SENSATIONAL SYRAHS
JAMES SUCKLING’S TOP 8 CHOICES
GUIGAL CÔTE-RÔTIE LA LANDONNE 2015
This is a profound wine, offering really striking depth of aromas and flavours with a resonance that really stops you still. Dark stones, ripe dark plums and blackberries, liquorice, sarsaparilla, orange peel and cloves with still more spices floating in the midst.
TYRRELL’S SHIRAZ HUNTER VALLEY OLD PATCH 1867 2014
These are tricky wines to taste. The purity and finesse are at work here, alongside perfectly shaped structure and pitched ripeness; it’s deceptively silky and seductive. The nose has the sort of bottomless depth of ripe red and dark plum fruit aromas that you only find in the very best wines. So profound and so alluring; a weapon of mass seduction in a glass.
COLGIN CELLARS SYRAH NAPA VALLEY IX ESTATE 2015
Smelling this takes my breath away. Cloves, flora, metal shavings, blackberries and smoked meat. Mandarin zest, too. Full body with a perfect balance of ultra-fine tannins and great complexity. Goes on for minutes. Sets a new standard of Syrah for California.
LE MACCHIOLE BOLGHERI SCRIO 2015
The depth of aroma takes your breath away, with bark, tea leaves, peppermint, dried rosemary, thyme, sage, pressed violets, cedar, crème de cassis, blackcurrants and lavender. Full body, layer upon layer of fruit of every colour on the spectrum, pinpoint acidity and a finish that seems endless.
TRINITY HILL SYRAH HAWKE’S BAY HOMAGE 2014
A beautifully articulated edition of this Hawke’s Bay Syrah that’s loaded with potential. It’s a strong vintage that’s been cleverly crafted into a thoroughbred wine, packed with spicy and complex interest on the nose: blackberries, cloves, anise, pepper, some dark stony notes and crushed purple flowers. Still frisky and full of youthful, snappy appeal.