Sacred Hill ‘Gimblett Gravels’ Syrah 2005
Gimlet Gravels, Hawkes Bay

One of a handful of ’05 Hawkes Bay Syrah’s I have tried, this is by far my favorite and luckily enough the cheapest. It normally retails at NZ $20 but for the past few weeks has been available at my local for only sixteen dollars, and what a well spent sixteen dollars it is. It begins with rich, ripe, sweet red fruits: predominantly cherry, blackcurrant and rhubarb (is rhubarb a fruit?). It follows through with the expectant burst of spice; in this case vanilla, tobacco, cinnamon and white pepper. It has a good, well structured palate weight - neither too heavy nor too light and will develop over the next couple of years but why wait - put it in a jug and let it open up and it is near perfect drinking now!

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