2019 Syrah Gimblett Gravels, Craggy Range, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand

OVERVIEW

The new world doesn't go in for terroir with quite the same gusto as the French, but get a Hawke's Bay winemaker on the subject of Gimblett Gravels and they can wax as lyrical as anyone from the old world. These free draining, low fertility soils are a boon for grape concentration and the Syrah of Craggy Range will put you in mind of the Northern Rhone rather than the Southern hemisphere. A bargain at sub £30, this is some serious Syrah from an exceptional vintage that we can't recommend highly enough.

CRITIC REVIEWS

From the excellent 2019 vintage, and again from the Gravels, 18% of this was whole-bunch fermented with indigenous yeasts, and it spent 14 months in barriques of French oak, 25% new. Very vibrant in colour, there's a cool, schist and gravel aspect to the nose, over taut red fruit, a sheen of oak. On the palate the wine opens, still with that taut, gravel and graphite cool, but the cherry and red plum fruit is both bright and deep, supported by some understated oak, into a long, poised finish. Impressive young wine. 93 Points. Tom Cannavan

FOOD PAIRING INSPIRATION

This 93 point Syrah from the iconic Gimblett Gravels area of Hawke's Bay will pair supremely well with pan fried lamb chops and a range of red meat dishes.

VINTAGE AND WINEMAKING

Another low yielding vintage in 2019 but the resultant exceptional high quality fruit makes the slightly higher prices worthwhile. Many Hawke's Bay producers felt that 2019 was their best-ever red vintage. The growing year was fairly uniform with plenty of sunshine and heat to ripen the grapes but not exceptionally hot and the wines are well balanced with the best expression being teased out of the trickiest of grapes.

60% hand harvested, 11% whole bunch fermentation with 89% destemmed with 22% new oak.

PRODUCER NOTES

Craggy Range produces a collection of iconic wines from multiple regions in New Zealand. Owner Terry Peabody and his family pursued the single vineyard approach to winemaking, planting on green fields and bare land ensuring a focus on quality from the very beginning.

New Zealand, with its diversity of soils types, offered the perfect location to plant the vines. From the stony, warm soils of the Gimblett Gravels in Hawke’s Bay to the volcanic, clay soils of Te Muna Road in Martinborough these exceptional vineyards produce wines with amazing aromatics, purity and complexity.

The wines, produced for the Prestige and Family Collections are pure expressions of the unique terroir in which they were grown.

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SERVICE AND STORAGE TIPS

The wine is best drunk young but can evolve and change over the coming years but it's peak will be now-2030.

This wine should be served between 16-18°C as preference dictates and stored over the longer term at around 12°C.

DELIVERY INFORMATION

Delivery is free when you spend over £150. For orders under this amount then a £9.99 delivery charge will be applied.

We use a tracked DPD delivery service who provide text and email tracking updates.

Every bottle sold by CoolerSomm is subject to our quality guarantee. If a wine is corked or faulty, we will replace it.

2019 Syrah Gimblett Gravels, Craggy Range, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand