Winemaker Notes
This is a deep and dark-colored wine. The ripe nature of the vintage comes through on the nose, with blueberries and boysenberries. Fresh wood shavings, olive tapenade, iodine and even a toasty graphite-like characters further bring an enticing and intriguing nose.
The palate is still very textural with lively chalky tannins on the mid-palate and lively acidity towards the back. However, the fruit brings richness and roundness with an abundance of flesh and body. A testament to a long, late summer, with little difficulties for Syrah.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Already throwing out considerable sediment, the 2016 Lovat Vineyard Syrah became a vibrant purple hue in the glass. Violets and cracked pepper make for an enticing nose, and that's backed by blueberries and blackberries on the palate. It's medium-bodied but intense, with just-ripe tannins and bright acids that give the wine a precise, elegant feel and lengthy finish. One of two great Syrahs from Martinborough (the other being Kusuda's), it should drink well for a decade or more.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Part of the Wairarapa region in the southern end of the country’s North Island, Martinborough is a bucolic appellation full of artisan, lifestyle wine producers. Above all else, their goals are to tend vineyards for low yields and create wines of supreme quality. Pinot noir is the main grape variety here, occupying over half of the land under vine.
Comparing topography, climate and soils, the region is nearly identical to Marlborough except that it produces top quality reds on the regular.