Villa Maria Cellar Selection Hawkes Bay Syrah 2018

Description

Deep purple and crimson hues lead to a perfumed nose of violet, black fruit, herb and spice aromas. The palate is medium-bodied, supple and silky in texture, featuring wonderfully integrated tannins. Pure fruit flavours lead the wine to a lengthy finish.

The 2018 Hawkes Bay vintage followed on from offi cially one of the warmest summers on record, which gave red varietals in particular superb conditions for ripening. The white harvest commenced early in March with pressure from rain, however, the majority of the later ripening reds were harvested in excellent condition under welcome blue skies. Fruit was picked and gently destemmed without crushing into open-top fermenters for fermentation with daily plunging to extract fl avour, colour and tannin. Once pressed the wine was matured in 228L French oak barriques of which 18% were new, for 14 months prior to blending and bottling.

Food Pairing: Syrah is an excellent food wine, particularly when paired with dishes featuring spice, duck or venison. Drink now or hold for up to 5-8 years when the wine will develop further complexity.