2019 Freycinet Vineyard Syrah

"Deep crimson in the glass with fruit notes of juicy satsuma plum, blackberry and cranberry with underlying hints of fine spice, dried meats, white pepper, dried citrus rind, clover blossom and earth. It cuts a gentle, savoury path across the palate with a cloud of powdery tannin, notes of drying herbs, pan juices and an enchanting, harmonious fruit presence. Great drinking."
- 94 points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion

What's in a name? To better convey its cool climate elegance and spice, with the release of the 2019 vintage our Freycinet Shiraz becomes Freycinet Syrah.

Syrah is the dark horse in the Freycinet stable, an exciting discovery for lovers of medium bodied reds, cool climate Shiraz and Rhone Valley Syrah. Select warmer sites around Tasmania have the potential to produce excellent medium bodied, spicy, peppery Syrah that rivals these great old world wines.

Freycinet Syrah production began in 2013 with the purchase of the neighbouring 6 hectare Coombend Vineyard, which included a tiny 0.2 hectares of mature Syrah vines, planted in the late 1990s. Although the previous owner blended it into their Cabernet Sauvignon, we saw exciting potential to create a high quality standalone cool climate Syrah. A further 0.5 Ha was planted in 2014 and another 0.5 Ha planted in 2019, bringing our total Syrah plantings to 1.2 Ha.

As with all Freycinet wines, meticulous hand work is carried out in the vineyard throughout the season to grow a moderate, balanced crop of fully ripened fruit. The 2019 season produced a classic high quality East Coast vintage. Winter and spring were warmer and drier leading to earlier budburst which followed through to an to earlier harvest. The mild conditions in combination with well-timed rains through summer and autumn enabled moderate yields to ripen optimally, producing excellent quality fruit across all varieties.

Offering an enticingly complex mixture of blackcurrants, berries, black plums, pepper, woody herbs and subtle meatiness, this wine is further enhanced by fine French oak spice and silk velvet tannins. Its toned structure and taut acid frame have all the hallmarks of a long and illustrious future. While this wine offers considerable drinking pleasure now, it will reward with further complexity developing over 12 - 15 years.

DRINK: Now to 2039