Our next star variety, Syrah, is well on its way to
fame and glory. A good number of superb
Syrah wines, especially those from the Gimblett Gravels, have wowed judges and
consumers alike. Many of these command
the highest prices, and quite rightly so.
An international perspective tells us our best wines offer exceptional
value, Syrah included. But it is just as
gratifying to see an increasing number of Syrah wines priced affordably. Several well-known labels have lowered their
prices, and suddenly serious savings over formerly high dollar Syrah wines can
be made now: Here are three great value
Syrahs from Hawke’s Bay:
Instinct Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2007
Instinct is a new label from the CJ Pask winery, made
and endorsed by winemaker Kate Radburnd
who sees it as providing a range of true-to-type wines, expressing their origin
and satisfying all her instinctive senses on where varietals grow best, and
wines which will instinctively satisfy the drinkers natural senses. Kate has succeeded admirably with this 2007
Syrah from Hawke’s Bay. Black-purple in
colour, this is packed with black pepper and spice aromas and flavours on a
firmly tannic and substantial palate that will ensure excellent aging
ability. At 14.0% alc, the fruit was
sourced from 6 and 9 y.o. vines from Pask’s Gimblett Gravels vineyards, the
wine aged for 9 months in new and seasoned French oak. It is a wine that delivers way above its
price.
Te Mata ‘Woodthorpe’ Syrah 2007
After Alan Limmer
of Stonecroft, Te Mata has worked the longest with Syrah in this country. The lessons learnt from developing the
‘Bullnose’ Syrah have made the ‘Woodthorpe’ Syrah from Te Mata one of the most
sophisticated wines for its price. Made
from fruit from the cooler ‘Woodthorpe’ site, this has been kept as a medium
weight wine enhanced by its natural aromatics, as well as the inclusion of 5%
Viognier, co-fermented, of course. At
13.5% alc., this spent 15 months in new and seasoned French oak barrels. Spices, chocolate, dark cherries and berry
fruit are prominent. However, supple
drinkability is the key to this wine and this wine that has it in spades.
Craggy Range ‘Block 14’ Syrah 2006
Craggy Range winemaker Rod Easthope
considers each consecutive vintage he has made has shown some degree of
progress and improvement. It was a tough
call with 2005, a year which produced very rich, ripe and weighty wines,
followed by 2006, where the wines were less full-on, but more fragrant and
aromatic. Interestingly, the 2006s have
developed in the bottle and the ‘Block 14’ Syrah, from the same Gimblett
Gravels vineyard where the super-premium ‘Le Sol’ is sourced, is showing
superbly now with its range of black fruit, herb and spice characters and fully
structured, but fresh and keen palate.
The wine is 13.4% alc, fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged 17
months in 42% new French oak. Craggy Range
has always been realistic with its pricing and some range alignments has seen
the ‘Block 14’ has come down to that of the Gimblett Gravels Merlot. It is time to take advantage of this change.