm tannins and lengthy complex finish. What’s not to like! Perfect now and through 2029" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Aug 2024

"Deep ruby-red with a purple tinge, lighter on the rim. This has a broody, rich bouquet with aromas of dark plum, blackberry, violet, black tea, pepper, cured meat and smoky earth. Full-bodied, aromas of black plum and blackberry entwined with black tea, violet, unfolding black pepper, liquorice, earthy and savoury nuances. Dusty tannins lightly coated the mouthfeel, providing a velvety texture reflecting tea smoke and earthy minerals. Invigorating acidity flows smoothly, refreshes the rich, dark nuances, and carries a long, savoury finish" Candice Chow, Raymond Chan Reviews, Sep 2024

Elegant and smooth styled, oak-aged Syrah with Dark berry fruits flavours, balanced with a gentle savoury, meatiness and delicate pepper and spice notes. Medium weight with moderate tannin structure.

Elephant Hill produces handcrafted, small batch, artisanal wines from a blend of up to three sustainably farmed Hawke's Bay vineyards that each contributes a distinctive elemental character: SEA, EARTH & STONE. The RESERVE range showcases classic Hawke's Bay varieties that have spent extended time in barrel and bottlebefore release, offering ready aged wines for immediate enjoyment.

An incredible vintage for Hawke's Bay, one of the great years. Overall, the season was very warm with a total heat summation (1425 Growing Degree Days) well above the Long-Term Average. The key ripening months of January and February were warm and dry. This combined with low crop yields, good flavour and careful selection allowed us to harvest fruit in excellent condition in the 2nd week of March.

100% handpicked, with separate small batch ferments of indiviual vineyard blocks. Aged 22 months in French oak barrels (25% new). Final blend spenta further 10 months in tank before bottling.