Another of our Top 10 Tastings that became postponed in this crazy up and down levels computer game of Auckland life that we’re currently in. But. We got there and last night settled down to a superb collection of Syrahs from across New Zealand. All wines were opened a couple of hours before tasting and kept just below room temperature before serving blind.
An interesting note is that we had about one in five bottles under cork, and of those, one bottle – a 2019 vintage no less – was corked, sadly. Three of the Top 10 tasting placings were sealed with a cork.
I’ve spent a bit of time looking into New Zealand Syrah, and I love the aromatic lift of the best examples – lower extraction and a more supple approach to the balance and finesse on show. We’re not making Shiraz here and an alignment more to the Rhone Valley – even to the northern styles there, where elegance and delicacy are prized over inky depth and blackness of fruit. In some cases it was very Pinot Noir-like as the wines show savoury elements like truffle, herbs and iodine earthiness. A bit of whole bunch complexity can add real personality if it works, but overall, the winners here were wines that balanced big fruit without getting too heavy, and kept tannins and acidity in line.
A little chill was used in the serving – wines put into a not-too-cold fridge for a 45-minute spell before pouring. I thought this worked well and can recommend it. Also, as I write this, it’s the day after, and a couple of wines have been decanted to enjoy across the weekend. These wines have bloomed. It’s not possible to decant wines for tasting in a big event like this one, but at home you should definitely consider it. Old fashioned, maybe. Improves the wines, definitely.
Here’s the WineFolio Top 10…
1. The Landing Syrah 2017.
Aromatic and sweet-fruited with black cherry and boysenberry aromas. Elegant with a rich, plush palate of plum, liquorice and dark, peppery spices. Concentrated, with soft rounded tannins and integrated vanilla-infused oak. Quartz mineral, and a tobacco leaf smokiness towards the voluptuous lengthy finish.
2. Radburnd Cellars Syrah 2018.
Deep, dark and purple-hued, and with bright varietal aromas of plum, blackcurrant, mocha and warm spices, Approachable, with a tautness and tension. Balanced weight, acidity and concentration across the mid palate. A spine of supple tannins, and a nuance of well-integrated oak. A silken texture, building to a lengthy, drying, spicy finish. The phrase “serious” cropped up in a couple of notes.
3. Church Road TOM Syrah 2015.
Deep, brooding, inky burgundy. Plenty of fleshy, ripe fruit on the nose, with wood smoke and savoury notes of olive tapenade and fennel. The palate is medium-bodied, not overly weighty and has great balance and easy-going swagger for a structured wine with such deep complexity. Oak is big but nicely judged – oozes a little old-world, Rhone-like finesse and power.
4. Terrace Edge Waipara Syrah 2015.
This wine gave us “cause to pause” as one judge said. Dark and nicely weighted, with classic perfume of lilac, raspberry and plum. Smooth and well integrated, showing a little oak warmth. Shows savoury, meaty, almost ‘marmite’ notes alongside the deep, rich sweeter fruits. Tannins are svelte and the whole thing is just ready and primed to go.
5. Ka Tahi Rangatira Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2019.
Under cork, a fragrant expression, with violets, white pepper, herbal mint, damson and red cherry. Enticing, medium-bodied and with a youthful freshness and a fine tannin profile. Spiced with a chorizo, gamey, leather savouriness, a slightly tar and resinous earthen note; and finishes drier and concentrated.
6. Church Road ‘1’ Syrah 2018.
One of our panel wrote “yum” as their first word in their notes for this elegant, vivid, single vineyard wine. A little boisterous and jazzy now, but built with structure and intensity to last. Good, forward, line of acidity and ‘easy to love’ also featured in our report. Floral and bursting with cherry, bramble and spiced red plum.
7. Mills Reef Elspeth Syrah 2016.
Thyme, bayleaf, mulberry and violet floral lift on the nose. Touch of barnyard earthiness adds personality and it’s quick to open up and embrace you with a spicy, rounded texture and smooth, fine tannins. Long, sweetening finish.
8. Man O War Dreadnought Syrah 2018.
A bold, deeply flushed burgundy colour, and vibrant cherry, berry and herbal notes on the nose. Savoury, mineral and also with a green sap and moss line that balances nicely with the ripe, succulent fruit. Tannins with a little grip, and the oak is toasty, vanilla and warming. Good length with a smooth finish.
9. Church Road Grand Reserve Syrah 2018.
Spicy on the nose, with clove, cigar box, dark fruits and rosehip. Balanced structure – supple tannins and medium, acidity. Rich, deep with focus and precision. Staying power in the glossy, peppery finish.
10th place was shared by five wines on the same points:
• Elephant Hill Airavata Syrah 2017
• Paritua Syrah 2018
• Leveret Estate Reserve Syrah 2015
• Trinity Hill ‘Homage’ 2018
• Elephant Hill Reserve Syrah 2017
Congratulations to all the Top 10 winners. The standard of entries was generally high – 19 of the wines received were at Silver Medal standard.
We’ll return later in the year with another Winefolio Top 10 Tasting – probably our postponed Pinot Noir Tasting that we had planned for winter last year.
Wow, this looks like one of the best tastings of NZ Syrah I’ve ever seen! Given the quality of what’s in the Top 10, this could well have been a landmark tasting for this type of wine in New Zealand?
Thanks Jo, we’ll be doing more in the future. Pinot Noir is next.
I assume you do give the wines scores? Why not publish those scores?
Hi Joe, yes, the process of judging the wines means they are allocated a score out of 100 by each judge. We simply add those up to determine the placings. We only publish those who are the Top 10 scoring wines (hence the name) but there are a lot more wines than just ten in the Tasting. At wine shows, wines are awarded medals – Gold, Silver and Bronze according to their scores – but, again, you don’t see the scores themeselves.
I do reviews of individual wines and publish a score our of 100 for that.
Thanks for your interest.
Did you see the new House and Garden Magazine? They wrote about the same wines as you have in your Top 10 Tasting? Were they at your Tasting?
Simon, no I haven’t read that magazine for years – I don’t think people do really read magazines now, do they? I had a long career (that I thoroughly enjoyed) in magazine publishing in its heyday; but it’s a twilight industry now – a bit sad to see, but things change – life moved on.
I know that others ‘in the industry’ – wine people, including writers, will have looked at WineFolio; but I doubt that anyone would just copy the content from here. Wines are available in plenty of places and you’d assume it would just be coincidence if someone wrote about the same ones. Unless it was like the same wines exactly – that would be weird. I can say that no other writers were at my Top 10 tastings. DWB
That’s an excellent tasting, I’m pleased someone like yourself is taking New Zealand Syrah seriously. It often seems to be an afterthought in other judging, like the big wine shows, where it used to be put in the same class as Shiraz?
Peter, thanks for reading… I believe that Syrah is one of the best varietals in NZ for showing ‘a sense of place’. It definitely deserves it’s own tasting. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the next couple of years – it could be that it will be as well regarded as our Pinot Noir in years to come. Speaking of which – Pinot is next – the Top 10 Tasting should be up in less than a month!