Syrah 2007

TASTING NOTES
This beautifully balanced Hawkes Bay Syrah was made from the Paritua Vineyard in the Triangle District. 2007 was a fantastic growing year with perfect weather conditions, allowing for the full development of complex and inviting flavours. On the nose, aromas of ripe blueberry, guava and black cherry are present. Underlying these characters are hints of black pepper and spice giving the bouquet depth and interest. The palate is enhanced with flavours of Black Doris plum, blackberry and sweet raspberry. Excellent structure and length is achieved through the development of fine grained tannins supported by complex flavours and a fleshy palate. Try a glass with pork tenderloin, wild mushroom risotto or herb crusted rack of lamb. This wine is drinking beautifully now and will age for six or more years.

VITICULTURE
All fruit was hand-harvested from Paritua Vineyards on Maraekakaho Road in Hawkes Bay. Two Syrah clones (Chave and 174) are grown on the site and only the premium fruit was selected to make this top tier wine. The vine management program was designed to create fruit that has maximum physiological ripeness while retaining balance between fruit intensity, acid and tannin structure. Vines were cropped light with good sun exposure.

WINEMAKING
After hand harvesting, whole bunches were transferred to the onsite winery at Paritua Vineyards. The fruit was then destemmed and partially crushed with the aim of achieving 20% whole berries in tank. After several days the ferment was started and maintained at temperatures below 30OC. Regular pump-overs were conducted to keep the cap submerged and to extract the fine-grained skin tannins present in the grapes. Once the ferment was complete the wine was pressed to barrel, 50% of which were new French oak barriques. During the maturation stage a malolactic conversion took place, softening the wine in preparation for a single racking prior to bottling in June of 2008.

HARVEST: 2007
244 CASES MADE
10 BARRIQUES
14% ALCOHOL/VOLUME
TA: 5.6 GRAMS/LITRE
pH: 3.47
CLOSURE: STELVIN LUX +