Man O' War Bellerophon Waiheke Island Syrah 2016

Description

The 2016 Bellerophon has a complex bouquet of spice, red berries with earthy peaty notes, hints of apricot from the Viognier and a floral lift from the stems. The wine has a rich texture which is perfectly balanced with the acidity of the Syrah variety and the blend of fruit and oak tannin as well as the complex stem tannins. The 2016 Bellerophon will age incredibly well developing more savoury aromas and flavour as well as increased integration and development of the tannin profile.

Vintage 2016 began with a settled and dry Spring resulting in great flowering and a corresponding excellent fruit set. The settled weather continued up to the New Year when wet weather patterns became prevalent which continued into the harvest months. Careful attention to detail in the vineyard paid off with an astonishing quality of fruit across all varieties in what was undoubtedly a most challenging year.

The 2016 Bellerophon is a blend of several batches of wine and is a continuation of investigations into using both co fermentation (with Viognier) and the use of stem inclusion in the Syrah ferments. Two batches were fermented with 10% Viognier added as whole bunch clusters, similarly had a batch of 100% whole cluster Syrah and the remaining batches were destemmed. The resulting wine is 3% Viognier and 30 % whole cluster. The wines were all fermented with wild yeast and pumped over twice daily, pressed off and aged in barrel with spontaneous malolactic fermentation. Aged for 18 months in barrel before blending and bottling.