Project Syrah - 1st Harvest

Ten days ago we posted a photo on @Instagram of our first crop of syrah being harvested from the Project block, we were on cloud 9. The yield was low, the fruit was perfectly ripe and the flavours were all there.

For those of you who have been following this project you will know that when we set out to plant this block our goal was to make one of the best syrah’s in New Zealand. Everything we have done; choosing the right clone for the soil type, rootstock, building a close planted vineyard (1.3 x 1.5m), work on the canopy and yield (the list goes on) is constantly focused on this goal. As we harvested this year we could see that the work was paying off (thank goodness!)

We haven’t told many people that we also quietly inter-planted a tiny amount of Viognier (a white grape variety) into the syrah block. This is a variety that is also planted in the northern Rhone Valley, the traditional home of Syrah. The addition of Viognier in our view takes Syrah to the next level. It fills out the mid palate, gives the wine a silky texture, stabilizes the colour and can also emphasize dark red fruit characters.

At the moment of harvest the Viognier fruit is far riper than the Syrah - this year it was around 28 brix compared to the Syrah which was sitting at about 23- 24 brix. We pick them at the same time and ferment them together so that the wine becomes one. So today we are about 10 days into making the wine. Its fermenting slowly which we like and its already a deep dark purple colour. Will was using the terms ‘spicy & meaty’ to describe the wine today which sounds terrible. But these are good words in that they illustrate that the flavours are not just fruity, but savoury too. Fingers crossed that it is a great wine in the making.

We will keep you posted. The final wine will be ready for release by En Primeur April 2021 all going well.

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If you have any feedback, questions or thoughts don’t hesitate to get in touch.