Te Awanga Estate The Loom Reserve Hawke's Bay Syrah 2018

Description

• French oak
• Black Doris plum
• Toasted nut & spice
• Supple tannins

"Offering lovely fruit purity and poise, the wine shows Black Doris plum, sweet raspberry, violet, olive and toasted nut characters with a touch of spicy complexity. The palate delivers excellent focus and concentration, together with flowing mouthfeel and silky tannins, leading to an impressively long refined finish" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Nov 2019

"Pure, vibrant syrah that reflects its cool seaside location with floral, violet, white and black pepper and dark berry and cherry flavours. The wine has a delicious energy-boosting cut of acidity. Good now but no rush" Bob Cambell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Oct 2019

"From young vines on a north-facing slope near the coast, the impressive 2018 vintage (4.5*) is full-coloured and mouthfilling, with concentrated, ripe plum, spice and nut flavours, savoury notes adding complexity, gentle tannins and a supple, finely balanced finish. Already drinking well, it's an ageworthy red, likely to be at its best 2021+" Michael Cooper, Nov 2019

A typical Hawke’s Bay Syrah with violets and lifted pepper spice on the nose. On the palate, it’s medium weight but with great concentration and is textural with a little tightness which promises a long life and gathering complexity. Plum, cherry and earth all layer across soft, supple tannin and balanced acidity.

The vineyards of Te Awanga are characterised by shallow volcanic loess soils over deep gravels – ideal for creating wine of great flavour. Underlying these soils is a rising and falling clay pan at about 35 centimetres. Even though it’s a challenge for grape growing, the pan limits vine vigour and is a major factor in concentrating the flavours of the fruit. The slopes behind our cellar door where our Syrah is planted add aspect to the unique character of our site, with the north-east facing slope capturing extra heat and sunlight during the day. The coastal climate, with its sea breezes and mild day and night temperatures, is vital in creating slow ripening which also intensifies the flavours of both red and white wines.

Grapes were hand harvested and 100% destemmed into an open-top fermenter where fruit was left to soak for a few days until fermentation started. Hand plunged throughout ferment and left resting on skins for ten days before being pressed to French oak barriques, 35% of which were new. The wine stayed in barrel for 16 months before being blended and bottled unfined. The winemaking team work hard in the vineyard and winery to create an environment which allows minimal handling and as a result have produced a wine that’s got as much flavour and character as we could manage.

Contains Sulphites.