Gold Medal – New Zealand International Wine Show 2023
Gold Medal – The National Wine Awards of Aotearoa New Zealand 2023
Winery notes (2021 Vintage)
"Deep red with a purple hue. Tremendous aromatic lift, with lavender and sweet cherries rising from the glass. The palate has significant density but a perfect balance that already encourages drinking. Again, so much energy in the 2021 wines but also a concentration due to the low yields. Delightful.
A very warm spring brought forward the growing season. Summer was mild but with minimal rain days, producing low yields. The result was near-perfect ripening conditions for Syrah."
5 Stars & Number 1, Cuisine NZ Syrah Tasting, June 2024 (2021 Vintage)
"Deeply coloured and instantly attractive in the glass. The nose is plush and ripe with dark and purple fruit, hints of violets and subtle spice aromas. The palate is complex and well concentrated with bold tannins well integrated with plenty of weight, lovely harmony and fantastic length."
Joelle Thompson, drinksbiz August September 2024 (2021 Vintage)
"This Craggy Range Syrah is an outstanding wine now and will continue to be, offering smooth approachability coupled with dark and impressive black plum flavours leading into subtle notes of spicy black pepper. This wine tastes lively, refreshing and flavoursome now and has the ability to develop further complexity in the next five years."
Reviews for previous vintages below…
Best in Show & 97/100 Decanter World Wine Awards, June 2022 (2020 Vintage)
"The Gimblett Gravels endeavour is a model for terroir research outside traditional regions, and recent generous vintages have really begun to pay off for this disciplined private association of Hawke's Bay wine growers. This is glorious Syrah: deep, dense and black-red in colour, with classic varietal aromas which combine inner urgency with sweet seduction. On the palate the wine offers a cascade of fruit, with tempered acidity and shy tannins. It's the grain to that fruit which impresses so: primary (plum, currant and sloe) yet nuanced, too, perfumed to the last drop and with a sense of stone behind the fruit to lend it dignity and keep you coming back to the glass for more."
93/100 Mike Bennie, The Wine Front, November 2022 (2020 Vintage)
"Juicy, slick and vibrant expression with good doses of spice, cranberry jelly, floral lift and faint game meat characters – perfume and palate in cahoots on this. Slips along with mellow, medium weight appeal but finds a cinch and pucker from pumice-stone like tannin profile and a cool, orangey acidity backing it all up. So slurpable, glossy and delicious. Joyous stuff, but with plenty going on for the Syrah nerds too. Very well done."