From the archive: New Zealand Syrah – panel tasting results

New Zealand Syrahs are consistently high in quality and are capable of offering excellent value compared to the Rhône, according to our experts. See the full report and top rated wines below.

Published in the November 2015 issue of Decanter magazine and now available online and in full, exclusively for Premium subscribers.

• 68 New Zealand Syrah wines tasted, with five rated Outstanding

• ‘An exciting, quality-driven line up! Gimblett Gravels was the star, with wines of great structure, elegance and poise,’ said Melanie Brown, who judged in this tasting alongside Christine Parkinson and Philip Tuck MW.

Summary

Our experts were jubilant at the quality of these wines, reports Tine Gellie in Decanter’s November 2015 issue.

Gimblett Gravels is probably the best site outside France not only for Bordeaux varieties but also for Syrah,’ said Philip Tuck MW. Melanie Brown agreed, adding, ‘They are exceptional value compared to the Rhône.’

‘Top Syrah is never cheap, but the value in New Zealand is as good as you’re going to get because the quality level is so high,’ said Christine Parkinson who, along with her fellow judges, cited the Gimblett Gravels sub-region of Hawke’s Bay as the outstanding area.‘Despite its small size, Gimblett Gravels ‘is miles better than anywhere else in New Zealand’, said Tuck. This is because of its free-draining soils, which all the tasters felt contributed to a standout style.

Scroll down to see the top wines from the panel tasting

‘The wines had so much personality,’ said Parkinson. ‘Structure, weight, vibrant fruit, fragrance, concentration and depth.’ Syrahs from the larger encompassing region of Hawke’s Bay were ‘a step down in quality and personality but still consistently very good, particularly in terms of value’, said Brown.

Parkinson compared Hawke’s Bay and its famous sub-region with the Rhône. ‘It’s like Crozes-Hermitage and Hermitage, where being on that hill – or the Gimblett Gravels – gives a profound quality edge that is worth paying extra for.’

The Marlborough wines divided opinion.

Brown was ‘disappointed’, while Parkinson liked the ‘lighter-bodied, pretty, floral character’, which she said ‘was ideal for more immediate drinking’. Brown also singled out Wairarapa as having good potential.

Speaking for the panel, Tuck had the last word: ‘Kiwi Syrah is sadly under-appreciated and hopefully this tasting will bring it to the attention of more wine lovers, who shouldn’t pigeonhole the country as only a producer of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.

The scores

68 wines tasted

Outstanding 5

Highly Recommended 15

Recommended 42

Fair 6

Poor 0

Faulty 0

See all 62 wines from the panel tasting

Ageability

Looking at vintages, 2013 is the year to buy, said our experts, particularly from Gimblett Gravels. They felt the older wines showed a more ‘heavy-handed’ approach.

‘Winemaking and viticulture have improved a lot, more clever and subtle use of oak and allowing the fruit to express itself,’ said Parkinson. While the 2012s were regarded as ‘okay’, the 2011s were roundly criticised.

‘Hopefully they’ve all disappeared off shelves and wine lists now,’ said Parkinson.

Ageability was also discussed. Tuck questioned whether the 2012s, ’11s and ’10s were better now than they would have been soon after the vintage. ‘I’m not sure they are. If you manage the tannins well, New Zealand Syrahs can be enjoyed young and up to five years old, but I tasted no wine that needed bottle age to improve.’

Tuck added that the country’s Syrah vineyards were still young, and vine age would bring increased complexity. He was also pleased the average alcohol level had gone down, giving the wines ‘a purity, freshness and drinkability that was missing five years ago’.

On the flip side, he questioned whether screwcaps were the right closure for Syrah. ‘You don’t get cork taint, but Syrah is prone to reduction. If I were a producer, I’d be looking at Diam [cleaned, milled cork granules ‘glued’ together].’

About New Zealand Syrah

There may be only 433 hectares* planted but this variety is on the up – in plantings, global recognition and price. Below, Bob Campbell MW charts the success of Kiwi Syrah.

Until a few years ago Syrah was New Zealand’s biggest wine secret. That’s beginning to change as the accolades mount for a variety that still represents only 1.2% of the national vineyard.

Although Syrah ranks a lowly seventh in terms of vineyard area, it is growing faster than any of the top 10 varieties planted. In the two years to 2014 the area of Syrah vines grew by 22.2%.

It’s easy to understand why more winemakers are planting Syrah. It is now the country’s most expensive wine, outstripping the other glamour red variety, Pinot Noir, by nearly NZ$5 (£2) a bottle for the 2013 vintage, according to my database.

Syrah/Shiraz is Australia’s signature variety, and yet when that country’s best wines are tasted blind against the best from New Zealand and South Africa at an annual Six Nations Wine Challenge in Sydney, New Zealand wines have topped the category seven times against four Australian victories and one each from South Africa and the US.

That’s impressive when you consider that Australia has more than 40,000 hectares of Shiraz, while New Zealand has just 433ha. In 1983 there were only a few Syrah vines in New Zealand, planted at the Government Viticultural Research Station south of Auckland.

They were destined to be destroyed when Allan Limmer, founder of Stonecroft Wines in the Gimblett Gravels district of Hawke’s Bay, uprooted them all and planted them in his own vineyard.

Recent evidence suggests that those cuttings may be derived from original early imports of French Syrah which James Busby sent back to Sydney’s Botanical Collection in 1831-32. Most of the country’s Syrah derived from those vines, thanks to Limmer’s generosity.

The sweet spot: Gimblett Gravels

To many wine drinkers, the Gimblett Gravels sub-region of Hawke’s Bay is New Zealand’s Syrah sweet spot. Syrah makes up 134ha of vineyard plantings from a total of 630ha on dried up, stone-strewn riverbed, producing inky wines with powerful fruit flavours.

The nearby Bridge Pa Triangle in Hawke’s Bay, also formed from an ancient river bed with free-draining gravels, boasts an even greater area of Syrah vines while smaller sites from cooler coastal areas and hotter hillsides add further diversity to the region’s wines.

Waiheke Island in Auckland harbour has the largest area of Syrah vines outside Hawke’s Bay, giving wines that are often richer and more textural than those from the Bay, often with a savoury edge adding extra complexity.

Outside these key regions, there are at least small plantings of Syrah in every wine region including Central Otago in the south of the South Island

*Note: All figures were recorded correctly at the time of publishing in November 2015, but may be subject to change.

Hawke’s Bay Syrah: know your vintages

2014 A cool start then a hot, dry period followed by Cyclone Lusi which did little damage. A challenger to the excellent 2013s.

2013 A long, warm summer with modest rainfall. An easy vintage producing many top wines.

2012 Wet; the worst in 20 years.

2011 Warm and wet conditions were better for reds than whites.

2010 Moderately cool vintage but low crops of Syrah helped achieve good ripeness.

2009 A cool start with a warm, dry finish. Syrah was the star.

2008 Rainfall and humidity made this a challenging vintage. Quality was patchy.

2007 Very dry vintage and lots of heat produced soft, ripe wines.

Top New Zealand Syrah from the panel tasting:

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