Wairau River Reserve Marlborough Syrah 2022

Wairau River Reserve Marlborough Syrah 2022Deeply coloured with notes of concentrated black fruits, violet, leather and sweet baking spices on the nose. The palate is rich and complex, with elegant refined tannins and a long finish. After a lower yielding 2021 vintage, Marlborough was blessed with outstanding weather in December providing near perfect flowering conditions and a subsequent great fruit set. This translated into an increased number of berries per bunch, which helped offset the

Deeply coloured with notes of concentrated black fruits, violet, leather and sweet baking spices on the nose. The palate is rich and complex, with elegant refined tannins and a long finish. 

After a lower yielding 2021 vintage, Marlborough was blessed with outstanding weather in December providing near perfect flowering conditions and a subsequent great fruit set. This translated into an increased number of berries per bunch, which helped offset the slightly lower than average bunch numbers which resulted from the cooler weather we experienced during flowering in 2020. The great weather conditions continued through January with above average daily temperatures and sunshine hours, punctuated by timely periods of rainfall ensuring optimal soil water status, resulting in  great canopy development and health. With the weather initially looking like it was shaping up to translate into an early start to harvest, we saw periods with cooler temperatures and increased rainfall in late January and early February, slowing development and extending the ripening period. Harvest commenced in the 3rd week of March and concluded at the end of April. The extended ripening period has resulted in wines with great balance and poise, combining ripe tropical elements with bright mineral acidity, ensuring some outstanding components to go into this years blends.  

Sourced from the Angler vineyard, grapes were hand harvested in the cool of the morning, followed by cold maceration for 5 days to extract colour and subtle tannins. Fermented in small open top oak cuves  with minimal hand plunging, the skins were basket pressed to  French oak barriques for 18 months maturation prior to blending and bottling. Bottled un-fined and un-filtered, some natural sedimentation may occur.