New Zealand doesn’t just make Savvy Blanc people. They make a hell of a lot (in Kiwi years) of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and a little bit of Chardy. Now we know this, but it is a surprise to a lot of people, including some ‘angry people’ out there – you know who you are – that the Kiwi’s make really good Syrah, or Shiraz as we know – that really big red wine from Barossa hey bro.
Now being serious, I really do love the Syrah coming out of NZ. It’s the type of Shiraz, Syrah, which I would sit down to with a meal. Syrah is primarily grown in the north island, and saying that, north of Hawkes Bay up to Auckland.
Kennedy Point is located on Waiheke Island, about a 30 minute ferry ride from Auckland. With about 6 hectares of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, Neil Kunimura and his team are producing some real classy wines. Like any good grape grower and/or winemaker, these guys are taking advantage of some great terroir, or in other words growing the right fruit in the right area. The vineyards are located on the south side of the island, where they are sheltered from the battering winds from the north shore.
This wine has great, deep colour – ox blood if you will. At 13.5% alcohol, I am tipping this wine spent at least 20 days on skins to get colour like this. The nose is quite green, with eucalypt coming in quite soft, but nothing else. It all takes shape in the mouth with blueberries being predominate, and sour morello cherries at the back holding the acid in check – and boy is there acid. It gets quite grainy at the back end also, so this wine may need to be decanted off of sediment in later years.
Now being serious, I really do love the Syrah coming out of NZ. It’s the type of Shiraz, Syrah, which I would sit down to with a meal. Syrah is primarily grown in the north island, and saying that, north of Hawkes Bay up to Auckland.
Kennedy Point is located on Waiheke Island, about a 30 minute ferry ride from Auckland. With about 6 hectares of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, Neil Kunimura and his team are producing some real classy wines. Like any good grape grower and/or winemaker, these guys are taking advantage of some great terroir, or in other words growing the right fruit in the right area. The vineyards are located on the south side of the island, where they are sheltered from the battering winds from the north shore.
This wine has great, deep colour – ox blood if you will. At 13.5% alcohol, I am tipping this wine spent at least 20 days on skins to get colour like this. The nose is quite green, with eucalypt coming in quite soft, but nothing else. It all takes shape in the mouth with blueberries being predominate, and sour morello cherries at the back holding the acid in check – and boy is there acid. It gets quite grainy at the back end also, so this wine may need to be decanted off of sediment in later years.
This is a great little wine that still has plenty of kick. Drink till 2015.
Eat with game, something like a partridge, pheasant pie.
17/20
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