HUNTRESS SYRAH 2023

Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"Experience the bold character of our first Syrah release, crafted from fruit grown in the Bridge Pa Triangle of Hawke's Bay. This wine is rich with enticing warm spices, cocoa powder, and baked red fruits. The palate is velvety, featuring raspberry and plum skin, with a spice finish that makes it perfect for cozy winter nights.

Hand-harvested and wild fermented, this Syrah includes 30% whole cluster fermentation and aged for 10 months in French oak barriques. The careful winemaking process ensures a balanced and complex profile. Ideal for sipping by a fire on a chilly evening, this Syrah pairs wonderfully with hearty dishes like venison, wild game, or rich stews."

Rated Outstanding & 95/100 Cameron Douglas MS, June 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"A seductive bouquet of dark berries and myriad spices, smoky soils and toasty wood layers, leather and violets, a whisper of white pepper, wild flowers and complexity. A delicious wine on the palate with texture and ripeness, great acid line accentuates the core fruit flavours and spices from the bouquet. Tautness and youth this wine requires some cellar time with best drinking from late 2025 through 2032+. A modern take on a classic wine."

91/100 Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review, October 2024 (2023 Vintage)
"The first syrah from talented Maori winemaker Jannine Rickards, who was previously chief winemaker of Urlar. Made with organic fruit from the Herringbone Vineyard in the Bridge Pa Triangle, employing 30% whole cluster fermentation in the manner of the northern Rhône, before ageing in barrique for 10 months. A versatile wine and an exciting debut for the variety under the Huntress label, which Jannine describes as “The bringing together of lovers of fine wine, wild food, and Papatūānuku—our Mother Earth.”

Vivid, tart cherry and wild berry fruit with sousbois and deep savoury spice undertones. The wine has a lot of freshness, crisp fruit with bayleaf and a long, mid-weight palate that tapers to an elegant, satisfyingly savoury bacon fat and plum finish that has plenty of bright acidity. Hints at carbonic maceration. Remarkably persistent, melting coulis of fruit with gentle spice. Satisfyingly fresh, light and delicious. Enjoy it young for its crunchy nouveau-like brightness or let it mature in the cellar for a few years to reveal the spicy savoury complexity within."

Joelle Thomson, drinksbiz Magazine August September 2024 (2023 Vintage)
This is the first Syrah from Huntress Wines owner/founder Janine Rickards. Grapes grown at the TK Vineyard in Hawke's Bay's Bridge Pa Triangle were hand harvested and transported to the Wairarapa, where Rickards gave them 30% whole cluster wild yeast fermentation followed by 10 months in French oak barriques to create this delicate, plush Syrah. The oak leaves the lightest imprint on the wine, adding a touch of spice and structured complexity to the red fruit lift."