Syrah 2019

Clone 470 and MS Syrah are sourced from the Bridge Pa Triangle and MS Syrah from Roys Hill. Bridge Pa Triangle soils feature fine silt over red metal gravels, while the gravel sites protected by Roys Hill feature gravel over fine silt. These sites are free draining and low in fertility, resulting in struggling vines producing fruit of great concentration. Low yielding vines, open canopy management, managed irrigation and Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand farmed were common to these sites. The 470 Syrah from Bridge Pa was textural with dark exotic characters, the MS Syrah from Bridge Pa was harvested for elegance and bright acidity while the Roys Hill MS Syrah was spicy and peppery.

The hand harvested Syrah was chilled overnight before processing the following day. Chilled bunches were hand sorted, then de-stemmed and the whole berries were transferred to open fermenters with some foot stomping. Some whole bunches were incorporated in the ferments. The berries were cold soaked before fermentation, indigenous yeast initiated the fermentation, while cultured yeast completed it. Twice daily pump overs and cool ferment temperatures through to dryness, then pressed to barriques. The Syrah matured for approximately 16 months in new and seasoned French oak barriques. Blended in September 2020 and bottled in October 2020.

A brooding black fruited Syrah which is well structured with alcohol, tannin and acidity. Dark spicy fruits are well supported with a hint of pure floral fragrance. Crafted to age well, complexity, concentration of pure ripe fruit and subtle sweet oak blend together to ensure this. This Syrah has lingering length and persistence of flavour, a hallmark of this variety.

Alcohol: 13.5% Total acidity: 6.2 g/l