SYRAH = SHIRAZ!?

Menu

P.) Esk Valley (Verdelho) 2009, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand 1.) Mitolo J ester, McLaren Vale 2006, SA, Australia 2.) Langmeil Hangin’ Snakes 2007, Barossa Valley, SA, Australia 3.) Montes Alpha 2007, Colchagua Valley, Chile 4.) Muddy Water 2006, Waipara, New Zealand 5.) C. J . Pask Reserve 2002, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand 6.) From m 2006 , Marlborough, New Zealand 7.) Yves Cuilleron L’Amarybelle 2006, S t. J oseph France 8.) Auguste Clape 2006, Cornas, France

Pre-taster: Esk Valley Verdehlo, 2009

Madeira, and beyond...

2 vineyard blend: gravel meets silty gravel, 11 year old vines.

60% barrique fermentation with indigenous yeasts left on lees till blending and bottling; 40% cool fermented in tank with selected yeast strains.

Syrah = Shiraz: its a matter of style

7th most grown grape internationally , 9t h in NZ at 293ha in ‘09 (SB 16K ha.)

Dureza (Ardeche) and Mondeuse Blanche (Savioe); an ( intra -specific) hybrid and Northern Rhone original. Extant since 77AD?

Syrah/ Shiraz has migrated to I taly , Spain, Portugal, US , Canada, South Africa, India, Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand.. .

S traight and blended.

Flavours and Aromas

Blackberry, blackcurrant- cassis, blueberry, black cherry, cranberry, plum, fig, smoked meats, smoke, bacon, scorched earth, leather, tobacco leaf,

coff ee, anise, cloves, liquorice, v iolets, dark chocolate, black tea, black and white pepper, tar, graphite.

Look Out Fo r

Blueberry-Plum, Blackcurrant-Black Cherry

Fruitiness and Tar, Earth and Leather Fruit, Tannin, Acidity , Minerality , Focus and Balance

The World of Wine (more or less)

South Australia

McLaren Vale

Mitolo Jester Shiraz, '06

Ben Glaetzer, Winemaker, Australian Artisnal 'Superstar.'

Moderating maritime influence. Yield around 4 tonnes an acre (70hl/ha). Relatively low yielding vintage.

Fermented on skins at cool temperatures, then pressed. Partial barrel fermentation with natural malolactic fermentation. Aged in 2-4 year old

French oak, previously used for aging G.A.M. (tete du Cuve), for 9 months.

Barossa Valley

Langmeil Hangin' Snakes, '07

Barossa Deutsch.

Old vines.

95% Shiraz, 5% co-fermented Viognier, open fermented then basket pressed into new and old French oak barriques for 8 months.

Chile

Colchagua Valley

Montes Alpha, '07

Ideal conditions?

Low yield, six tons per hectare (2.4 tons per acre).

Aged 12 months in French oak barrels.

90% Syrah, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Viognier.

Waipara

Muddy Water

3.8 tons per hectare (1.5 T/acre), hand harvested and destemmed. 6 day cold soak, on skins for 21 days.

Barrel aged for 16 months.

Some of the vines top grafted onto their Bordeaux reds.

The southern most Syrah in the world?

Hawkes Bay

C J Pask Reserve '02

Ngaruroro River – Gimblett Gravels.

Ripe fruit, some whole clusters and a warm ferment.

100% Syrah

Approximately 12 months in French oak.

Marlborough

Fromm

NZ artisnal winemaking at its best (personal opinion clearly stated!),organic already and a learning curve into biodynamics.

Marginal varietal, never over ripe.

Syrah 93%, Viognier 7%.

The Rhone Valley

St. Joseph

Yves Cuilleron St. Joseph, '02

Cuillerron: A Rhone great

20-40 year old vines from hillside terraces.

100% Syrah on shallow granitic soils.

High-density planting (8,000-10,000 vines per hectare), hands-on organic.

Hand harvested, partially destemmed. Fermented in open, temperature-controlled vats for about 3 weeks, with regular cap-punching and pumping-

over. Malolactic-fermented in barriques with native yeasts.

18 months in barriques.

Cornas

Auguste Clape Cornas, '07

A Rh on e traditionalist.

C eltic for scorch ed ear th . G ranitic san dy soils w ith a limeston e toppin g create th e stu rdiest stru ctu red w ines in th e n or th ern Rh on e.

Ru stic, m asculin e firmn ess an d ru ggedn ess?

M any v in es approach 1 0 0 years of age.

H an ds- on in th e v in eyard.

1 0 0 % S yrah

N eu tral oak bar rel or steel fermen ts allow in g th em to natu rally finish w hen th ey w ill.

Vote Early and Vote Often

P.) Esk Valley (Verdelho) 2009, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand 1.) Mitolo J ester, McLaren Vale 2006, SA, Australia 2.) Langmeil Hangin’ Snakes 2007, Barossa Valley, SA, Australia 3.) Montes Alpha 2007, Colchagua Valley, Chile 4.) Muddy Water 2006, Waipara, New Zealand 5.) C. J . Pask Reserve 2002, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand 6.) From m 2006 , Marlborough, New Zealand 7.) Yves Cuilleron L’Amarybelle 2006, S t. J oseph France 8.) Auguste Clape 2006, Cornas, France

The Bottom Line

P.) Esk Valley (Verdelho) 2009, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand (Vino Fino, $18) 1.) Mitolo J ester, McLaren Vale 2006, SA, Australia (Vino Fino, $30) 2.) Langmeil Hangin’ Snakes 2007, Barossa Valley, SA, Australia. (Vino Fino, $22) 3.) Montes Alpha 2007, Colchagua Valley, Chile (Vino Fino, $26) 4.) Muddy Water 2006, Waipara, New Zealand (Decant, $32) 5.) C. J . Pask Reserve 2002, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand (Club Cellar, $49) 6.) From m 2006 , Marlborough, New Zealand (Decant, $55) 7.) Yves Cuilleron L’Amarybelle 2006, S t. J oseph France (Club Cellar, $55) 8.) Auguste Clape 2006, Cornas, France ( Decant, $128)