Tanzer on 2007 NZ Syrah's

[pizzler]

Stephen Tanzer is doing a review of New Zealand Syrah's comparing them to the "energetic spicy, peppery syrahs made in Northern Rhone appelations like Saint-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage..." He particularly likes the:

2007 Trinity Hill Syrah Homage
2007 Craggy Range Vineyards Syrah Le Sol Gimblett Gravels
2007 Villa Maria Estate Syrah Reserve Gimblett Gravels
2007 Crossroads Wine Company Syrah Elms Vineyard Reserve

Close in quality and good bang for the buck is the 2007 Trinity Hill Syrah.

Have you tried any of these and if so, what were your impressions? How do the 06's compare to them?

[Craig(NZ)]

Ive tried the 07 le sol. to be honest i don't think its worth the extra $$ over some of the really good $35 wines eg Church Rd Reserve/ Craggy Bl 14. However I did buy one. The 06 is the only le sol i havent tried so can't compare for you though the sylistic directioon of craggy is away from the bold concentrated monsters of the past (eg 02/04) toward more elegant, refined wines

07 Villa Reserve I can't remember trying, though I may have at the winery (just memory evades me). General opinion is 06 was better. I am however trying it tomorrow blind in a syrah line up so will let you know.

07 Trinity Homage I havent tried the 07. Im not sure its released yet. The 06 was stunning though again very expensive

07 Crossroads. I have tried this in the past but obviously didnt stick in mind. Havent tried 07.

2007 was a great vintage for red in hawkes bay but interesting esk valley, the 06's are clearly superior for syrah (gordon russel agrees) and im thinking perhaps villa too so its not a blanket rule

I think the smart mans money would go into:

07 Church Rd Reserve $35
07 Craggy Block 14 $30
07 Unison $40
07 Stonecroft $45
07 Passage Rock Reserve (can get for $40 at the mo - more elegant complex savoury style. I like this vintage though most would rate the 06 as better)
06 Esk Reserve $58

If money is no option I would expect the usual fight between Le Sol ($90), Homage ($110) and Bilancia La Collina ($85)

One question. Who is Tanzer?

[ACG]

Ditto Craig's response above, particularly the Le Sol (and its ridiculous price vs quality).

Skip the Crossroads, its average.

[jeremy]

No expert on NZ wine but the 2006 Trinity Hill Homage Syrah was superb. I'm not sure if it's good value or not (and think that can be as subjective as how much someone enjoys a wine- since the two would seemingly be related). It ain't cheap though

[SueNZ]

The 2007 Syrah's are a treat almost right cross the board. Other reds too including Pinot Noir.
The consistent quality makes the expensive wines seem grossly overpriced.
Craggy has a cheapy in the Wild Rock livery - Angels Dust Syrah 2007, which is pretty awesome.
Where did Tanzer taste them? Did he say?

Jeremy - Trinity Hill Homage 2006 was indeed superb.

That Crossroad Elms Syrah won a trophy at Air NZ Wine awards last year (not the Syrah Trophy though - that went to the stunnuing Chruch Road Reserve) but I was disappointed when I tasted the Elms at Hot Red Hawkes Bay in May.

Cheers,
Sue

[Craig(NZ)]

Angels Dust Syrah 2007

I tried this last week sue and agree its good vino especially at $18. reflects the market at the mo, if you are smart you can get a lot of wine for your dollar. I would say the $50 syrah's around are a hard sell at the moment. I see Caros advertising craggy block 14 for $25 in a 6 pack this week. Im tasting again tonight and if the price is right I will prb get a few

[jafa]

That Crossroad Elms Syrah won a trophy at Air NZ Wine awards last year (not the Syrah Trophy though - that went to the stunnuing Chruch Road Reserve) but I was disappointed when I tasted the Elms at Hot Red Hawkes Bay in May.
Cheers,
Sue

I did a brief report of impressions from the Hot Red HB tasting and mentioned the Elms as not too good;

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10314&p=78833&hilit=jafa+elms#p78833

and just did a double take because I recall your WOTW 13Jul09 as reporting this wine quite favourably.

Geoff Kelly was totally unimpressed with the Elms in his review;
http://www.geoffkellywinereviews.co.nz/ ... icleID=164

cheers jafa

[SueNZ]

That Crossroad Elms Syrah won a trophy at Air NZ Wine awards last year (not the Syrah Trophy though - that went to the stunnuing Chruch Road Reserve) but I was disappointed when I tasted the Elms at Hot Red Hawkes Bay in May.
Cheers,
Sue

I did a brief report of impressions from the Hot Red HB tasting and mentioned the Elms as not too good;

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10314&p=78833&hilit=jafa+elms#p78833

and just did a double take because I recall your WOTW 13Jul09 as reporting this wine quite favourably.

cheers jafa

Oops, should have read my notes instead of relying on my flaky memory. I obviously liked it.

[Craig(NZ)]

tried both the 07 Villa Cellar Selection and Reserve Syrah last night. I was impressed by both

the CS was a lot more refined than previous vintages and stylistically more me than I thought it would be. On special this is a must buy and will look for it

The reserve is quite reserved no pun intended and muted, idling and refined. I liked it and expect it will improve in the bottle as time fattens out the mid palate a bit. It has a lovely juicy quality to it with bright fresh fruit and creamy texture. The only question for me is qpr vs some other wines

[pizzler]

The 2007 Syrah's are a treat almost right cross the board. Other reds too including Pinot Noir.
The consistent quality makes the expensive wines seem grossly overpriced.
Craggy has a cheapy in the Wild Rock livery - Angels Dust Syrah 2007, which is pretty awesome.
Where did Tanzer taste them? Did he say?

Jeremy - Trinity Hill Homage 2006 was indeed superb.

That Crossroad Elms Syrah won a trophy at Air NZ Wine awards last year (not the Syrah Trophy though - that went to the stunnuing Chruch Road Reserve) but I was disappointed when I tasted the Elms at Hot Red Hawkes Bay in May.

Cheers,
Sue

I get the impression that it was a tasting of selected NZ Syrah wines and not from a trip there...too few wines, no descriptions of interactions with the owners, etc., but he doesn't say. Josh Raynolds normally covers that part of the wine world for IWC...another reason to suspect that Tanzer had a tasting put together in the US.

It's very hard to find quality NZ wine in the US...Villa Maria being one of the exceptions.