Mills Reef Winery is based in Tauranga and makes its stellar wines from grapes grown in New Zealand's two biggest wine regions; Marlborough and Hawke's Bay, respectively. 

This dry full bodied and spicy Syrah is made from grapes grown in Hawke's Bay where the warm climate adds weight, spice and ripe fruit flavours. Great drinking and excellent value for money for enjoying now or in the next four to five years.

Trademark wines are only made in a good vintage, with fairly small print runs.  They're drinkers and keepers.  Made from 100% Hawke's Bay gold.

Ripe fruit from three of our Trademark Syrah vineyards planted on limestone hillsides and an old riverbed. It shows admirable ripeness and depth of flavour, retaining vibrancy and great complexity on the nose and palate with typical violet, spice, black cherry and subtle white pepper notes. Supple chalky tannins provide a structure that promise time in bottle will be rewarded.

Commercial Description

We are lucky at Čuvar to have arguably one of the best red wine vineyards on the Gimblett Gravels, which meant that the Syrah weathered the early cyclone and continued to ripen to produce fruit with depth of flavour and ripe tannins – the perfect palette to create this wine.

Firm, ripe tannins create a backbone enveloped in juicy sun kissed fruit that lengthens on the palate to leave you wanting more.

TASTING NOTE Dark purple and ruby appearance with a pink rim leads to a bouquet of ripeness, concentration and power. On the nose, the wine bursts with aromas of fresh crushed blackcurrant, rosemary flower and violet, layered with smoky clove and new leather. The palate is opulent and velvety in texture, with concentration, ripeness and power. Plum, dark cherry and cocoa beans are vibrant and lingering. This wine is both intense and delicate.  A lovely reflection of the 2021 season. 

VINEYARDS & VITICULTURE Our Waiheke Vineyard is entirely owned and managed by Cable Bay Vineyards to ensure we produce the best quality fruit possible. We practice regenerative viticulture, and we are accredited with Sustainable Winegrowing NZ. We are located on the sun-drenched, western side of the island, on steep slopes overlooked by Rangitoto volcano. We have predominantly mineralised clay volcanic soils over Jurassic era rock. This type of geology and soil provides wines with great mid-palate weight and minerality. This wine is made from the Hermitage MS clone of Syrah. 

WINEMAKING These Syrah grapes were hand-picked in March 2021, on a cool morning, and immediately taken across the road to our winery. The ferment was 100% whole berries, which helps to enhance the floral and bright fruit characters in the wine. At pressing, only the free run wine was retained to ensure delicacy, and run to French oak puncheons and barriques. In 20% new oak, it aged for 21 months before assemblage and bottling.

Outstanding Hawke's Bay Syrah which was first made in the early 1990s from iron rich soils. This makes Bullnose one of the oldest Syrah brands in Hawke's Bay, named after one of the vineyards from which the wine is made (which, in turn, was named after the vineyard owners' love of old cars, particularly the pre 1928 Bullnose). The grapes come from two vineyards, Bullnose and Isosceles, both in the Bridge Pa Triangle; one of the warmer growing areas of Hawke's Bay, thanks to both soil and climate there. 

Aging for 15 months in French oak, which provides its spicy notes and depth.

A beautiful wine for drinking now or for cellaring. 

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The 2022 back Block Syrah exhibits plum, pepper, ripe tannins, subtle oak, vibrance and complexity. he Back Block Syrah is always one of Brookfields most popular wines – do enjoy!

A big red with a big following thanks to its dense dark and impressive ripe black plummy flavours intermingled with spice in a deliciously full bodied, complex red wine from Waiheke Island's biggest wine producer. 

The grapes in this wine come from six vineyards on the island. They are called  Asylum, Big North, Garden Cove, Mad Mans, Niko Face and North 3; all small sites planted on extremely steep hillsides on a remote and beautiful corner of Waiheke Island. Each little vineyard was originally planted as an experiment to see how well grapes would fare here. The results speak for themselves; Man O' War Dreadnought Syrah is a commanding and powerful red from one of the warmest climates in New Zealand. It was fermented in French oak, 32% new and 68% seasoned and is named after the first in a line of early 20th Century battleships which was named Dreadnought. 

Clevedon Vineyard on Munros Road is nestled in the hills of Clevedon, southwest of Auckland.

This family owned estate and vineyard sprawls some 50 acres of stunning bush-lined valley and is centred around an authentic Italian Villa - Il Monticello ('The Hill'). 

The northerly aspect captures all day sunshine giving this boutique vineyard a higher than regional average climate.  Coupled with clay based soil it is as unique as it is remarkable.

Planted over 2 decades ago, this single-vineyard estate produces Pinot Noir, Syrah, Rosé and the northern Italian varietal Arneis.

The Syrah is full bodied, velvet smooth and packed with wild bramble fruits, savoury hints and pepper spice.

Dark and spicy, full bodied and complex. A wine to drink now and to keep. Giesen's Clayvin Syrah has aromas of blueberry, plum, cinnamon and nutmeg with aniseed notes leading into a powerful palate full of texture and concentration with a lingering savoury finish. Whole bunches make up a component of this wine, which add depth, weight, structure and spicy notes. 

Clayvin was the first hillside vineyard in Marlborough and is now certified organic and is home to a small number of Syrah vines. 

Terrace Edge is a family owned, certified organic winery based in the Waipara Valley wine growing region. This Syrah has a nose of ripe blackberry and plum with notes of liquorice and spice. The palate is rich with dark fruit, supported by elegant ripe tannins.

Terrace Edge was named the New Zealand Organic Vineyard of the Year in 2018 and this year was named Aotearoa New Zealand Organic Winery of the Year.

Vibrant floral, apricot, honeysuckle and lychee aromas lead into a satin textured, fresh and balanced palate with flavours of white nectarine, tangerine and mild spices.

Hand harvested Syrah from the famed Two Terraces vineyard. 100% whole bunch fermented with 128 days on skins. The wine was pressed to a single seasoned French oak barrel for 9 months. Aromas of dark berry fruits, wild thyme and violets and an elegant tannin structure