Esk Valley Great Dirt Hillside Hawke's Bay Syrah 2021

Description

Cherry, Floral, Oak

"This is immensely seductive on the nose with blackberry, sweet plum, rich floral, game and cedary oak characters, leading to a concentrated palate offering power as well as elegance. Sophisticated and seamlessly expressed with a sustained structured finish. At its best: 2025 to 2039" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Apr 2023

This is a complex and intriguing wine showcasing its limestone soils. Aromas of rose petal and red berries are compelling. The wine is elegant with a brambly red fruited profile, but a firm tannic backbone provides complexity and length. Raised in large format barrels the wine has little oak flavour, instead showcasing the beauty of its unique site.

At the summit of “The Terraces” vineyard lies a limestone plateau, subdivided into four small plots of Syrah, totalling 1.1 hectares. Gently sloping to the north this is a warm
site, but moderated by the sea breeze from the Pacific Ocean which lies 1 kilometre to the east. Once the home of Heipipi Pa, this vineyard offers incredible views of northern Hawkes Bay and with its limestone and shell base produces a unique wine. Planted in 2007, with the Limmer Clone, the dry farmed vines are cane pruned and intensively managed to produce wine of exceptional quality.

The fruit was hand-picked on April 1st and fermented as a mix of whole cluster bunches and de-stemmed fruit in a single concrete fermenter. Indigenous yeasts were utilised for fermentation and after a period of post ferment maceration the wine was pressed to large format oak barrels for maturation. After 20 months maturation a blend was made from selected barrels and the wine bottled unfined and unfiltered in March 2023.