BABICH WINEMAKERS' RESERVE SYRAH 2006
Overview:
Syrah is a native of the Rhone in France with the appellations of Hermitage and Cote Rote showing some of the best examples. And it is from Cote Rote that the inspiration for our blending (co-fermenting) of a little of the Viognier grape with our Syrah came. The result is a fuller, richer palate and the addition of an elusive floral note to the aroma of the wine.
Grapes:
95% Syrah, 5% Viognier
Region:
Hawke`s Bay
Winemaker:
Adam Hazeldine
Recommended Food:
The sweet fruit flavours, edged by savoury oak make this wine an ideal partner to red meat dishes. Try it with pan-fried lamb cutlets, or with braised beef spooned over mashed potatoes.
Recommended Cellaring:
4-5 years
Production Notes:
The Syrah was harvested on the 7th of April and fermented with a small amount of Viognier grapes (5%). After a total time on skins of 27 days the tanks were drained and pressed to a mixture of American and French oak. The wine was removed from oak after 10 months and then blended and fined.
Tasting Notes:
A sweetly focused nose displaying an attractive floral and white pepper lift, mingled with subtle black olive and vanillin notes.The wine is all dark fruit and spice in the mouth with good mid palate volume and savoury dried herbs adding complexity - a touch of cedar lingers with the fruit on the finish. The tannins are fine and coating. Brooding yet accessible.
Awards:
GOLD MEDAL
-Royal NZ Easter Show Wine Awards 2008
Reviews:
"A consistently good value example of the wine that is earning Hawke's Bay big raps. From a family company that has just celebrated 90 years in the industry. Includes a dash of Viognier but is all about the pepper, the berries, plums and earthiness of Syrah."
-Warren Barton, The Dominion Post, 9th June, 2007
"Savoury, earthy style with full, bright colour and blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours showing very good depth."
-Winestate Magazine, Sept-Oct 2007
"This is a dense purple-red colour, intense and opaque. It's easy to pick the variety because there's a ton of white pepper on the nose and the flavour is tarry, earthy, savoury and spicy with sweet cedary oak, fine grainy tannins, wild blackberries, hints of liquorice and a lovely floral lift to the bitter chocolate finish. It's smooth, ripe and creamy with a well-balanced combination of sweet, savoury and spicy and the peppery character that is so flamboyant on the nose is there all the way through. Matured in French and American oak, it has just 12.5% alcohol. It has a 'Diam' technical cork closure."
-Sue Courtney, www.wineoftheweek.com June 2007
"Very intense aroma. Abundant black and blue fruits with lots of power and weight. Still very youthful, showing charry oak that might take some time to settle in. Keep and eye on this one."
-WineNZ Magazine, Winter 2007
"From the Gimblett Road vineyard, this young Syrah has a heady perfume that is just gorgeous. The nose shows vibrant raspberries, plum and floral fragrance with a hint of mushroom. The palate is refreshing and flows nicely with a soft fruity texture and crisp acidity leading to a lingering finish with fine-grained tannins. A young beauty with potential to develop complex flavours."
4.5 STARS
-Wine Orbit Magazine, Dec 2007
"Grown in Gimblett Road and matured in American and French oak barriques, the 2006 vintage is a middleweight style with full, bright colour, peppery aromas and blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours showing very good depth. Savoury and earthy, with good complexity, it's already drinking well."
-Michael Cooper's A Buyers Guide to New Zealand Wine 2008
"An intense peppery nose succumbs to quite soft fruit flavours and weight allied to subdued tannins. An easy drinking style of wine that will please many."
-TiZWine.com, April 2008
"Rich black pepper and spice aromas. Complex fruit flavours of currant, raspberry and dried herbs. Pepperiness showing through with notes of cedar, tobacco and bacon fat. Nicely complex with moderate depth of flavour and some creaminess of texture the palate. Oak melds well. Good length too."
NZ SHORT LIST
-WineNZ Magazine, Winter 2008
"Medium-deep red/purple in colour. A nicely fragrant nose displaying red/black plum, floral and subtle black pepper notes. It's juicy and smooth on the palate with bright acidity and supple tannins. A very approachable medium-bodied red with good balance."
-Wine Orbit, Nov 2009
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