MAN O’ WAR DREADNOUGHT SYRAH 2023

Shaped by a challenging vintage, Dreadnought 2023 captures the wild side of Waiheke Syrah. Savoury, smoky and saline, with dark fruits, cracked pepper and a mineral edge, it’s a wine of tension, precision and quiet confidence — built for the long haul. 

Winery notes (2023 Vintage)
"Vintage 2023 didn’t roll in like a gentle sea breeze. It arrived more like a tempest, rain, cloud, pressure, nerves. But Dreadnought has always liked a bit of weather, calm seas never made a great captain, and easy vintages rarely make the most interesting wines. This is a Syrah forged under tension.

On the nose, it’s pure Waiheke: black olive, sea spray, cracked pepper and wild herbs, wrapped around dark cherry, mulberry and blood plum. There’s a savoury, almost ferrous edge; wet iron, smoked meat and crushed rock, the kind of thing that makes you stop mid-swirl and lean back in. Dark fruits glide across the palate, held in place by fine, graphite-like tannins and a line of bright maritime acidity that keeps everything taut and alive. There’s less gloss than in sunnier years, but far more precision, nerve and detail. Oak plays a quiet but confident supporting role letting the vineyard and the vintage do the talking. The finish is long and gently smoky with a saline finish, like the last embers of a beach fire as the tide creeps back in.

Dreadnought 2023 is not here to charm you on day one, it’s here to earn your respect, a storm season Syrah, built for the long voyage."